London, England - Faith schools are to be instructed to teach their pupils about the tenets of other religions besides their own.
Leaders from the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths have signed a joint statement backing the teaching of not only their own religion but an awareness of the "tenets" of other faiths in schools.
The declaration, made jointly with the Department for Education and Skills says that religious education enables pupils to "combat prejudice" and helps them develop respect and sensitivity to others.
The agreement commits faith schools to using the National Framework for Religious Education, drawn up in 2004, which encourages the teaching of the tenets of the five major religions, but which is non-statutory.
"We believe that schools with a religious designation should teach not only their own faith but also an awareness of the tenets of other faiths," the statement said. "We are fully committed to using the framework in developing the religious education curriculum for our schools and colleges."
Many religious schools already teach about faiths other than their own, but there is no legal requirement for them to do so. The statement released today says that religious education offers "opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual development."
Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, said that the best faith schools promoted inclusion, understanding and appreciation of other faiths. She said: "This is part of the vital role that faith schools have played in education in this country. By promoting core values, they have also strengthened communities and our society."
Of 22,000 state-maintained schools in this country, about 7,000 are faith schools. The majority 4,700, are Church of England. The remaining Christian schools are Roman Catholic, with a handful of others, including some Methodist and one Greek Orthodox. There are also more than 30 Jewish schools, a few Muslim schools, one Sikh school and a Hindu school about to open.
Critics have charged faith schools with promoting sectarianism. The Government's plans to give more schools control over which pupils they admit has also aroused fears of greater segregation by faith or other criteria.
A recent Institute for Research study claimed that voluntary aided schools, usually faith schools, admit a lower proportion of pupils from low income backgrounds.
Canon John Hall, chief education officer for the Church of England, admitted the declaration about inclusive teaching of other faiths could not be legally enforced. But he said that it carried a "very strong moral authority."
This was the first time the faith leaders had come together in such a way over this issue, making it a "significant moment" in education, he said.
While independent faith schools could continue to do what they liked in this respect, Canon Hall added that many of these also would be influenced by the moral authority of the faith leaders.
He said: "People widely misconceive faith schools as being socially divisive and segregationist. This statement has a very strong moral authority. Because most faith schools are voluntary aided schools, the governors currently determine their religious education syllabus. The governors must now listen to their faith leaders and make the syllabus more inclusive so that faith schools promote mutual understanding and respect."
Anil Bhanot, of the Hindu Council UK, said he wished the present religious education framework was statutory. "We need to prepare children for what effectively is now a much bigger global environment, indeed the internet makes it so even in a small rural village, and in my opinion, multi-faith education lies at the very core of a cohesive and healthy society," he said.
The statement was also welcomed by the International Council of Christians and Jews, which along with the Three Faiths Forum led the campaign for a more inclusive approach to religious education by faith schools.
However, secularists condemned the declaration. Keith Porteous Wood, director of the National Secular Society, said: "This new announcement is merely an effort to counter accusations that single-faith schools are divisive and a menace to social cohesion. The announcement is, in effect, an admission by the churches that they have used these schools as a means of proselytising their particular faith.
"Simply devoting a few hours to talking about other religions does nothing to stop the real divisiveness of these schools, which comes from separating children on grounds of religion at an early age and keeping them separated until they leave school."
The statement's signatories were the Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, the Right Rev Kenneth Stevenson; Roman Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor; Jon Benjamin of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, Munisha of the Buddhist Society; Sarah Lane of the Free Churches Association; Anil Bhanot of the Hindu Council; Kathleen Wood of the Methodist Church; Sir Iqbal Sacranie of the Muslim Council of Britain and Indarjit Singh of the Network of Sikh Organisations.