The new schools will be a way for the Church to have a
voice in an increasingly secular government, a voice many secular
leaders want diminished.
(The UK) — [CBN News] The Church of England is making new waves in the country by opening more than 100 free Christian schools. (Photo Credit: CBN News)
England's
new initiative to open 500 free schools for underprivileged children
has been derided by many critics as a poor decision, but the Church of
England sees it as an opportunity to teach children the Christian faith.
The free schools are funded by the government but can be set up and
run by charities, parents, trusts, businesses, teachers, or religious
groups.
That is why the Church has set its sights on opening some 125 new
faith schools across the country during the next four years. The Church
currently runs just 10 free schools, but soon that number will rise
exponentially with potentially millions of new students.
"This is a moment to be bold and ambitious and offer more than an
apologetic for church schools but a vision for education," Bishop
Stephen Conway, chair of the Church's board of education at the General
Synod in York, said.
A report at the General Synod says the government's free education
program was a "unique opportunity for the Church of England to renew and
enhance its contribution to the education of our nation's children...
an opportunity which should be seized wholeheartedly."
The new schools will be a way for the Church to have a voice in an
increasingly secular government, a voice many secular leaders want
diminished.
"The significant changes we're seeing in the country's religion and
belief landscape means the Church's role in state education needs to be
diminished not expanded," Stephen Evens, campaign director for the
National Secular Society, told The Telegraph UK.
Despite the push-back from secular groups, Bishop Conway says the
Church vows "to ensure that church schools continue to develop their
distinctive Christian character."
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