Submission from Visionnetwork of New Zealand
June 2009

Introduction

We are thankful for this opportunity to respond to the Religion in Schools - Final Consultation Document.

We affirm the purpose of this initiative, described in the document as being "to offer guidance and act as a resource for thinking about the issues and on how schools [sic] can give a place to religion that ensures the security and dignity of all".

We acknowledge the huge amount of effort that has gone into developing the document to its present stage, and record our thanks to all those involved.

We also record at the beginning of this submission our appreciation for the expert opinion offered on the specific questions covered in the document. If this can help people avoid the need to resolve issues through legal measures, it will be a worthwhile exercise indeed.

However, we are disappointed that this latest draft continues to repeat a problem highlighted in our previous submission (September 2008), which was discussed at length, and which we thought was resolved at the time of the Statement on Religious Diversity discussions (2006-2007).

We submit that in the interests of accuracy and fairness, this matter needs to be addressed both before this document is finalised and in the other statement when it is reviewed (scheduled for some time this year).

If our education system is to develop qualities of truth and fairness in students, then the documents that are designed to offer guidance to those responsible for its governance need to similarly reflect those values.

As with our September submission, we have been in communication with the Churches Education Commission. While we have not seen their final submission, we have a general understanding of, and are generally agreed with, the points they will be raising.

Background

We are privileged to live in a country where there is such a high regard for freedom of religion and human rights. We contend that this culture has arisen in a very significant way out of the Christian heritage of this country.

Even though Christians' practice of their faith may fall far short of the goal to which they aspire, the Christian faith has been and still is a significant influence in our heritage, culture, and institutions. We do not make this point to elevate Christianity above any other group or religion, but simply to state that the values and institutions we cherish in this country did not simply arise in a faith vacuum. They did arise specifically out of a widely held Christian faith and worldview.

A draft Statement of Religious Diversity was proposed mid-2006, debated between October 2006 and February 2007, and published prior to the Asia Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogue in May 2007. Clause 6 of that statement refers to the teaching of religion in schools, which is the reason why this background is relevant.

The author of this submission was a member of the working group set up to discuss the statement and attended the two group meetings (October 2006 and January 2007), as well as the national interfaith forum held in Hamilton in February 2007.

In our submission on that statement, and in both meetings of the working group and in the Hamilton forum, we made the point that the significance of the Christian faith to New Zealand had not been fairly represented.

At the January meeting, speaking directly from notes which were sent to Visionnetwork's Council and Advisory Group, I said "to speak of the importance of Christian faith historically, numerically, and institutionally, is to state truths which few would debate". I went on to say that it was fair and reasonable for this to be properly acknowledged in the public square, a point readily agreed to by members of other faith communities in the working group.

I also quoted Rex Ahdar, then Senior Lecturer (now Professor) in Law at Otago University, who wrote in a paper titled New Zealand and the Idea of a Christian State (published in God and Government, University of Otago Press, 2000, p.63) "... while New Zealand may not have had a legally established church, or for that matter an established religion, it might be argued that there was a de facto or cultural establishment of Christianity". This point also was readily accepted by members of other faith communities in the working group.

At the February interfaith forum in Hamilton, the audience came very close to rejecting the entire Statement on Religious Diversity. In my presentation I included the quote from Rex Ahdar and was given the impression that this would be reflected in final modifications to the statement. The audience finally agreed to support the Statement as a basis for future discussion.

Nothing like the quote I mentioned was included in the final statement, which at various times has appeared under the title National Statement on Religious Diversity (giving it a sense of authority it did not have), and also without the qualification "as a basis for future discussion".

I said during the discussions that if the importance of Christian faith (historically, numerically, and institutionally) was not fairly and properly acknowledged in the Statement on Religious Diversity discussion document, the Statement could be used intentionally or otherwise by people or groups to undermine the significance and value of Christianity in the public square.

We submit that the Religion in Schools draft document as presently worded shows clear signs of this.

Main submission

The Religion in Schools draft document contains an introductory page before the table of contents. Half-way down this page there is the following paragraph:

New Zealand, a secular state with no official state religion , has changed considerably since the 1960s when the current legislation about religion in schools was enacted. We are now an increasingly diverse nation religiously and culturally. For example, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of New Zealanders, now nearly a third of us, who declare ourselves to be of ‘no religion' (Census 2006). There has also been notable growth in the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim communities. Approximately half of us are Christian , which is an overall decline in numbers of declared Christians, although there has been a rise in some Christian sectors. All this means that religion in New Zealand schools needs to be considered in light of this new and changing context and it is likely that there will be an increase in the future of questions and concerns about religion in schools. [emphasis mine throughout]

We make the following observations:

1. The first point or strongest emphasis is about secular state/no official state religion.
2. The second point or second strongest emphasis is about increasing diversity.
3. The third point is the increase of "no religion".
4. The fourth point is the notable growth in the Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim communities.
5. Finally, the Christian faith is mentioned as the fifth and last point, but despite comprising half the population, this is left with the tag of an overall decline in numbers.
6. Regarding the first point above, the secular state/no official religion phrase is made starkly at the beginning of the paragraph as if this was the total context to be considered, and with no sense of balance or fairness as would be provided by (for example) including Rex Ahdar's quotation (above). The fact that some people might object to recording New Zealand's Christian heritage and roots, does not change its validity. Furthermore, any objection would be more than counterbalanced by many Maori, who argue that the first Maori king declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Maori people. We believe that honouring the Treaty involves treating this declaration with honour and respect.
7. The second point (increasing diversity) places the emphasis in the wrong place. Proclaiming diversity without establishing the ground of unity undermines the very diversity it seeks to uphold. This is putting the cart before the horse. While most if not all Christians might desire that the basis of this unity in New Zealand would be the Christian faith, Visionnetwork recognises that this is not the case. We do ask, though, that a proper foundation for diversity be laid through a fair and balanced reporting of the culture and the context. This can be done by referencing the Treaty and the Christian heritage of this nation.
8. The third point (increase of no religion) is true, but by its placement is given a significance that is not warranted. The simple fact is that true faith is virtually impossible to measure in a census, but the drift of this document is to make Christian faith (which has not even been mentioned yet) seem irrelevant in this document and in New Zealand education and society.
9. Fourth, emphasis is given to the notable growth of minor religions, despite the fact that their numbers are very small. Because the numbers are not given, the effect for people who are not aware of the numbers is to elevate their significance. The simple fact is that the number who declared themselves as Christian in the 2006 census is 10 times the number of all other religions added together. In terms of people who are active in practising their belief, Christians are four times the number of all other groups added together. This matches results from a survey in England, which indicated that Christians were more than four times more likely to be involved in voluntary community work than the general population.
   Please let me repeat: we are not saying this by way of "special pleading" or to elevate Christianity in any unfair way. We are simply asking that the whole picture be presented, and if it is summarised that this does not lead to a distortion.
10. It is only when we get to the fifth point that Christianity is mentioned: the largest religious group in New Zealand. A most significant source, many would say the source of the values, freedoms, and human rights we enjoy (although it is not our desire here to open up a debate). But the effect of the repeated use of "increase" and "growth" in the previous sentences is to highlight the phrase "overall decrease" in relation to Christianity.Thus the overall effect of this introduction, which sets the context for the guidelines to be used by school trustees and principals, is to elevate the secular state and other religions, while painting Christianity as a still large, but overall declining, faith.
    This is simply not right.
11. We would point out that figures from the International Social Survey Project recently conducted by Massey University show that nearly 20 per cent of New Zealanders go to church on a regular basis.
    Twenty to thirty years ago the figure generally quoted by church leaders was around 10 per cent.
    While the data does not make it easy to make exact comparisons, there would seem to be a significant revival in church attendance.

Conclusion

The simplest way to correct the distortion which this submission highlights is to replace the paragraph commented on above with the one below.

New Zealand is a secular state with no official state religion. It is fair to say, though, that there is a de facto or cultural establishment of Christianity. New Zealand has a significant Christian heritage due to the faith and work of the early 19th century missionaries. Maori adoption of Christian faith paved the way for the Treaty of Waitangi, and Christianity was claimed as the official faith of the Maori people by the first Maori king. Approximately half of New Zealanders still call themselves Christian and approximately one in five still attend church regularly. Many of the values and institutions we enjoy in New Zealand were, and still are, significantly shaped by Christian faith.
Since the current legislation concerning religion in schools was enacted in the 1860s, New Zealand has become an increasingly diverse nation religiously and culturally. There has been an increase in the number of New Zealanders, now nearly one-third, who declare ourselves to be of ‘no religion' (Census 2006). There has also been notable growth in the Hindu, Buddhist and Muslim communities. All this means that religion in New Zealand schools needs to be considered in light of this new and changing context, and it is likely that there will be an increase in the future of questions and concerns about religion in school.

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