Most English independent schools, though not all, have their origins in Christian mission, Catholic or Protestant, and most maintain a compulsory element of religious instruction, both in the classroom and in the school chapel. It goes without saying that most things that form the basis of a school’s life are compulsory: attending classes, keeping fit,
adherence to the school rules, and so on. No institution or orderly society can run without an acceptance that compulsion about fundamental things is essential. It is not optional to pay taxes or (if you want to drive) obtain a driver’s licence.
The first question to answer, therefore, is this: is compulsory attendance at chapel a fundamental essential? I would say yes, for several reasons. Any generation of young people is inclined to assume that it is the first to question the validity of compulsory attendance at religious services in the chapel. The truth, of course, is that has been questioned generation upon generation for a very long time.
Most English independent schools were set up, among other things, to train young people in the principles and disciplines of the Christian faith. Apart from their statutes, the physical arrangement of the school often places the chapel dead centre. All societies, great or small, need a moral reference point as to their core values: for most English independent schools, the chapel expresses those values, which are the Christian values underpinning our democratic understanding of the intrinsic value of the human person. All communities need a regular gathering point where they experience their togetherness or solidarity: in many schools the chapel provides that place. In the case of Winchester College this has been so for more than 600 years.
Tradition matters in any society. In all three schools of which I have been headmaster, whenever I have made a decision to change something, the first objection, particularly on the part of boys, is that I am ‘changing a tradition’. Yet tradition is a dynamic thing which contains within itself the energy of change. Communities have to grow and change with the times, of course, and some ‘traditions’ lose their function and valid purpose; so living tradition has to be interpreted and re-interpreted as time passes. Nevertheless, respect for tradition provides basic stability and continuity, and anyone in charge of a small community like a school must think and listen carefully before altering something which has acquired the status of tradition.
Having said that, by way of example, the first thing I did when I arrived at Winchester was to change the arrangements of compulsory Chapel. Hitherto the boys in the first and second years had been required to attend Chapel five mornings per week plus Sunday; boys in years above that had to attend only on Sundays. I took the view that this was disproportionate and sent the wrong message about the school’s moral and spiritual programme, so I reduced the weekday compulsion for the younger years to two mornings per week, and introduced a moral/intellectual programme of addresses for the older boys once a week. All continue to attend on Sundays.
This re-interpretation of tradition has been accepted as rational and appropriate. Further, five years ago there were no arrangements made for boys of non-Christian cultural background in the school (there are about 40 of them): now we have Faith Circles, which runs concurrent with Sunday Chapel, when those boys, with the help of the Theology and Philosophy department, can explore their faith or cultural inheritance together.
Compulsory attendance at Chapel is not an attempt to indoctrinate the boys into Christian belief. It is about several other things. Chapel invites them to consider an intelligent presentation (for that is what our excellent Chaplains offer) of the Christian faith, which is our dominant cultural inheritance. It provides an opportunity to learn the disciplines (and they have to be taught) of sitting still, listening, switching off politely (if that is what they want or need to do), all of which are essential life skills. They spend a short period of time in a beautiful building, with an opportunity to explore it with a sensitive eye, and they hear music of sublime beauty, both of which are an essential element of the cultured and civilised person.
The formal academic study of theology and philosophy has enjoyed a rise in popularity among UK sixth formers in recent years. It is a subject rich in opportunities and appeals to those attracted to biblical, literary, linguistic, historical, ethical and comparative cultural study. In addition, religious instruction which includes a compulsory Chapel element offers a range of valid educational and social experiences: an invitation to Christian belief, a moral perspective on how to live the good life and the life of the mind, an opportunity to listen to a well-constructed argument, a sense of belonging to a community, a rehearsal of basic self-disciplines, and an exposure to architectural and musical beauty. Not all will plug in to all of those all the time, but no intelligent, reasonable, well-disposed person can fail to draw advantage from at least one of them at any one time.
Ralph Townsend is Headmaster of Winchester College
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