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Public School Religion Education And The 'Hot Potato' Of Religious Diversity, Cathy Byrne

Dr Cathy Byrne

Religiously marked intercultural conflict is on the rise in Australia (HREOC, 2007; Dreher, 2006). In addition, intolerant and religiously discriminating sentiment has re-emerged in Australia's debate on migration (Schech & Haggis, 2001; Cratchley, 2007). However, inter-religious education as a remedy is not a high priority. Independent and governmental reviews recommend intercultural and interfaith education to address ignorance and intolerance (Erebus, 2006; HREOC, 2004). Australia appears more focused on the development of values and citizenship courses which assume shared heritage and promote uniformity ( Halafoff, 2006). In public education, religious diversity is a 'hot potato' — no one wants to touch …