A new study has accused the Church of England (CofE) of only admitting students from the Christian faith.
The research, published by Accord Coalition for Inclusive Education, found that out of the 40 dioceses in England, only five advise the schools to be inclusive, regardless of faith, INews reports.
The multi-faith group claimed that the Church of England failed to instruct schools not to select Christian students during enrollment. This, after CofE officials declared that they are implementing steps to a more open door policy of admissions. On its own website, CofE even stated that its schools are “Christian schools for all.”
“By deflecting attention away from schools practicing religious discrimination, such comments present a false image and encourage complacency,” according to the report.
The study also showed that 25 percent or 10 dioceses were endorsing schools to be selective with the students they admit.
Revd Stephen Terry, a member of Accord Coalition, urged Church of England schools to be accessible to all children, regardless of religion and background. “It is profoundly disappointing that only five dioceses seem to have grasped multi-cultural society,” he said.
The Church of England, however, denied the group’s allegations and argued that the Church values diversity in all of its schools, reports Premier.
In a statement, CofE said the conclusions of the report were not accurate and did not reflect the actual situation of admissions in its schools.
“Those schools that do give some priority to Christian children do so in areas where competition for places is acute and often providing places purely on distance from the school would mean that only the wealthiest, who can afford to move house nearby, can access the best schools,” explained Nigel Genders, Chief Executive Officer for the Church of England.
