LONDON – A Senior Church of England official has warned that laws allowing children to be exempt from learning about wider religious views are ‘dangerous’ and only encourage religious hatred.

“To enable all to ‘live well together’ there is a need for all pupils from all backgrounds to receive a broad and balanced curriculum that includes high-quality RE,” said Derek Holloway, Church of England chief for education, The Independent reported.

”Sadly, and dangerously, the right of withdrawal from RE is now being exploited by a range of ‘interest groups’ often using a dubious interpretation of human rights legislation.”

Holloway, the Church’s lead on religious education (RE), said some parents with fundamentalist religious beliefs and “extremist views” are “exploiting” laws which give them the right to exclude their children from the lessons.

He warned that this will result in raising children with little understanding of wider world views, denying them the chance to learn how to live in a modern and diverse country.

Holloway, who previously taught at state comprehensive schools in Essex and Wiltshire, said the right to withdraw children from RE “gives comfort to those who are breaking the law and seeking to incite religious hatred”.

He told the Press Association: “Through RE teacher social media forums and feedback from our RE advisers, I am aware that some parents have sought to exploit the right to withdraw children from RE lessons.

”This is seemingly because they do not want their children exposed to other faiths and world views, in particular Islam.

“We are concerned that this is denying those pupils the opportunity to develop the skills they need to ‘live well together’ as adults.”

He warned that such approach puts schools in an “impossible position” as they have to show Ofsted inspectors they are preparing pupils for life in modern Britain.

“Anecdotally, there have also been some cases in different parts of the country of parents with fundamentalist religious beliefs also taking a similar course,” he said.

“This is not confined to any one particular religion or area of the country.

”The Church of England is far from alone in this view and we support the broad consensus across the sector – both from teachers and RE advisers – that the right of withdrawal from RE is being exploited by a minority and should now be reviewed.“