Faith, Fluency and the Future of Religious Education in Britain by Rania Mohiuddin-Agir is based on a nationally representative survey of 1,196 adults of faith who either received RE in the last ten years or have children currently receiving RE, as well as a series of 14 qualitative interviews.
The report examines the attitudes and experiences of people of faith towards RE, their views on whether it is successful or effective, how provision could be improved, and explores support for a national curriculum.
Key findings include:
Britain wants faith communities inside the classroom.
- The single most popular improvement for RE, by a wide margin, was increased engagement with local faith communities, chosen by 36% of all respondents and by half of all non-Christians.
- The least popular option was more government oversight, selected by just 4% overall.
Far from weakening faith, RE strengthens it.
- Non-Christians were more likely than Christians to say RE made them think more positively about their own faith (net 46% vs 32%).
There is support for a national RE curriculum.
- When asked directly whether there should be a standardised national curriculum for RE, 48% said yes and 20% said no. However, 32% said they did not know.
Methodology note: Whitestone Insight surveyed a representative sample of 1,196 adults online between 31 March and 8 April 2026. To be eligible, respondents had to be a member of a faith group, and either have a child currently receiving religious education or have themselves received RE in the past ten years. Whitestone Insight is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.