Critical exchange: Religion and schooling: What should their relationship be?

Abstract

This essay focuses on tensions within Canada and Australia between religious freedoms and sexual freedoms. Both countries have sought to develop religious accommodations for publicly funded religious schools. The essay is also informed by contemporary research related to the experiences of LGBT identified teachers and students. I briefly consider how their experiences of education are shaped by religious exemptions which operate to accommodate claims related to religious freedom. I also consider how advocates on both sides deploy particular understandings of secularism in order to distinguish between public and private spheres.