ABSTRACT
This chapter will first set out what the statutory position is regarding Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (SACREs) and agreed syllabuses, before providing an overview of their history, and an explanation of the current situation and discussion of some of the strengths and challenges of the current system. It will be shown how contemporary religious education is the result of a diverse set of influences – historical, legal and political. Attention is also given to centralising efforts that go back to the late 1990s and to recent research that indicates the lack of funding available to SACREs to pursue their work and fulfil their statutory obligations.
