ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the thesis proposed by the report Right to Divide that schools with a religious character in Wales fail to prepare students for life in a religiously and ethnically diverse society and so fail to promote community cohesion. The classic count of public church attendance conducted alongside the national census in 1851 drew public attention to the comparative strengths of the different Christian denominations. The Welsh Government's community cohesion strategy, however, is focused on developing and resourcing responses at the local community level, as reflected in the publication Getting on Together. The chapter addresses the problem from an empirical perspective by posing the general question as to whether students educated in schools with a religious character in Wales hold attitudes that are more or less conducive to life in a religiously diverse society. While schools with a religious character cannot, on the basis of these data, be accused of failing to promote community cohesion as well as schools.
