ABSTRACT
This chapter firstly draws together the ‘archaeological slices’ unearthed in the previous four chapters to re-engage with the overarching question of how the current legal settlement became—and remains—possible. It then assesses the extent to which the story of English RE is one of Indoctrination, Ideology, and Instrumentalization. Through the revealing of hidden agendas and taken for granted assumptions at a granular level, the chapter shows how compulsory RE has been used instrumentally by successive governments in the construction of an idealized citizen. The chapter goes on to highlight changes in the process of policy development and the insights from the earlier chapters are used to inform the current debates in RE set out in Chapter 1. This chapter thus serves as a model for the reader in terms of how deploying Statement Archaeology in relation to a series of statements can be used to develop a broader—and detailed—narrative about policy development, as well as new theories and conceptual frameworks.
