A model for spiritual development in government schools

The national schools chaplaincy program introduced by the Howard Government in 2007 has placed hundreds of new chaplains in schools across the country. At the same time the place of religion in schools through chaplaincy and special religious instruction is being challenged legally and questioned politically. In response, religious instruction in Victorian primary schools has moved from being opt-out to being opt-in. Furthermore, numerous explicit restrictions on the freedom of chaplains to engage in religious activities in schools have been added to chaplaincy guidelines. The arguments played out in the media go back and forth between those who want to keep religion in schools and those who want to get it out, with much heated dialogue and invective included.