Philosophy is for all and ought to be part of the curriculum in every school, argues Sean Whittle, even if it means less time spent on RE lessons

It is now more than 40 years since the first advocates for philosophy in schools began introducing lessons into elementary schools in the United States. What started as pioneering work has mushroomed in recent decades, and in the United Kingdom examination boards now offer qualifications in philosophy (either as an A level or as part of the International Baccalaureate).

Philosophy lessons now feature regularly in many primary and secondary schools, and the debate has shifted away from whether philosophy ought to be offered to whether it needs to become compulsory.

However, Catholic schools have not kept pace with this debate and it has been hard for philosophy to get a foothold, despite the Catholic tradition boasting numerous eminent philosophers, from Boethius and Aquinas to Descartes and Alasdair MacIntyre. In a crowded curriculum when pupils already get two to three hours of RE each week, it is hard to know where philosophy would fit in. Moreover, it is assumed that there is plenty of philosophy within RE.

This year the RE curriculum has changed and Catholic schools are now obliged to teach another world religion alongside Christianity at GCSE. Taking advantage of this adjustment, perhaps now is the time to make way for compulsory philosophy lessons. There are many good pedagogic arguments in its favour.