A poll by YouGov(educational data starts on page 15) shows that Religious Education (RE) is seen as either ‘not very important’ or ‘not important at all’ by 58% of British people.
In the UK, RE is a mandatory subject and it’s clear most people see it as increasingly irrelevant. Most of us who suffered through these lessons know they’re not really about educating someone about religion, they’re stealth christianity lessons. I can’t recall one RE lesson as child where we discussed any other religion or the basis for religion at all.
I personally wouldn’t mind RE if it were not just christian indoctrination under the guise of education. If pupils were taught about a wide range of religions and non-religions and non-theistic religions. At least it would be interesting then.
I believe I had similar experiences as yourself. There would even be Jehovas Witness teachers, who would make points favouring her belief despite teaching others. I wish I learnt more about the faith I was born into, Sikhism, rather than having to learn it myself as I grew older.
It’s what happens when there’s a state-mandated religion. A lot of people don’t realise it’s still law in the UK for state schools to have a certain amount of christian content per day. Obviously a lot of schools ignore that with zero repercussions but it’s indicative of what happens when theist religions have a choke hold on the tools of state, particularly one religion.
Legally enforceable christianity in schools, the rise and rise of single faith schooling, the fact that we’re only one of two countries in the world that have unelected religious leaders actively participating in forming the laws of the land (the other, notably, is Iran). And all in a country that is no longer a majority christian country.