In the interview with The Guardian Andrew Motion, who describes himself as ‘not a believer’ explains how his teaching of great English Literature is made harder by the students’ lack of knowledge of classical stories: ‘Many of my students stumble into vaguely mythological stories in their writing. When I ask them anything about the Bible, they frankly, by and large, don't know. I don't particularly blame them for it. But I do think there is a real problem with the education system that has allowed these great stories to disappear, to fade out of the diet everyone gets at school. It's an essential piece of cultural luggage.’
Keith Civval, Chief Executive of Scripture Union, explains how Scripture Union supports Andrew Motion’s concerns: ‘Scripture Union has been troubled for a long time by the lack of knowledge of Bible stories in society. The Bible is referenced in most aspects of culture and we feel that many people are losing out in their understanding because they have gaps in their knowledge. Society seems to be scared of religion at the moment and it has caused people to forget these iconic stories and how they influence English literature. This needs to change.’
Scripture Union is already trying to reverse this trend by publishing The Must Know Stories, a series of books for adults and children containing the ten stories from the Bible voted most important to pass on to the next generation written in a modern style, and Into The Bible, a resource for Primary classrooms looking at stories and people from the Bible more closely.
Robert Harrison, author of The Must Know Stories for adults, explains in the forward to his book the importance of knowing stories from the Bible: ‘These stories fill our literature; they are repeatedly employed by journalists, politicians and cartoonists alike. But the knowledge of the stories themselves is rapidly fading. It is a cultural tragedy.’
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1) The Must Know Stories series includes The Must Know Stories by Robert Harrison, The 10 Must Know Stories, for 8 to 11s, by Heather Butler and The Green Book of Must Know Stories and The Red Book of Must Know Stories, both for 5 to 8s, by Alexander Brown.