You've got to have Faith

"If you are going to promote a change in society schools are the best place to start" according to the Prince's Trust.

That is encouraging for Christian teachers, though experience suggests that influences such as family background and peer pressure are often far more significant factors in a child's development and these are tougher for government and other agencies to address.

As "Defender of Faith" in waiting, Prince Charles' main contribution to his mother's Golden Jubilee celebrations is the multi-faith movement Respect. Its main aim is to encourage "faith schools" to bridge religious divides through, for example, shared lessons with schools of other faiths.

In a society where there are no absolutes and where value judgements are frowned upon it is difficult to make sense of items making the news in recent days.

· September 11th - seen as a warning against fundamentalist religion
· "Faith schools" - accused of fostering religious division
· The Government's drive to promote "faith schools" as they prove both successful and popular with the electorate
· The success of far-right French presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen and recent controversies about racism in mainstream British political parties
· The furore over a conference on creationism hosted by Emmanuel College in Gateshead - some scientists and philosophers petitioned the Prime Minister to try to stop creationism being taught as anything but religious myth.

Newly launched Respect seems to be an attempt to square the circle. Prince Charles' thinking is that it is good to have a faith, with the implication that all faiths are essentially equally valid.

The reality is that the faith is unimportant, it is what that faith is placed in that matters - those who put their faith (and their money) in Barings Bank found that the strength of their faith in no way made up for the weakness of the bank.

Ultimately, however unacceptable it may seem in a pluralist society, some faiths are incompatible - Richard Dawkins' faith in Evolution cannot be made compatible with the beliefs of a "faith school" such as Emmanuel College.

The danger is that this woolly thinking prevailing in England may well, through the curriculum review, find its way into our schools as well.