ENGLISH RE HABITUALLY repudiates any motive of converting pupils. This repudiation is so instinctive that statements are often made that an intention to convert is illegal. In fact it is not. Reasons for this denial in RE may be explained entirely by contemporary conditions. Nevertheless, this paper explores the possibility that horror of ‘proselytising’ is related to experience of managing the British Empire. It concludes that either RE will continue to be conducted on principles of imperial management; or else the imperial model should give way to a new set of assumptions.
