"What we have found in our research is that students who have taken general religious education classes (not religious instruction) have more positive views of religious minorities than those who have not," she said. "That is a significant finding at the moment, when you have other research that demonstrates that the media can play a role in drumming up fear and negative stereotypes, particularly about Muslim or Hindus or Jewish people. Research has shown that teaching students about religions such as Islam helps propagate tolerance and understanding. "So having an education system that can counter some of those negative perceptions and stereotypes seems particularly valuable in making a positive difference." In 2015, Victoria switched from volunteer-based faith groups – not teachers – providing single-faith classes to broader studies of the world's religions.

Victoria's teachers now offer World Views and Religions classes as part of the curriculum's humanities program. Having published research on Australian teenagers' views about religions, Professor Halafoff will travel to Brisbane to meet with Ms Grace next week. What Generation Z students think in 2019 Professor Halafoff's latest research – The World Views of Generation Z Students (currently in primary and high schools) – shows: Taken together, the data suggests that while religious affiliation is no longer the norm for the majority of teens, they have not become abidingly secular (in a personal sense); 88 per cent of Gen Z students believe people should be allowed to practise their religion; 91 per cent say having people of many different faiths makes Australia a better place to live; 50 per cent believe people with very strong religious beliefs are often too intolerant of others. Generation Z students were born between 1995 and 2015 In general her team's research found that 52 per cent of teenagers did not identify as being of a particular religion, but 91 per cent agreed with the statement: "Having people of many different faiths makes Australia a better place to live." The research came from 11 focus groups in three states, with students in years 9 and 10 (ages

15 and 16). It was conducted as a nationally representative telephone survey of 1200 people aged 13 to 18 and included 30 in-depth, follow-up interviews.

"I personally think a review of the religious instruction in Queensland is a good idea," Professor Halafoff said. "A review is a good opportunity for voices to be heard and for an informed decision to be made on the basis of listening to the community," she said. "Also hopefully on the background of research done here and around Australia." On October 17 the state government will provide its answer to a petition from Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools calling for a review of the government's religious instruction policy. Education Queensland is now preparing its response to the petition.

Professor Halafoff believes studying world views and religions gives children a broader education. Loading "The difference is that with religious instruction, the parents choose just one option, so they would only be learning about one religious tradition," she said. "If the same child is taught about diverse religions or diverse world views, it is different, it becomes an education about world views, about world religions," she said. "It is also taught by qualified teachers and informed by resources and teacher training that the Department of Education would actually be responsible for."

Alison Courtice from Queensland Parents for Secular State Schools said she received a good hearing last week from Ms Grace as she lobbied to replace Queensland's existing religious instruction classes – in school hours – with curriculum-based classes on religions. "But she did not give us any guarantees about anything," Ms Courtice said. Queensland last year introduced a new multi-faith group to co-ordinate improvements to religious instruction classes. The group, the Multi-Faiths RI Peak Body, says there should be no change. It says 70 per cent of parents give permission for students to attend classes at 750 of Queensland's 1230 state schools. Queensland also has 470 independent and Catholic schools.