Prominent commentators in Britain have criticised a new report recommending a dilution of faith schools in the country.

According to The Christian Institute, the report from the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life offers a range of proposals which include the end of both religious selection for faith schools and Christian assemblies, and a watering down of faith education.

Reacting to the proposals, Bishop Stephen Conway of the Church of England’s Board of Education pointed out that the arguments put forward by the Commission have often been “peddled out, but rarely by parents”.

“We have yet to find, as the report claims, that fewer parents want this kind of education”, he said.

Bishop Conway’s criticisms were echoed by Rabbi David Meyer, executive director of Partnerships for Jewish Schools who pointed out that there is still a huge demand for faith schools throughout Britain.

“A third of our adult population have graduated from faith schools and are integral in developing one of the most tolerant and caring societies in the world,” he said. “We must dispel the myth that these schools are hotbeds of intolerance, producing students incapable of interacting with wider society.”

In a statement, the Church of England accused the Commission of embracing “the fiction that the state should adopt some kind of neutral position in order to accommodate (and, presumably, manage) the diversity of religions and beliefs within society”.

Led by Baroness Butler-Sloss, the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life comprised members from the British Humanist Association, UK religions, academia, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission.