There can be no doubt that religion is a great civilising force. The moral codes it lays down in the majority of faiths are the root and foundation of a disciplined and humane society where respect for others is the key to harmonious existence.

So it is not hard to understand why believers of all faiths feel that a religious school can provide the soundest basis for their children's education.

But there is a snag - and it's a big one. By branding a school as being led, financed or supported by a particular faith by definition marks it and its pupils out as different.

In itself, that shouldn't be a problem: we are, after all, all different. We all believe in different things and behave in different ways and the key to a cohesive and functioning society is our ability to accept those differences and live with them. A mature and developed society would even encourage them.

Sadly, the reality is very different. We live in a society where differences spark division; where a lack of knowledge and understanding breeds intolerance, hatred and contempt.

Whatever the comparative successes of single faith schools they reinforce the notion of segregation - be it between Catholic and Protestant or Christian and Muslim.

Of course, parents are entitled to demand that their religious beliefs are respected in a classroom environment. But the other values they treasure, such as discipline, respect and good citizenship, can and should be delivered by schools without the inevitable polarisation that religious branding can bring.

Until all schools are secular and children are taught by example that we should celebrate rather than accentuate our differences, our society will never be grown up enough to live in true peace.