In 2003, when the Department of Education in South Africa promulgated its
National Policy on Religion and Education, Religion Education was introduced in schools.
One of the aims of this policy was for public schools to promote, protect, respect and instil
the core values of a democratic society through their processes and practices. The role of
the school principal has been to mediate implementation of this policy. Since then, religion
in schools has been a complex and contested subject. While acknowledging these contestations,
this article focuses on whether or not it is possible for school principals to be
accommodative of other religions. More specifically, the argument informing the article is
that it is not only possible, but also necessary, in terms of the principals’ mandate to
mediate policy implementation in schools. In so doing, the article reports on the narratives
of the twelve purposefully selected school principals on how they implement the religionin-
education policy in their respective schools. The findings show that previous experience
and insufficient training play an important role in influencing school principals’ decisions
towards policy implementation. Recommendations are therefore made.

• Is it possible to be accommodative of other religions as a school principal?