Faith in schools

[synaesthesia]

Religion comes up a lot, and I would ask that people don't start a slanging match for/against/about anyone else's beliefs.

 

In regards to this article:

School told atheism does not need 'equal air time' - BBC News

 

In a nutshell, Morgan wishes to hold this country back and maintain we are 1. predominantly a "Christian Country" and 2. schools should be free to teach with that in mind, particularly faith schools.

Does anyone else believe that's absolutely nuts? In this day and age surely we should be educated about religion in an unbiased and respectful manner. It should have absolutely no impact on how a school is run, it should have no impact on the day to day lives of the students.

In my eyes, it would appear that it's little more than a form of segregation - we can have Christian faith schools, Catholic schools etc merely because "we always have" yet the moment someone, even including the High Court suggests than non-belief should also be given time, people like Morgan are up in arms.

 

This is 2015, damn near 2016. Why are we, collectively, still acting as if The Bible has the final say? Why are we not acting with intelligence and integrity, educating youngsters about religion in much the same way as politics (example excluding some establishments of course...) - so the whys, hows etc are taught and students are not given huge bias narrowing their minds as to what the wider world offers? Children should surely be learning about the major religions in equal amounts.

 

I don't even think it's particularly right that children are typically indoctrinated via their parent's/family's beliefs however it's typically a good moral ground for them to start on and then be able to make up their minds when able. Still, I think the acts of faith in this way should stay out of education and left to homes and places of worship.

[witch]

 

Children should surely be learning about the major religions in equal amounts.

 

I don't even think it's particularly right that children are typically indoctrinated via their parent's/family's beliefs however it's typically a good moral ground for them to start on and then be able to make up their minds when able. Still, I think the acts of faith in this way should stay out of education and left to homes and places of worship.

I'm not sure what it is like in your schools but in mine the major religions ARE given equal amounts of time. We have vicars, priests, and leaders of various religions coming in to tell the children about what they believe. The children visit churches, synagogues and other places of worship

The children are also taught about atheism.

I think it is disingenuous to not expect children to be indoctrinated with their parents' beliefs at least to some extent. As parents we teach our child the things we believe to be right. But we also teach them to think for themselves and their beliefs hopefully get modified by experience and their own ideas.

[SpuffMonkey]

I don't think there should be any state schools that are run by religious organisations. I'm happy for all children to be educated ABOUT religion but not IN religion at school.

 

France seem to get along OK with their laicite rules which protect people from the influences of religion (originally from the Catholic Church, but now other religions as well). You may remember the issue of France banning burquas in schools - and was portrayed over here as Islam bashing - but their viewpoint was that it was to protect vulnerable children from religious edict until they are old enough to make up their own minds - sounds fair enough to me.

 

Whether it helps integration and social solidarity is another question all together, but I applaud the principle

[jinnantonnixx]

This seems a better approach.

 

In Swedish classrooms, religion is often associated with an obsolete time when people just didn't know better - as if religion used to serve a purpose but there is no need for it in the modern world.

 

Swedish teachers and students often talk about religion as something outdated and strange | EurekAlert! Science News