Religious schooling

[Master Jmd 80]

Do you think that Religious schooling is a good idea?

...I heard on the news this morning that there are plans being made for seperate religious schools to be set up across the country (Christian schools for Christians, Muslim schools for Muslims etc...). Do you aggree that this would be a good idea?

My answer:

No!...for two reasons:

1) Racial seperation - Eventually, everyone would seperate; atm, most catholics know what sikh's believe, and vice-versa...But, there would eventually be a stage where people do not know a thing about different religions. (but only if it was to go to far OTT).

2) Where would i stand? - I dont remember the religious name for what i 'am', but i believe in one God that created this world, but i do not belong, and do not want to belong to a single religion...what would i be classed as?

...

Now, what do you think?

[Half Penny Jon 0]

I voted for Never! because if you separate different religious groups, they are educated in a very narrow way in accordance with their religion. Which will mean that they will have a very narrow outlook on life. The U.K is now well and truly a mulit-cultural society and we therefore need to intergrate schooling if we hope to equally appreciate eachother.

[Chris Perkins 228]

I think mixing religion with anything other than religion is old fashioned, completely un-needed and irrelevant. The children do not get a choice in what religion they are, they get sent to the appropriate school by their parents and then have whatever religion ingrained into them for live.

I had an ex, and her mum brought all her children up to be vegitarian from birth. It's exactly the same as that, the children want to please their parents and it got ingrained into them to be a vegitarian without any real choice in the matter. I disagreed wholeheartedly with that and I see religious schools as no different.

School should be a completly neutral environment where kids can grow into whatever direction they choose.

The whole idea of religious schools is just a political ploy to get more votes from the Muslim/Sikhs and other newer minority religions in the UK. (but the same applies to the established Christian/Catholic schools....Ban the lot of them!)

[Sylvester 15]

I dunno how i stand on this... possibly maybe. I'm a bit apathetical to this.

As a polytheist i find it quite easy to accept all religions without exception. (Although i might disagree with the odd one theologically i realise that no-one knows which religion is the one true one, if there is such a thing as a true one (it may be a case of true ones)... so i tolerate all to different degrees)

What i don't agree with though is your usual everyday comp or whatever forcing the children into singing hymns and prayers when they are not a religious school. My high school didn't do it, but the juniors made us do this and i wasn't best pleased about it at the time and i'm even less pleased about it now. So what if i don't want to be Christian? Do i not get a choice? (From a philosophical view of course).

About the ingraining thing... although i never went to church ever (and have never sat through a church service, except one wedding back in february), how comes my school despite being a regular school doing a pretty C of E type thing, making us read the Bible and what not in lessons and say prayers and understand what it means. I think you'd all agree that's pretty Protestant ingraining going on there.

Then why do i theologically now agree with the Catholics? Having studied what both believe in further education i've go against all the ingraining that went on and i still on a purely philosophic view agree with the opposite of what i'd been taught. (I could explain a few of those philosophical arguments if you care to hear them, i soon come out rather pro-Jewish... erm that might take some explaining ) Strange eh?

[Emperor Oli 0]

Never. They promote segregation in communities when the aim of the modern world seems to be cultural integration - making sure families can settle into other communities of which they are not native to e.g Pakistani in Bournemouth. If we continue to allow these religious schools to continue practising, we could see repeats of the race riots witnessed in Oldham and Burnley recently. If they must continue, they should receive absolutely no funding for the government. My grammar school receives pennies from the government purely because it is a grammar school - one needs to pass an entrance exam to gain membership, so naturally some people are prohibited from attending. But why, when religious schools require that their pupils follow the same faith, and automatically deny persons of other faiths than their own do they still receive government funding?

I don't agree that "Most Catholics know what Sikhs believe". I have no idea what sikhs believe, and nor do any of my Catholic friends.

Creationism, what you believe JMD, is also causing problems in the news. One man, Professor Dawkins or Dawins or something (not Hawking!) is up in arms about it because he says to just teach creationism instead of the theory of evolution is wrong. I'd agree personally. That a person could create the Earth in six days is ludicrous and total folly.

I'm totally against this religion malarky. It's just the excuse for many mad things - suing the Police force because a badge on their helmet has a cross on it, campaigning to wear saris etc in schools. Sack the lot of it, and we'd be a helluva lot better off.

[custard1966 1]

I've seen a religious education described as a form of child abuse and I'd be inclined to agree.

It's painfully clear that organised religion does much more harm than good.

'By their fruits ye shall know them'

[Chris Perkins 228]

Some very good points raised by Oli and Custard, at last an area we all seem to agree on!

I too think that people should be judged on their own morals etc, and that if you are at one with yourself you are at one with the world. I beleive that Religion/gods etc are not needed for 'spiritual' (if one can call it that) wellbeing and do not come into the equasion.

I do believe that there was a Jesus though, but I doubt he wanted any of this in his name.

I hope Reverend Plant doesn't find his way in here!

[Sylvester 15]

I beleive that Religion/gods etc are not needed for 'spiritual' (if one can call it that) wellbeing and do not come into the equasion.

Well i agree here, although i would just want to say that i see no reason why religion cannot help play a role on an individual level for a person, if a person uses religion as a medium say like Buddishm to become at peace with ones self then it is a very good thing for the individual. So perhaps the spiritual is needed for some people, like in situations where someone dies it's often the case than faith in an afterlife of some sort can ease the pain or grieving process. Again it's all on an individual level.

I think the key thing with religion is that it is an individual thing not a community thing and thus should not be forced on people. Enforcing beliefs on others is where the root of evil starts.

One thing i have always disagreed with on principle is baptism, a prime example of enforcement of a religion upon an individual without them being able to resist it.

[Chris Perkins 228]

One thing i have always disagreed with on principle is baptism, a prime example of enforcement of a religion upon an individual without them being able to resist it.

Very true, I'm sure that process has it's roots somewhere in a past society where it was truly believed that the baby would be saved if it was baptised into the faith.

Nowadays it just means that the baby grows up knowing that it was the subject of a ritual, and perhaps in many cases that child will grow up, not scared but perhaps confused in the least about acting against that religion and the possible consequences.

When I think back about my primary school, it shocks me to remember how we had to sing songs praising the lord and his creations etc. I remember a definate 'believe in god, or you may go to hell' vibe going around the school. I'm sure this was started by playground gossip and not the teachers, but it really shows how confused kids can be, and how they can be so easily influenced at the age.

When I used to work in schools in IT, I remember I was at a primary school in Kent hanging out with some of the teachers, as was often the case. The bell went and one of the teachers exclaimed 'Right, well I have to go and talk about god for 20mins (she was taking the assembly) and I don't even believe in one!'. I remember thinking....Who on earth exactly tells normal little primary schools that they have to tell bible stories in assembly if the teachers don't even want to do it?

There must be money involved somewhere, even if it is just to put up a moral front to encourage more parents to send their children there.

Schools should be completely neutral, but the kids should of course get the opportunity to learn about all the major world religions because they represent interesting cultural differences if nothing else. We learn't about those at secondary school, with the wars and death that they caused omited of course!

People of all colours and races, from all backgrounds should live peacefully together everywhere, without the division of religion and outdated traditions. Religion should be welcomed on an idividual level, but religious institutions like Churches and Mosques etc should all be watched over (little pun there) and they should all have to follow the same rules concerning enforcement of religion on people too young to know better etc etc.