Tony Blair is the most overtly Christian Prime Minister since Gladstone. His public display of Christianity, together with declarations of strong religious convictions by most of his shadow cabinet prior to the 1997 General Election, had an ominous ring.
intensity and persistence with which Blair has done so has made it inevitable that religion would play a larger part in society regardless of the declining support for superstitious beliefs and rituals. The fight against religious indoctrination in schools has continued in many countries for a long time. In Dayton, Tennessee, in 1925, John Thomas Scopes was fined $100 dollars for teaching evolution to schoolchildren.
rights. But in 1987 the Supreme Court ruled that the teaching of creationism violated those rights when fundamentalists tried to inflict their beliefs in schools.
California was bullied by teachers, pupils and administrators when she refused to stand up for the Pledge of Allegiance in 1998 because it contained the words "... under God". The American Civil Liberties Union took legal action and the case was settled out of court.
'Freethinker' won a battle to have the Loyal Declaration changed at Alexandra Primary School, Victoria attended by his 10-year-old daughter Miriam in 1999. The Loyal Declaration contained the words "I love God". In England and Wales nearly one million children attend the Church of England's 4,920 schools, of which about 150 are secondary schools. The Roman Catholic Church has about twice the number of secondary schools. About one-third of schools are religious schools and the Church of England is trying to increase this number. As church attendance falls the opportunity to proselytise to a captive audience of young children is being seized. A Consultation Report: the Church Schools Review Group states: "As never before in 50 years, the Church has a great opportunity to pursue and develop its mission to the nation through its schools, as nowhere else."
built in response to declining congregations. He said in an interview last year: "Jews in Britain are so well-integrated. We remember we are British but forget we are Jews." and: "I am very worried about disaffiliation, which is why we must make massive efforts to reach people within our own community."
ON SUCCESS - a slight euphemism at a time when teachers are considering strike action and the Government has admitted that class sizes have risen. But a Cabinet comprised of members who believe in virgin births can believe almost anything.
communities currently contribute towards the cost of premises to 10% for Voluntary Aided Schools.
Greek Orthodox schools have been brought into the state system and are funded on the same basis as Church of England and Roman Catholic schools. The number of Jewish schools has also been increased. In addition, the contribution for revenue items by the schools is to be removed. The Green Paper states: "This will make life much easier for these schools and will further promote diversity".
education: in 1807 the bishops in the House of Lords opposed free education and it was not until W.E. Forster's Education Act of 1870 that there was provision for state education. Uneducated people are more susceptible to superstitious ideas. Educated people can read, question ideas and make decisions.
voluntary schools were managed by the churches and state schools by elected School Boards. The School Boards were replaced by Local Authorities in 1902.
also made religious instruction a compulsory subject - in fact the only compulsory subject in the curriculum. The Act also made it compulsory for schools to hold an act of collective worship - usually called the morning assembly.
'We're Getting the Hell Out of Here'. The leaflet points out that: 'If you are not convinced by Christian claims - because you are agnostic, atheist, Buddhist, Hindu, Humanist, Judaist, Muslim, or just doubtful - you can choose to withdraw from collective worship in your school. You don't have to give any reason'.
one-in-three are agnostic and one-quarter are atheists - a majority. The 1988 Education Reform Act made a token attempt to recognise the multicultural nature of British society by making religious education broadly Christian, but this has tended to aggravate rather than improve the situation.
schools in West Yorkshire the parents of 1,500 pupils exercised their right to remove Muslim children from religious education classes. Some parents complained that Islamic law bans drawing the human body, and using musical instruments in music lessons exposes children to Western culture which is perceived as riddled with sex and drugs. The 1993 Education Act teaches the basics of reproduction and the textbook diagrams are considered pornographic.
religions. But each religion regards itself as exclusive and other religions as false or blasphemous. The 1988 Act was bound to fail. Rabbi Julia Neuberger commented in 1996: "Children who will grow up in a multi-faith society should learn to live together, and they can only learn that by being at school together."
actively harmful. It can lead to sectarian tensions, or at least to extend their life, as Northern Ireland has shown." The withdrawal of non-European, non-white children from religious education emphasises racial differences and makes integration more difficult. Muslim schools are unlikely to foster good educational standards for girls: fundamentalists have killed schoolgirls and women teachers in Algeria.
taught separate religious education lessons at Birchfield Community School in Birmingham. Section 26(4) of the 1944 Education Act permits pupils to receive RE lessons on school premises '...in accordance with the tenets of a particular religious denomination' provided the costs do not come from public funds.
grant-maintained status. Religious groups, when strong enough, crush opponents but when they lack power form strange alliances. Hindus and Muslims have supported attempts by fundamentalist Christians to obtain funding. This is merely a tactical ploy to pave the way for funding for themselves.
teachers willing to teach RE. An east London school introduced 'worthship', removing religion from its daily assemblies, but the parents of one of the children complained and Jacqui Smith, the schools minister, instructed the school to hold an act of daily worship and keep records.
good schools. In some urban areas church schools have a good record by selectively accepting children from middle-class homes. Admission on religious grounds leads to the hypocrisy of parents claiming religious affiliation to gain entry for their children.
Church of England schools. The schools, unable to be selective, are no better than non-denominational schools. Indeed, because these schools are often quite small, ambitious, dynamic teachers may be deterred from seeking employment in them because of the limited chances of promotion. The churches tried to gain exemption from legislation preventing discrimination in employment. In practice, the shortage of teachers would probably prevent discrimination in employment but would harm the promotion prospects of teachers who did not adhere to the religious ethos of the school.
taken to stop them - which is to be deplored - then they will continue, at least in the private sector. Fundamentalists will attempt to brainwash children in their own homes anyway and no amount of legislation can prevent that. Repressive measures fail to win the argument and create martyrs which feeds the sado-masochistic tendencies of religious fanatics.
have their 12-year-old son, Nathan Mackay from Livingston, educated at St. Margaret's Academy, West Lothian.
in church schools and a number of clergymen are also opposed to indoctrination in this way because it tends to turn children off religion. But teaching superstition as fact is not merely dishonest, it takes up time which could be used to teach more useful subjects. The churches are determined not to fade away without a fight. Aided by a sympathetic Christian Prime Minister they are seizing the opportunity to proselytise to vulnerable children. We must oppose their attempts to force their superstitious beliefs in an increasingly secular society.
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