Our current campaign - religion in schools
Summary
We are campaigning for:
- all schools to teach about all belief systems, religious and non-religious, to enable pupils to make an informed choice,
- all belief systems to be given equal status and time - with none assumed to be better than the others,
- a clear statement about religion to be included in the Parents' Prospectus and web site of all schools,
- parents and pupils to be aware of their legal rights to opt out of worship and RE,
- parents to make a positive choice about worship and RE - to opt in or to opt out,
- moral education (values and responsibilities) to be separated from religious education - neither depends on being religious,
- proper lessons to be made available to pupils who are opted out of worship and RE,
- school staff (teachers and others) not to be discriminated against because of their beliefs (see note 1).
Notes
- By this we mean that it shall not be a condition of employment that a member of staff be a member of any particular religion.
For some strange reason, religious groups and schools are permitted to discriminate. We do not know if this was an oversight in the current employment legislation or a result of pressure from religious groups to enable them to continue to discriminate as they see fit - against women, against homosexuals, against the non-religious or against those of other religions. No other employer is given the same right to discriminate.
- We are opposed to the wearing of any religious symbols in institutions funded by taxpayers.
Background to religion in schools
"Catholic/Muslim/Judaist/Hindu/Sikh/Christian/Buddhist children"
There is no such thing as a Catholic/Muslim/Judaist/Hindu/Sikh/Christian/Buddhist child - there are only religious parents.
How can a five year old child be described as "religious"? What does it know? What un-biased information has it been given? Has it made a rational, level-headed, open-minded choice in full knowledge of all the alternative belief systems?
Of course not! This is silly!
Parents who have made an open-minded and honest attempt to examine alternative belief systems, and come to an intellectual decision as to which is best for them, may of course practice any religion they wish - as long as it, and they, cause no harm to anyone else.
However, there can be no justification for indoctrination or forcing a child to learn about, and follow, only one religion. This is intellectually dishonest and disgraceful - religious people should be ashamed of themselves if they think that their beliefs, and the different beliefs of others, cannot withstand proper intellectual scrutiny.
There can be only one possibly justification for faith schools - religious indoctrination - the deliberate attempt to turn children into followers of one particular faith in total ignorance of alternative belief systems.
Questions for those who support faith schools
Could it be that many religious people follow their religion out of ignorance - ignorance of the details and history their own religion and ignorance of the belief systems of others?
Our position
We support teaching about all belief systems
We believe that all children should be taught about all the major belief systems: religious and non-religious.
It is impossible to understand the culture of a country: its social and political history, its art, its architecture, its literature, its music, its attitudes towards sex and sexuality or the relationship between the sexes, without a sound knowledge of different religions.
Too often those teaching Jane Austen to the Sixth Form find themselves having to explain simple terms like parson, vicar, rectory, vicarage, rectory, incumbent, sexton, church warden, matins, evensong and the events of the church calendar etc. before they can get down to the literature. Teaching Shakespeare without students having a reasonable understanding of the words inquisition, crusade, heretic, moor and the background of Christian/Muslim conflict would miss some of the point!
We therefore support balanced and impartial teaching about all major belief systems to all pupils in all schools.
We are against "the god assumption"
Go into any well-run state or C of E school (C of E schools, like all faith schools, are paid for 100% by taxpayers but they are not called "state" schools for some reason) and you will be told:
"We do not promote one religion over others, We give a balanced view of all religions."
Catholic and Muslim schools are far more honest - they see no harm in indoctrination because "that's what the parents want and why they chose to send their children here. Besides, we have the right to bring children to the joy of god in our own way - that's our religion!."
The flaw behind these statements is obvious - they may teach about all/other religions (though we have never seen a school that gives a truly balanced view) but they do so in the context of "the god assumption". This assumes that there is a god - the question is, how do different religions go about "coming to god."
Obviously religious worship, no matter how much it bends the knee to "people of different faiths," is totally behind the god assumption.
This is disgraceful. One cannot assume that there are fairies at the bottom of the garden. One cannot assume that hobbits really walk the fields of Middle Earth. One cannot assume that the Pink Hippo explains the Universe. Such assumptions are nonsense.
There should be no assumption of an unprovable god and there should be equal time given to those belief systems that require no god.
Why are religious leaders afraid of the balanced teaching of religion?
Good education enables pupils to develop open and enquiring minds unrestricted by any single narrow world view. Teaching about all belief systems will enable them to make a positive and informed decision about which religion, if any, they adopt as adults.
It is the idea of "open and enquiring minds" that frightens religious leaders because balanced education, rather than religious instruction or indoctrination, gives pupils the information they need to make up their own minds rather than becoming unquestioning followers of what they are told to believe.
Ask anyone who supports religion in schools: "do you believe in indoctrinating children in one religion?" and they instantly reply: "of course not - we tell them about other religions as well."
They are playing with words and being morally dishonest. What they really mean is "we teach one religion while we tell about others". The religion they "teach" is, of course, "right" while the ones they "tell about" are, of course, "wrong" - or, at best, "mistaken".
Given balanced and impartial teaching about all belief systems to all pupils we do not accept the necessity for divisive faith schools.
Belief systems are what they say - they are "beliefs" not "truths". No form of religious belief can be "proved" in a scientific or philosophical sense so it is important that pupils are provided with the facts - free of emotive language and free of any implications that "this one is true, this one is false."
Putting passion into belief
We welcome representatives of all beliefs, religious and non-religious, being invited into schools to explain their beliefs to pupils - everyone would get a fair chance to influence the minds of the young and to show the passion they have for their beliefs.
If nothing else, this would show pupils that fundamental social values are shared by all belief systems - and it is the differences they can focus on. In these circumstances the most frequently asked question is "How is your belief system different from ..."
Our aims
- To remove religious worship from schools. Worship has its place in homes and in churches, temples, mosques, synagogues etc - not in schools which provide a balanced education - favouring no one belief system over another.
- to change the nature of religious education so that it covers all belief systems equally.
- to remove the implied association between morality and religion as expressed in current religious education.
Our campaign - opting in rather than opting out
Young adults, over 16, have the right to decide for themselves if they wish to attend worship and religious education (RE) in school.
The 1996 Education Act gives parents the right to withdraw their children from worship and RE.
Pupils under 16 can opt out of worship and RE if they persuade their parents to make a written request to the school.
Our first step is to open up discussion about the compulsory and unbalanced nature of religion in schools and the legal right of parents to withdraw their children from such activity.
We would like all local authority and church schools to include a statement in their Parents' Prospectus, and on their web sites, informing parents and pupils of their rights and clearly defining the role of religion in the school
Schools are constrained by their legal requirements under the 1996 Education Act so our initial demand must be reasonable and within the law.
Our proposed statement
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The role of religion in our school
The 1996 Education Act imposes a legal obligation on the school to offer religious education and a daily act of religious worship, both "of a broadly Christian nature".
Religious education and worship are not compulsory and parents have the right to choose if they do not want their children under 16 to take part in either of them. Pupils over 16 have the right to decide for themselves. Teachers also have the right to choose not to take part in religious worship and education in the school.
The school recognises that parents with children at the school have widely different views on religion - from the deeply religious through the indifferent to the committed atheists.
All of us, religious and non-religious, feel that moral education, with a stress on personal and civic responsibilities, is an essential part of school life. It is our policy to ensure that moral education is covered throughout the curriculum and through the prevailing values of the school. Those parents who do not wish their children to attend religious worship or religious education lessons can rest assured that their children will still receive the strong moral education offered by the school.
A knowledge of religions enables pupils to appreciate different attitudes towards belief and is vital if they are to fully understand our social history and to appreciate great works of literature, art. music and architecture . With this in kind, the religious education we provide is not specific to any one faith - we study a wide variety of different beliefs, religious and non-religious, we make no value judgements as to which is "best" or "worst" and we give equal weight to those who believe in a god and those who do not believe in a god. We do our best to present the information in as factual a manner as we can and we encourage pupils to have open and enquiring minds so that they make an informed and personal decision about matters of faith, or lack of faith.
From time to time we welcome representatives of different religious and non-religious groups into the school so that they may present their beliefs and pupils may question them - in great detail sometimes! Obviously we monitor such visits closely so that we do not give undue stress to any one set of beliefs.
We will be very pleased to answer any questions you may have about religion in the school.
Please discuss the matter with your children and return the form to us as soon as possible.
Name:
Phone number:
Name(s) of pupil(s):
I would / would not like my children to attend daily acts of religious worship in school
I would / would not like my children to attend religious education in school
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The action plan
We intend to send this statement, along with a covering letter requesting support, to:
- All local councillors.
- Members of the local Education Committees
- Representatives of the major faiths in the county. (Let us know if you have any contacts!)
- Members of the local SACREs (Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education).
- Secondary school head teachers.
- Primary school head teachers.
- Local media: papers, radio, TV etc. (Let us know if you have any more media contacts!)
We will be calling for an open debate on this topic - via the letters pages of local newspapers and local radio stations.
Please contact is if you would like to help to widen the distribution of the material - and please let is know the reaction you get if you discuss the statement with others.
Background to opting in or opting out
Pupils under 16 can opt out if they can persuade their parents that they do not wish to take part in worship and RE.
Pupils over 16 can opt out of worship and RE with or without their parents' agreement.
We wish decisions about religion to be positive so we call for an opt-in to religious worship and education - rather than an opt-out.
Government lies, evasions and Human Rights
The Minister for Education has made clear that the Government will deliver as little as possible on its promise to allow pupils to withdraw themselves from Collective Worship in schools.
Alan Johnson says that he will not consider extending the right of withdrawal to Religious Education, as was suggested by the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights.
The government has launched a consultation paper concerned with what it calls "our partners in the faith communities", asking their opinion on the proposed changes.
The paper does not mention that this is a human rights issue, and it also fails to mention the report by the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee which recommended that the right for pupils to withdraw themselves from collective worship should also be extended to religious education classes, but no opinion is solicited in the consultation on this. The Human Rights Committee also suggested that the right should be extended to pupils below sixteen who had conscientious objections to attending forced worship or religious education classes. This was not mentioned in the consultation document either, far less opinions being sought on it.
The Government seems to consider this a matter of opinion rather than a legal obligation on their part. On reading this consultation, the so-called faith communities may feel that their objections to changing the law to allow even just 16s and over to withdraw themselves from Collective Worship will be sufficient to change the Government’s mind. In our opinion and that of the Human Rights Committee leaving the law as it is on this is simply not an option. Forcing pupils to worship against their conscience is incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights. In effect, this is a meaningless consultation, as the Government has no option but to change the law.
The original amendment to allow over 16s to exempt themselves from Collective Worship (and Religious Education) was introduced in the House of Lords by Baroness Walmsley. Lord Adonis, the education minister, said that the Government would introduce its own version at a later stage, and it was this that led to the present consultation with the "faith communities". However, Mr Johnson has now said in his latest letter to the NSS that the government only accepts "most of the spirit" of Baroness Walmsley’s amendment, which seems to suggest that they intend to try, in some way, to water down even that modest proposal.
Communities Minister Ruth Kelly, member of Roman Catholic Opus Dei Society (see "The DaVinci Code"), has launched the new Commission for Integration and Cohesion. She spelled out a significant move on the Government’s part to challenge its hitherto unquestioned policy on multiculturalism.
The one area that is out of bounds for the new Commission is the part that religious schools play in dividing communities and encouraging separation. Ms Kelly insisted that the government policy on religious schools would not be changed or even questioned.
SACREs
The law requires that all Local Education Authorities (LEAs) must have a Standing Advisory Committee on Religious Education (SACRE) to provide a recommended RE syllabus for LEA schools. Members of SACREs must be either nominated by the LEA or representatives of religious organisations. Non-religious membership is not a legal requirement. However, SCAREs may co-opt others - and many co-op secularists or humanists.
Many SACREs do some excellent work in ensuring that schools teach about religions rather than instructing in a religion.
SACREs do not have authority over Faith schools though most C of E school are happy to follow SACRE guidelines. Catholic, Muslims and other faith schools may be a different matter.
Many SACREs also support projects to combat racism and to promote understanding between races and religions.
We applaud this excellent work but beneath it lies a fundamental flaw.
- You have no control over your race, colour, gender, sexuality and any disability.
- Religion is an acquired set of ideas - and includes the belief in a supernatural entity.
- Our concern is the confusion between this belief and good works that do not require this belief.
Many of us non-believers were fighting racism and promoting respect between races and religions long before SACREs were ever thought of.
All of the good works of SACREs could be done under the umbrella of non-religious moral education and citizenship.
Background to faith schools
The Church of England has, for hundreds of years, provided schools in England. When the state education system came into being, these schools were absorbed into the system but with special rights in return for continued funding by the church.
The Roman Catholic Church has similarly funded schools.
Churches provide funding and resources for schools for two reasons:
- out of a genuine desire to provide education;
- because they all understand that "give me the child and I will give you the man" is the best way to gain new adherents to their faith
It is almost impossible to convert an intelligent adult from one faith to another - there is simply too much baggage in an adult's mind to enable them to be open to argument.
There are many cases where adults "lose" their religion because of disillusionment with the church or because the teachings of the church run totally counter to their experience of life. Roman Catholicism loses many members this way because of its views on women, contraception, abortion, homosexuals, a celibate priesthood, the abuse of children and adults by priests etc. All those who leave are left with the nagging fear and guilt that they have done something wrong by leaving the Catholic church - the fear of hell and eternal damnation has been well and truly banged into them.
However, it remains the case that all religions are obsessed with indoctrinating the young because that is the easiest way to maintain their membership.
The rise of faith schools
Other religions have been quick to jump on the bandwagon with cries of "unfair". Some have done it in a low key and relatively small scale way, those teaching Judaism for example, and some have done it with a great deal of fuss and noise, those teaching Islam for example.
Many of them have set up privately funded schools to teach their own extremely narrow view of the world.
The government has recognised this and, instead of taking the opportunity to get religion out of education, has swung in exactly the opposite direction.
Private faith schools are now being absorbed into the state system - and funded by tax payers' money.
Non-denominational schools are obliged to provide "acts of corporate Christian worship" and religious education for all pupils from the age of 5 onwards - without requesting the permission of the pupil or the parents.
© 2006 UK Secularists
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