Vote: should the state fund religious schools?

[BoxOfFredoFrogs]

Just that really. Should state funded schools be allowed to promote one religion in assemblies and school values etc and prioritise admissions for that religion?

And if you support state funding of religious schools do you think it should it only be the case for CofE as the established church of this country or should all religions be able to apply for state funding?

If the government stopped funding religious schools they’d need a build a lot of new primary schools.

a good percentage of primary schools are owned - land and buildings - by various churches mostly C of E or catholic.

i don’t think the government can afford it!

I’m not really meaning should we change where we are now with all the logistical issues you hint at. But if you were starting with a blank sheet would you think it a good idea?

If we were starting with a blank slate now I’d take religion out of schools. Maybe have a Wednesday afternoon free when each religion/church could do instruction for children of their faith.

If t
You were designing an education system from scratch now, it would be very different from the one that has evolved over time which we have now. The school day, the calendar, the curriculum, the year group arrangements... everything really.

Fair. The religious one just jumps out as unusual in the western world - or at least unusual to cover religions other than the state religion.

I believe that religious worship has no place in schools. Religious education is important but religious worship should be for families to practise outside school.

100% this

Its an interesting question op. We accept religious schools so readily...in fact I sent my own DC to one. But can you imagine any other public service operating like this....you know, hospitals which prioritise those of one religion? We'd all be quite rightly outraged.

The country couldn't possibly provide educational buildings which are provided by various religious orders ... so yes tgey should. Some if the best schools/colleges are backed by religious orders.

If we were starting with a blank slate then yes, church & education should be separate.

I voted no, but I doubt there’s a practical way for the state to ‘buy out’ CoE schools and I also dislike the idea of simply appropriating them. So we are stuck.

Also they tend to be reasonably good schools. If that’s causative we might end up making a whole load of schools a lot worse. At that point pragmatic me might say the trade isn’t worth it.

I think some of the Academy mega chains are far worse than the religion owned schools.

Schools should do work on spiritual feelings though. It used to be part of the RE curriculum, I don’t know if it still is. Helping DC experience a sense of awe and wonder at the natural world, or stillness and peace perhaps listening to music.

Some of the things religions encourage are useful, healthy skills to practice.

We need to make sure all children get to feel belonging, community, altruism etc. They don’t all get what they need from their families, and it leaves them vulnerable to seeking it elsewhere.

Ideally there would be no religion in schools, it's divisive both within the school and in making the schools different to those nearby. However, I'm in Scotland where there are just the odd Catholic schools which seem out of place, not the CoE villages schools that are religious in name only.

However, if there are going to be religious schools, they should get funding. Its a way to rein them in and ensure they stick to the curriculum.

Near me the secondary schools include a catholic school, a CofE school with church attendance requirement, an Islamic academy and a Sikh run school, plus two non religious all entry schools. I think it’s weird not to encourage integration and mutual understanding to kids. Around here beliefs are basically segregated.

Historically a lot of schools only existed because of the religious organisations that supported them. It's not weird to want to fund a school that educates it's scholars in your own beliefs. Compulsory education provided by the state has only been in place for 100ish years. Before that, certainly after 10 or 11 years old, the church (both RC and CofE), along with other religious groups, I guess, provided one of the main ways of children staying in education, not being sent down the mines or into factories. You can't just tell institutions that have been running for decades with a particular aim, that now they have to run with a different aim. They won't want to do that so you'd either keep going at it is or you'd outlaw them and have to build 100s of new schools and recruit 100s of new teachers in no time.

Absolutely not. And I say that as someone who attended catholic primary & secondary schools. Schools are for education, not the relentless religious indoctrination I was subjected to for 13 years.

Well. I believe that all children even those with religious parents have the right to a decent education. And if there was no state funded schools sadly many would attend substandard private ones. And you can’t ban them as it’s a human right. And the government hasn’t done much to legislate (private schools don’t have to offer any GCSEs). And so that leads me to conclude we need state funded well controlled faith schools.

What's with the rash of religious posts lately?