Religion and Children's TV?

[Insanityismymiddlename]

Just watching Mr Blooms nursery and the episode is about the harvest festival, children are singing "all things bright and beautiful" and thanking god for the harvest.

Surely if we aren't allowed to have religion in non dominational(sp?) Schools then it shouldn't be on a children's TV show.

I mean we aren't allowed to celebrate Christmas now a days its "happy holidays" so not to offend other cultures so why is this any different.

Not actually bothered myself we aren't a christian household and have our own religions but just live and let live, I just think its a weird contradiction, AIBU?

[EduCated]

It's also the same song with 'I was cold, I was naked'. Sadly I think this may have led to many children missing the intended point of the song

[StitchingMoss]

www.hymnlyrics.org/requests/were_you_there_creed.php

[MaidOfStars]

Please someone tell me that what I'm reading isn't true...I do not, under any circumstances, want any child of mine performing a daily act of worship. I most definitely want every child in the country taught comparative religion in an impartial secular fashion.

If the 'daily act of worship' sometimes means singing a hymn in assembly, fine. If it means giving daily thanks to a Christian God, as if said God is real, then not fine.

Would I really have to go private? (Not at all looking for genuine excuse to gain moral high ground re:private schooling....Heaven - ha - forbid!)

[HorryIsUpduffed]

Sorry, Maid. The law requires schools to have a daily "act of worship of a broadly Christian nature" regardless of its foundation. No implication of doubt or alternatives.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

That is separate from RE, by the way, which is meant to be comparative and descriptive.

It's a ridiculous anomaly IMHO.

[StitchingMoss]

It's very losely put into practise in most schools Maid and I can't imagine it's much different in most private schools tbh.

[StitchingMoss]

Agree with Horry, it's a ridiculous law.

[thegreylady]

How about saluting the flag or singing the national anthem as they do in America? If you choose a state school there will be some corporate worship and you'd be pushed to find an independent that didn't. You have the choice to ask that your child be withdrawn of course. As for Mr Bloom, your tv has an off button and you can indoctrinate your children with your pov as surely as the school can.

[PenelopePipPop]

Our head of state is head of the established church. The bishops of this established church sit in our legislature. And you are upset by references to the harvest festival on Mr Bloom?

Jesus wept (metaphorically).

[MrsFruitcake]

Where's the issue? Ours is a C of E school and the children do have a daily act of worship. The school also has a yearly church inspection. It's the only school in the area that has a an 'Outstanding' Ofsted rating so is vastly over-subscribed.

They also learn about other religions and DD did a project on Eid.

if you don't like it, don't send your child to a school such as DDs and as someone upthread said, turn the TV off if it offends, I find I often do.

[Spikeytree]

That hymn is 'When I needed a neighbour'

[StitchingMoss]

Mrsfruitcake, we can't choose not to send our children to a school that does a daily act of worship - they're aren't any!

[MrsFruitcake]

You can ask for your child be excluded though?

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Maid in the private sector you are likely to find religion much stronger than in the state sector. Many, many private schools were originally church schools and have a strong religious element to the school life.
You are entitled to remove your child from collective worship.

[StitchingMoss]

How lovely MrsFruitCake - just what I want for my child, to be excluded .

Alternatively they could ditch the daily act of worship and leave religious practise for the home where it should be.

[HorryIsUpduffed]

I'm yet to hear a cogent argument for retaining the requirement in all schools. Assembly is defensible; collective worship isn't.

I'm a practising Christian, FWIW. I'm not coming at this from a position of "don't force your religion on my child".

[StitchingMoss]

I used to do assemblies as a teacher and would do a story with a moral and then have some quiet "reflective" time. Job done. If OFSTED had seen it they would have failed me because I didn't mention god!

[exexpat]

MaidOfStars - don't worry, there is no need to go private because that won't help you avoid religion. As as far as I can tell, 99% of private schools also have some kind of Christian (or occasionally other religious) ethos, and very similar assemblies to state schools, if anything with more traditional hymns. If you feel very strongly about it, there is a legal right to withdraw your children from religious assemblies at state schools, but that wouldn't apply in private schools - they might be able to accommodate that kind of request, but they wouldn't be legally obliged to.

In the meantime, you might want to join the National Secular Society's campaigns to remove religious worship from state schools and end religious discrimination in admissions to state schools.

[thegreylady]

If 98 parents out of a hundred are happy for their dc to attend a daily assembly which may include a hymn or a prayer and 2 are not;the easy solution is for the two to read quietly in a classroom with a TA.
The solution is not to get rid of the assembly to accommodate the 2.

[thegreylady]

Many of our best state schools are affiliated to a faith.These schools are over subscribed because parents want the ethos and the results of these schools.Most schools do not include faith in the admission policy.Then along come parents who want what the school offers and then proceed to argue for the removal of the chief foundation that made the school so desirable in the first place.

[exexpat]

thegreylady - yes, some people choose to apply to faith schools even if they are not religious, in which case they probably have no right to complain about religious aspects of school life.

However, even more people have no choice about sending their children to Church of England schools, because that is all that is available locally, and the places are allocated on distance rather than religious criteria. Atheists do not get priority at non-church schools because of their (lack of) belief.

And in any case, even non-denominational 'community' schools are also obliged to have daily acts of worship. As a non-believer in the UK, the only way to avoid religion in school is to withdraw your child from assemblies, or to home educate. And as a growing proportion of the population has no religion (25% overall at the last census, higher in younger age groups, so probably at least a third of parents of primary-age children), I think the current state of affairs is well overdue for reform.