to feel uncomfortable about my son praying at school?

[KirjavaTheCat]

DS is four and has just started reception. A couple of days ago, we were playing and he said something like "...and then we put our hands together without clapping like this, and shut our eyes and say, 'dear God' and then we say things"

I asked where he learned that and apparently they pray every morning. I find this odd because his class is made up of children from all different religious backgrounds, and it isn't a faith school. Why are they learning to worship?

We're not religious. I don't think I'm comfortable with him praying to 'God' every day. Should I say something? AIBU?

Dd school have a big emphasis on this....it's a faith school though. I'm not sure if this is normal practise in a non faith school,

It is compulsory to have an act of collective worship every day.

We are a Christian country; there is no seperation of church and state in the uk. If it's a state school it's Christian school.

Well I see your point since its not a faith school but I think you're overreacting a bit.

It's compulsory, you can't say anything really.

It's still shit, though.

It's the compulsory act of worship and contrary to the snippy first reply it is about you because you get to choose to remove your DS from the forced praying (as I and lots of other parents do)

Everyday seems over the top. However praying in school is normal. When I was at school we would pray once a week at assembly & my dd does the same. I am from a non religious family & it didn't affect us much.

I would maybe ask why it is done everyday but I wouldn't make a fuss about it.

YANBU

If it's not a faith school Yanbu, I'd be furious especially given the mix of children in the class.

I can understand children being taught how different religions pray but I don't see the need for praying every day.

Is it?!

It's the law to pray? To a Christian God? What?!

That's interesting to know pottering....

I think it's a nice way of just bringing the class together regardless of religion....faith etc.

I hate this as well. Brainwashing.

I would ask the school what their policy on worship is.

Under the 1944 Education Act schools are legally obliged to stage acts of collective worship “wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character”. You can opt out of them.

I don't mind them, I'm an atheist and as religion tends to be an inherited cultural trait it is more than likely my daughter will also be atheist.

It's compulsory for the SCHOOL not for your DS. You have the legal right of withdrawal and if as you say there are lots of different faiths he won't be the only one.

Our school is white, Christian in the main and 13 kids withdraw.

Brainwashing ....blimey that's a bit harsh

Not many people know, but it's a legal requirement for every state school to have a daily act of worship of a wholly or mainly Christian character. The rule is generally ignored at secondary schools. (And there is a get-out for schools with few Christians.)

I feel very angry about it - much more than uncomfortable - but I have swallowed my bile. I choose not to withdraw my child because I don't want her singled out. I have joined the British Humanist Society which campaigns for secular education.

I particularly hate it at Easter time. If your child isn't famililar with the Easter story already, I recommend telling him a version you can live with before he hears about people coming back from the dead.

You can say something if it makes you feel better but I think it is somehow law that all schools have to do communal worship each day. That said you can remove him from it as far as I know and it has been a long time since I have come across praying morning and at hometime like we used when I was at school.
I also, and this could be controversial, think all young children believe in a god of some sort regardless of their parents beliefs. As I think to a child someone must have made everything, they can't comprehend that the earth, us and all the animals just happened. It is only when they can that they are influenced by the beliefs around them.
For the record we are an atheist family, DS who is 8 has in the last 12 months decided he doesn't think there is a god as he can now understand basic scientific explanations of the world. DD is 4, cannot understand that and so uses god as her explanation for existance, whether she becomes athiest like us or continues to believe ingod only time will tell.

We chose a non-faith school assuming that any talk of religion would be unbiased and objective.

It seems I have some reading to do

Faith school or not, EVERY school in the UK is obliged to perform a compulsory act of worship everyday.

It pisses me off they don't tell the parents about it. It pisses me off it's not an opt in thing. If you are so inclined the national secular society has a petition calling for it to end (they've done loads of work on this)

I'm not religious but I can't get worked up about it.

If he ever sings the national anthem, he'll be asking God to save the Queen.

I went to a catholic school and worship bored the crap out of me and most of the other kids, but we used it as down time.

I had no idea that non faith schools were obliged/encouraged to have daily Christian worship, what does god or Christianity have to do with education, all very odd.

Brainwashing ....blimey that's a bit harsh

Not harsh at all. It's pretty weird to get kids to pray to something they can't see and can't hear. We are atheists, my ds had no notion of 'god' until he started school.

How about he's being 'inculcated' instead of 'brainwashing'?

Jelly I agree....we are not religious but dd can make up her own mind when she is older about faith etc.