to think 5yr old shouldn't be taught creationism in a state school?

[sparklewater]

Exactly that really. Our primary is not supposed to have any religious leaning at all - but the headmistress is quite religious and so we have close ties with the local church etc. That's fine, community spirit, etc.

However, I keep finding out little things - such as saying Amen at the end of assembly (which suggests there has been a prayer) and that the weekly singing assembly is hymn-based. Yesterday, dd suddenly started telling me how the world began (with God saying let there be light, apparently) and said that God is everyone's father.

I've tried to explain it's just one option but WIBU to talk to the school?

Every primary, church or not, is required to have a daily act of 'collective worship, which "must be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character".

Schools vary in exactly how they interpret the law - some church schools are surprisingly un-religious, some non-church primaries surprisingly Christian in their approach.

However the Judeo-Christian creation story (not creationism per se) and concepts such as 'God the Father' are very commonly introduced in collective worship in almost any English primary.

It is your right to withdraw your child from collective worship, should you wish, but you cannot demand that the school breaks the law by completely banning Christian concepts from collective worship.

Urgh... I personally think that ALL schools should be secular, but as the poster above says, them's the rules in England.

So I think if you talk to the school, it will have to be along the lines of a polite enquiry as to exactly what is being taught. This will allow you to keep talking to your kids and explain religion to them in an age appropriate manner of your choosing.

My primary school was the same - a rather wishy washy vaguely Christian ethos. We were taught about different religions at home, with a big emphasis on critical thinking and we all came to the conclusion that it was all pretty daft.

Check what's being taught, but unless they are having it really rammed down their throats, then you can inoculate against religion at home ;)

I am not religious and I abhor creationism.

BUT: what you are describing isn't creationism - that's when the whole 'god created the world' thing is taught instead of evolution, in a science lesson, and they are told that evolution isn't true and can't be proved (like that the world is only 7 thousand years old and dinosaurs were put in the earth to fool us by god etc). This is not allowed in any school in this country AFAIK.

You would be reasonable to ask for reassurance that children are told what you quoted in the context of RE and not science though...

Well, it depends if the school's saying "this is true and the only way" or if they are saying "this is one of many beliefs"

we had assembly everyday where we had a prayer (late 80s) didn't make me Christian, didn't mean we didn't learn about other religions

I just checked Ego and creationism in place of evolution is not allowed in any school in the UK: humanism.org.uk/2014/06/18/victory-government-bans-existing-future-academies-free-schools-teaching-creationism-science/.

Ha! I'd like to know what 'views dinosaurs and fossils from a Biblical perspective' means!

But surely that curriculum doesn't meet the UK requirements - or are you saying they've got round them with semantics? It's obviously Americana as it uses word 'airplane'

There may well be a difference between what you can teach ibn a UK STATE school and what is possible in a private school - AFAIK there are very few restrictions on what a private school can teach. ...

There may also be distinctions about what an LA-0cntrolled school can teach, and what a free school or academy can teach ... the latter don't have to follow the national curriculum...

As far as I am aware, the numbers of Christians who believe in creationism are in the minority compared with those who view the creation story as an allegory or a myth or whatever, but accept the theory of evolution. So really, this shouldn't be an issue.

I know no creationists, although I know a very large number of Christians, some of them highly-educated scientists!

Each school should have a daily act of worship that is broadly Christian in character and parents have a right to remove their child from this. Most schools ignore this requirement but it does come as a surprise to many parents that religious assemblies do happen once a week/month/term.

Schools in England and Wales have to teach religious education (RE). All state schools will be using a syllabus which has been agreed locally. If you google SACRE and your local authority name it should come up. I found this one www.warwickshire.gov.uk/sacreresources which gives some of the background to why they do what they do. One of the modules for KS1 is sacred stories and it may be that the OP's child has been hearing about the creation myth(s) that are part of the Christian tradition.

There are very few schools in the UK that would teach creationism as fact and they would be independent religious schools and it would be hard to go to one without knowing that it was an independent religious school. Creationism is a minority stance in the UK. I'm C of E and the only people I've come across with this viewpoint are from very conservative non denominational and independent churches.

And nobody has objected? Bloody hell

Creationism is taking the story of creation from the bible and teaching it as the literal truth in place of science and evolution. Whilst there have always been people who believed this, it really took hold in the 1960s in America, after someone wrote a book about the literal truth of Noah and the flood and evidence of a great flood was found.

Most Christians read it as and allegorical tale that tell us about the nature of God, ie that God has always been there, exists outside of space (he created it) and outside time (he created night and day).

It is fine to learn about it in RE, and hopefully other creation stories from other religions. I would be finding out of if they will be learning those - it is a shame that RE in schools does not cover enough religions.

Just as an illustration, in RE in just 1 year in Primary I teach:

Judeo-Christian and Islamic Creation stories (and why they are so similar)

A wide range of creation myths from other cultures (Aboriginal, Norse, Chinese, Egyptian, just for example).

We look at recurring themes and what the myths tell us about the values of the cultures from which the myths come.

We also look at the Bug Bang theory of the creation of the universe (and why it is a theory while the others are usually regarded as having the status of myths - this always leads into a discussion of ultimate questions, which is always fun).

i think its good that some religion is taught in school .because we will never know the truth either way .there are flaws in both creationism and evolution .so its down to personal faith .a little bit of prayer wont harm .lets be honest if our parents or children were ill we would pray the the god of the rainbows or whatever if we thought it would help .it should be taught in a fun way never this is it and we must all believe .but it should be there the british way of life was built on christian teaching we cant just dismantle easily

sparklewater
NOTHING in your post is creationism.

Amen is just the daily act of worship - most kids grow out of it.
THe other bit is standard CofE doctrine

ignore it will pass
its all well within the law

banning religion in schools has not done much good in America.

Making it compulsory in schools has made the UK the most secular nation on earth.
GOOD

For those saying creationism is a theory. It is not.

A theory has a very specific meaning and definition in science. It's basically a framework, with testable parameters and an evidence base. It's not 'something I just thought up' or 'it's my opinion thus hey, it's a theory'

So, evolution/gravity/quantum physics are theories. They have internally consistent laws, testable parameters, evidence.

Creationism is not a theory. It's a story.

Having the two taught as two sides of a 'debate' is just insane. They are not equivalent. Thinking they are is a logical error and betrays a profound ignorance of science, and of critical thinking.

teacher

That's exactly how it should be done :)

Wot no OP?

OP learn a bit about religion in UK schools adn find out what exactly was taught first