To think schools shouldn't teach religion as absolute fact?

[PoesyCherish]

DSD is 6 and is learning about Christianity in school. They're teaching her Jesus is the Son of God rather than "some people believe he is". Everything about the religion is taught as fact. They've also failed to mention anything about any other religion.

AIBU to think they shouldn't be teaching it as absolute fact? How are children supposed to be understanding and tolerant of other people's beliefs if they're taught one world view as fact?

www.gov.uk/types-of-school/faith-schools

Again. The majority of posters here are speaking of ‘faith schools’ when they mean ‘state schools’ usually CofE.

A ‘faith school’ is actually different.

Faith schools don't have to teach other religions.

Thank you camel!

Nor, as far as I am aware, are there schools built and owned by groups of atheists.

Not in the state sector. Because it is against the law.

This is what I base my 'faith school' premise on

So he has to endure his son coming to him talking about god and Jesus as though it is fact. My dp can hardly say "no he's not real" because how confusing would that be to a 7 year old

He can say that he doesn't believe but lots of people do, and it's up to the ds to make up his own mind. In the meantime the stories are nice. That's what dh said to our dcs.

catherine

They are different. Please see above link.

Rather bizarrely a school can have an affiliation with a church without being s faith school. So no funding from the church and no obligation to the church, expected to teach curriculum and given full state funding but still immersed in ‘faith’

That’s why pen and co’s arguments are so ludicrous. There is simply NO escaping these schools in the majority of the country

Twist yes my dp does listen and to a degree says it's what Christians believe not him, but the point I was making is his ds is being taught in school that this stuff is fact rather than belief. So in school it's fact but at home it's not. It's an unnecessary head fuck for a child who shouldn't be put into that situation in the first place.

Camel, I think that link is a bit misleading. What it is referring to in that link is state-funded VA and VC faith schools, that sit within the state sector but are able to discriminate by faith on admissions and employment.

State-funded faith schools is a widely accepted term that includes CofE and Catholic schools.

CoE schools do put faith as a centre point though. The big fucking cross in the centre of the school hall is the first giveaway...

I thought that over their primary years, they are taught about Christians,Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and The Jewish faith. That is the requirement of the curriculum and ofsted look out for even coverage. Personally, I believe that they should be taught paganism too. However, church schools will always max out on their beliefs as a basis for their religious teaching. Our C of E school turned my kids the other way with all the God songs, as they put it. One is now a non believer (there is no proof of anything except conscience) and the other preferred the auld ways because it is far more relaxed. He did not want to fear his God/s. Most of the godfearing folk around here are more heathen than the heathens and one church senior is a deeply unpleasant person with equally unpleasant children who were cruel, spiteful and violent.
I asked them to listen to what they were told and then make their own minds up. When RE was part of their compulsory GCSE, the secondary school did themselves no favours by putting a very strict Christian teacher in place that taught other religions through gritted teeth and tried to convert as many kids as possible.
It should be a simple presentation of beliefs with no opinions given.

jassy wether is it a much misused term or not. The correct terminology is ‘church school’

It’s important because otherwise people like Pen believe they are funded by churches which they are not.

JassyRadlett

So take it up with the government, as I say. I don't think it should be against the law.

What law, by the way?

Pen
We will discuss/protest/petition as WE see fit.

If that bothers you so much, just forgive us

JacquesHammer

I haven't actually noticed anyone slagging off atheists. Where has this happened? But what relevance does it have to the fact that this thread has been posted on by several people who have been slagging off persons of faith, but also want to send their children to schools built and on land owned by the Church? It is bizarre.

Pen

THE CHURCH DOESN’T OWN THE STATE SCHOOLS.

For the FOURTH time.

It does, actually. The quid pro quo for taking the state’s money is that the school is required to educate all comers if the school is not oversubscribed.

Well, yes, IF the school has places that have not been allocated to children from families of faith, it is reasonable for them to be opened up to other families who are prepared to support the ethos of the school. I never said otherwise.

Penggwn: "But what relevance does it have to the fact that this thread has been posted on by several people who have been slagging off persons of faith, but also want to send their children to schools built and on land owned by the Church?"

The reason they want to send their children to those schools is usually a) because they're paying for them through their taxes b) because they often don't have any other choice, or very little choice.

The idea that schools should be run by people with a particular religious ideology, who are then allowed to discriminate both in terms of employment and admissions on the basis of religion, is shocking. It makes no more sense than, say, allowing the Labour Party to run state-funded schools and only employ Labour supporters as teachers and admit children whose parents are Labour Party members.

Very interesting factlet...
Our non faith infant school put on nativity.
Our CofE junior school celebrated May day with May kings and queens.
No nativity for the CofE school
Yet Halloween discos were banned in both schools after many years of happy kids bazerking about in costumes as the Church felt it was not appropriate.

So take it up with the government, as I say. I don't think it should be against the law.

As I’ve said, I am. Will you stop telling people to open their own secular schools as it’s been pointed out to you repeatedly that it’s not possible?

What law, by the way?

The Education Act 2011 and its statutory guidance.

It's not really that shocking. If it wasn't for the church we wouldn't have had schools at all.

I don't see why Halloween discos are banned tbh because the true meaning behind All Hallows Eve, or Samhain if you will, has nothing to do with being evil. Maybe schools should teach this too if they are going to teach an all round education of different beliefs?

That’s another difference between church schools and faith schools.

Church schools do not deal with their own admissions.

I applied through my LA like everyone else, for the school nearest me that is on PUBLIC LAND (not church land) and is funded by the government.

Camel, I don’t think ‘faith school’ or ‘church school’ is defined in statute which is part of the issue. It’s common usage and as such is not precise.

Parliament research briefings set out this issue:

The Government funds many different types of ‘faith school’ – i.e. schools which are designated as having a faith character. Currently, around one third of state-funded schools in England have a faith designation. Faith schools can either be maintained by the local authority, or operate outside of local authority control (in the case of academies and free schools).

I literally had this conversation a week ago with a woman whose job it was to review the diocese church schools (which amazingly made up most of the country) and she explained very clearly the difference bwteeen faith and church schools and this matched the gov.uk link I posted.

They are different things, because of funding, admission policy, accountability to the curriculum.