To think all schools should teach children the old traditional hymns

[Staringintothevoid616]

Just switching between channels and Songs of Praise came on. It was a run down of the most popular school hymns.complete with recorders It brought back many memories and how important communal singing is. It doesn’t matter what your religion is, everyone should know the most popular hymns as a way of uniting society.

Why? Whats wrong with traditional folk or pop songs? No need to bring religion into it.

No need to bring religion into it IMO. Singing assembly is common in schools still anyway and part of the curriculum in class plus lots of schools have after school choir groups etc.

I agree that communal singing is extremely valuable, but I don't think this needs to be hymns. There are loads of other songs that are fun to sing together.

I do like the old hymns though, not because I'm religious but I like the sense of history and tradition so I do think it would be nice if schools did still teach these. Not exclusively hymns, but they could definitely be included as part of a wider program.

I don't see any benefit to it being hymns.

Community singing is great (for those who like it) but probably far more attractive with decent songs.

“It doesn’t matter what your religion is”

Well hymns are inherently religious, so it kind of does?

Because pop songs rely on musical taste -happy to have folk songs too, but our society is built on centuries of Christianity so hymns are. A useful way to teach kids about this too. They are generally easy to sing and reinforce tradition

What folk songs were you thinking of

I love an old school hymn, but when the vast majority of the country doesn’t call itself Christian, it seems a bit weird to force Christianity on all children.

There are plenty of other songs children can enjoy.

It'd feel a bit disrespectful to religious people if I joined a community, and started singing about praising a God I don't believe in.

Wasn't there an act at Glastonbury doing all the hymns from the blue and green books? Very popular.

I do think it's lovely that those of us if a certain age all remember singing together and it can come on handy for funerals - it's awful when no one knows the words.

Communal singing has many benefits but I don't think it should be hymns in school.

You want religion to unite society? Here, today, you really think this is a sensible, tried and tested, bomb-proof way to UNITE society?

Go sit down for a bit OP and have another think. Unbelievable.

Singing, yes. Hymns, not so much. A lot of them sound quite depressing, and not in a nice melancholic way.

Oh yes, tradition. This country has centuries of not allowing women autonomy. Maybe we should go back to that because, you know, tradition!

I’m not Christian and wouldn’t call it forcing Christianity on anyone. We are a culturally Christian society, the idea is that all kinds know the same songs. When I was a kid, any child would be able to sing All things Bright and beautiful etc

It doesn’t matter what your religion is, everyone should know the most popular hymns as a way of uniting society Which ones are you thinking of? Are they from a range of religions? What song would you recommend to include atheists?

No. As a child in the 70s and 80s we were dragged to church, sat in assemblies and made to perform. I see no benefit of communal singing at all. Most friends that I have feel the same way I never made my kids do this while at school. We are all just fine.

Some of the pop songs DC did were quite old now - 60s onwards - we did mix of hymns and folk songs -and few older pop songs.

I think I got more hymns -which are often fun to sing - than DC got but can't say I've used them much in adulthood.

My children are being brought up in a religious home and attend a religious school. I think you’re being ridiculous. Schools have enough to do without expecting kids to learn songs that are of no relevance to lots of them and of greatly declining cultural relevance as well. If they want to learn them later in life it’s hardly onerous. Plus loads of school hymns are very much “of their time” and not at all part of British cultural life now - when did you last hear “The ink is black” or “Shine Jesus Shine” sung in public outside of the guy who appears at festivals to sing nostalgia.

And expecting someone of a completely different religion to sing songs about loving Jesus is offensive.

Was it though? One of my children and one of my GC would have been among the numbers picked up by Nuns, to practice run the gas chambers, becauseof disabilities. My sister stayed unmarried, so wouldn't have done well. Then there's the unmarried mothers. We aren't fully white, so might not exist at all. Explain the Christian teachings that support the state and Church sanctioned abuse and murder? What Christian values supported the launderies, or the great famine (s)?
Collect singing, yes, but we all can't get on board with the hymns.

We sang both at my schools - folk songs and the much loved old hymns, you don’t have to be religious to love trad old hymns.

No the whole point is we’re a culturally Christian country - if atheists don’t believe in the truth of any of the words isn’t that just the same as singing “somewhere over the rainbow”? So in short would recommend the sane hymns as anyone else

These days it's apparently up to schools to teach children everything. They already teach them most of the traditional Christmas carols why do they also need to teach hymns. Cant these children's parents do that if they think it's so important instead of abdicating yet more stuff to teachers.

Exacty- I’m far from religious but there’s a power in singing these trad hymns designed to be sung together

Communal singing is not important. I hated being forced to sing at assembly in school, and as an adult I still hate being expected to sing at things.

I know some people enjoy it, and some people enjoy listening to it. It's just not for everyone

Schools have a daily assembly, no need for extra lessons- just sing a hymn in that a couple of times a week

There’s always outliers, but the benefits of communal singing for most are well documented