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.

Our society is built on centuries of sexism and racism too but don’t try to keep it fore and centre do we?

You’re both incorrect https://www.tearfund.org/stories/2025/04/the-quiet-revival-a-new-generation-leads-growth-in-church-attendance

amongst young men it’s even higher

I agree communal singing is important but I don't think it should be any one particular faith based so its accessible to all pupils in our schools. And I say that as a Christian.

"How can people possibly understand the last 2,000 years of European culture unless they sing some hymns that were written in the last couple of hundred years, or partake in nativity plays that have been a core cultural tradition in schools for almost 80 years now?"

...really?

I'm so glad they used to make us sing "Don't Grow Up to be a Thicko" in school.

It's an interesting question. I'm from the Netherlands. Nativity plays in primary schools aren't really a thing. Nor is hymn singing. And yet people manage to understand art and culture.

You have such a cynical approach to the bible and people generally OP.
It's pretty hard to imagine why you care about any of this.

Following the likes of Tommy Robinson?

I'm 41 and went to a secular school, we sang anything but hymns thankfully!

Carpenters, Abba, anything more current, folk songs

Well the poster is absolutely correct.

Can you remember the words to that song? Did it say anything about constructing good arguments and avoiding ad hominem arguments

Mat 2:13 -14 : "And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: " ( KJV)

Are you saying the Bible is wrong ?

Christ alive what awful songs you grew up singing. Did you feel guilty just singing white pop songs?

The church in England and Wales is becoming more ethnically diverse, with one in five people (19 per cent) coming from an ethnic minority.
Close to half of young black people aged 18 to 34 (47 per cent) are now attending church at least monthly.

Entirely consistent with the point that has been made more than once, i.e. when you import a significant number of pre-existing Christians from Africa/Asia, Christians who are more fastidious in their church attendance than locals, it's hardly surprising then that you see a small increase in local church attendances.

Again, nothing about this suggests the UK population is suddenly flocking back to Christianity. That would be at odds with a decades-long trend, and also completely at odds with what we see everywhere else in the developed world regarding the fact Religiosity tails-off the more you educate a population and provide them with alternative means with which to amuse themselves.

Well we could discuss the accuracy of the Bible, but Egypt is highly symbolic here

That point is total and utter nonsense.

Akin to suggesting that you couldn't possibly grasp how NASA put a man on the moon unless you implicitly understand the complex mathematics involved.

i loved it! It was so joyful and fun! we sang songs from The Supremes, Jackson 5, loads more, i just can't be bothered to list everything.

Agree, but OP and others have made this nonsense argument.

What percentage of hymns were written by white people?

The existence of non-religious Art and Culture experts shows it to be nonsense.

You can understand the influence of Christianity, recognise it, and appreciate it, without first either requiring a complex understanding of, or a belief in Christianity itself.

I know next to fuck all about Islam, but I can spot Moorish influences in Maltese architecture when I go there on holiday.

From the Bible Society

“However, it is also clear that the growth in churchgoing is not solely attributable to the rise in attenders from minority ethnic groups – we are also seeing a rise in White attendance. Among 18–34-year-old men in this group, for example, 18% are now attending church monthly, compared to 3% in 2018, and it is a similar story (albeit not so dramatic) among young White women. We are therefore seeing an absolute growth in churchgoing among young adults – including substantial growth from the White population – but also greater diversity among younger churchgoers than among older group.”

The Bible Society, Tearfund.

Any remotely impartial and objective sources?

I wonder though OP, how many of those people and the churches they attend, fit your idea of British Christian?

Probably quite a few. I know it’s not what you want - but it’s what is happening!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4p42kydx9o

Also - Ukranians are "white". CoS saw a significant rise in white people attending church services almost at the exact point several thousand Ukranians arrived in my city.

Oh bless you and the ever impartial BBC in a state of panic over young white men