Church schools should stop discriminating against teachers and pupils, say church leaders

[edam]

This news story is interesting. New group of church leaders and 'secular figures' campaigning to stop religious schools discriminating against non-religious families and staff, or those from the 'wrong' denomination.

(I have looked to see if there's a thread on this already but couldn't find one.)

Sorry, that was supposed to say nooka. Nooks would have been a little over-familiar.

All together now: "My lovely, lovely horse...."

OK I think anyone can enjoy Father Ted, but I think you have to be a Catholic/lapsed Catholic/from a Catholic background to really get it.
when I first saw it I was sitting in someone's living room and had no idea what it was or what it was about and virtually the first line I heard was soemthing like

"yes Dougal it is over there on the mantelpiece, behind the statue of Our Lord Being Embarrassed by the Romans"

oh god, I thought I was going to wet myself.
now I reckon your average Lutheran is not really going to get that, in its fullest hilarity

Having noticed this thread far too late to get embroiled, I would just like to make
sure you all know the existence of the alternative search engine doogle www.doogle.org

I think you might be right harps. But then it probably helps to be Irish too.

Grimma, I was amused, but am quite disturbed to discover it actually works!

My father's side of the family are all Catholics so Father Ted did feel a little like familiar territory. Although my father's generation and mine are what my Gran would have called Godless heathens (that was her term for the CofE, I hate to think what she'd have called an actual atheist).

High Anglicans can relish it too harpsi
God but I love Father Ted...More water!
My Dublin-born Catholic-hating mother considers it a documentary and absolutely not funny

No you don't have to have been a catholic to love Father Ted - but it does help if you have a few Catholic or lapsed Catholic pals...

I dunno, I am an ex Catholic and enjoy it, my husband is an aetheist, but went to a non-conformist school and took in a lot of those values (he likes referring to Catholics as papists, which gets up my nose) and finds it hilarious.

SGB has a totally empty life which is why she has to be bigoted against those of us who has life in all its fullness.

I'm assuming this is Madamnez, or something like that.

SGB seems like she's got a perfectly full life to me.

I don't like this whole "imaginary friends" thing because it is obviously rude and deliberately reductive. However, SGB does has a reasonable fear that if religion is given special privileges in society it could pave the way for dangerously irrational decisions by those in power. I don't share the same fear here in the UK, where religion is relatively powerless (schools admissions issues excepting) and largely characterised by its moderate and benign nature, but since the sudden terrifying rise of creationist Sarah Palin in the US I am starting to have a lot more sympathy.

nah - her life is worthless

Testing the waters to see how IF accusers like it ]

Squeakypop, no duckie, if you had a full life you wouldn't need imaginary friends.

SGB I like your new Kenneth Williams style persona

I thought this thread wasn't the IF thread, but the one about the revolutionary idea that schools shouldn't be discriminatory.

Here is a quote from www.direct.gov.uk

You have the right not to be treated less favourably than someone else (eg not being promoted) because of your religion or belief, your perceived religion or belief, or the religion or belief of people you associate with.
However direct discrimination is allowed where religious belief is a necessary requirement for the job. For example, a Roman Catholic school may be able to restrict applications for a scripture teacher to baptized Catholics.

well I've not read all the thread but near the top someone didn't get a permanent job in an RC school even though she wouldn't be teaching RE. That sort of thing is plain wrong.

So it's ok if I say to a job applicant "We don't want religious people here"?

I mean for a reason. Such as not wanting a carer to be religious

Mmm. One would hope on this basis its OK for applications for science teachers to exclude anyone who believed in creationism.

How very intolerant and anti-creationist of you... Do bear in mind that the next vice president of the US is a creationist. She also doesn't believe in global warming, another triumph for faith over evidence.

Unfortunately we're only talking UK employment law. It probably would be a good idea if the US precluded the Commmander-in-Chief in waiting from being (from what I've gathered) a rapturist who might well think she was serving Gods will by ... oh it really doesn't bear thinking about.

Grimma excellent link

whatever else you may say about the clergy of Craggy Island you can't accuse them of being feckless. [one of those strange words like disgruntled and discombobulated]

Discombobulated is one of my favourite words.

As is feckless. I shall attempt to employ it more.

That Sara Palin is a feckless bag o shote eh?

I realise I need refining

No, you can't describe SP as feckless, the definition being:

describes people or behaviour with no energy and enthusiasm:
e.g. He was portrayed as a feckless drunk.

far too much energy and enthusiasm I'm afraid.

Right more practise needed...

???