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Original poster

Compulsive Worship or discrimination for my children at school...

575 replies

recall · 17/07/2015 13:58

My three children attend a Primary school, it is not a CofE School, or any other type of faith school. They have an assembly once a week and "Open the Book" come and act out plays taken from the Bible. At the end, ask the children to prey. My daughter who is 8 said recently that "God does exist" "God is all around us" I asked her who had told her this, and she said it was the Christians in Assembly. She said she bowed her head when everyone preyed because she did not want to upset anyone.

I have spoken to the Headmaster regarding this, and he said they have to have 15 minutes of Christian worship a week.

I feel this is so wrong, that Christians are proselytising to children as young as four at school where I as their parent am legally bound to ensure that they attend. They are being taught individual's personal beliefs as if it is fact. I see this as a violation of their human rights - its is compulsory worship, they are too young to decide whether this is desirable. I am told that I am able to excuse them from these assemblies, but this is segregation and discrimination. It is heart breaking that children are being segregated from each other due to religion in school, a place of education. Christians are free to proselytise anywhere else, why must they do it in schools? This is dividing the community unnecessarily.

So this is my choice as far as I can see it....either I allow the compulsive worship, or my children are excused/excluded.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can come to terms with this ?

OP posts:

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 08:29

You can't withdraw them from other subjects - just collective worship and probably sex education. Saying you can withdraw them from science is rubbish.

sebsmummy1 · 20/07/2015 08:32

Maybe it would haunt you less if you adressed it? And please stop assuming that because people post on here they do nothing in the real world.

Alternatively you could find something new and dynamic to add to the conversation instead of parroting the same phrase out every third post and dragging us round in a continual loop.

BertrandRussell · 20/07/2015 08:33

"I think you all view it with adult eyes and children are far more accepting- a child not going into assembly isn't seen as strange. There are generally some that don't."

That's fine then, all sorted.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 08:36

It think it useful to point out that lots of children are withdrawn from assembly and it is actually seen as normal by children. Schools manage it.
If you read this thread you assume it is abnormal and schools can't cope!

fourtothedozen · 20/07/2015 08:38

No children at our school are withdrawn from assembly mehitabel- you have a very closed world view.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 08:45

Therefore your school can spread out the religious part.
I think that having taught as a supply teacher in dozens of schools ,in different LEAs, that I have a more representational picture.

HermioneWeasley · 20/07/2015 08:45

greater when someone says "it's just a theory" I hear "I don't have a basic understanding of science". You do know Gravity is "just a theory"? Are you willing to jump off a cliff?

TTWK · 20/07/2015 08:54

Children will form their own view regardless of their education/parental influence.

It must be some crazy coincidence then that 11 out of 12 people claim to be the same religion as their parents.

Still waiting for someone to explain the morality of the Noah's Ark story?

TTWK · 20/07/2015 09:02

Just to add that if you only want your child to learn fact you ought to remove them from science as well as much of that is theory based on Assumption and data from experiments (scientists tend to avoid using the term proof and rather refer to data which supports or does not support their hypothesis, hence Darwin's theory of evolution is called just that and not the 'facts of evolution'

What an embarrassing post. Go away, look up what "theory" means in scientific language, and hang your head in shame that you've reached adulthood without understanding stuff that most kids who get a U in science GCSE would know!

fourtothedozen · 20/07/2015 09:13

mehitabel you may have taught in a few schools, but neither your small sample nor mine is representative of the whole picture.
If my school is so heavy handed with religion it is a safe bet that many others are too.

BertrandRussell · 20/07/2015 09:19

"Maybe it would haunt you less if you adressed it? And please stop assuming that because people post on here they do nothing in the real world.

Alternatively you could find something new and dynamic to add to the conversation instead of parroting the same phrase out every third post and dragging us round in a continual loop."

So you're not prepared to address the point. Thought not. Because it's too difficult. You'd much rather "parrot" your complete misunderstanding of the situation.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:22

Some are heavy handed, some are not and that depends on the Head not whether it happens to be a faith school. The fact remains that children are withdrawn from collective worship and it is just accepted. The odd thing is that I started teaching in 1970s and numbers withdrawn have remained static.
I think that you will find that children brought up in a Christian religion are not now practicing Christians- the figure is more likely to be less than one in 12.
Noah's Ark was written thousands of years ago as an explanation at that time- or do you really think that they all lined up 2 by 2 and managed without food and the lions and tigers didn't eat the rest!!

fourtothedozen · 20/07/2015 09:25

Noah's Ark was written thousands of years ago as an explanation at that time- or do you really think that they all lined up 2 by 2 and managed without food and the lions and tigers didn't eat the rest!!

I haver no idea whether you think that's true or not. Are some parts of the bible true and others not? How do you decide which bits are true?

JaWellNoFine · 20/07/2015 09:35

Oh. I wouldn't worry

DS goes to a christian prep. They do a fair amount of church related activities.. And he went to cubs which was run by the local priest.

In year 2 he would tell me he was the only one questioning the existence of god. By year 5 they are all questioning it.

I went to church 2x a week, catechism 1 x week and attended a convent school.
I am an atheist.

If you give them the tools to think for themselves ... That is what they will do, regardless of indoctrination.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:35

You are not supposed to be taking the Old Testament literally. The whole Bible was written by people with their view. If we had 10 people writing an explanation of MN it would all be different. Even if you witness an event you interpret it differently.
You have to decide for yourself but one thing is for sure- Noah's Ark didn't happen! Or perhaps Noah had a telepathic link to kangaroos that hasn't been discovered and they swam over and swam back afterwards. Perhaps he got signed agreements from the lions to turn vegetarian for 6 weeks and perhaps he had a whole fleet of arks to carry all the fruit, grass etc for food- or maybe he had extra animals in the extra arks for food so that the lions didn't have to sign agreements!

BertrandRussell · 20/07/2015 09:36

"Noah's Ark was written thousands of years ago as an explanation at that time-"

An explanation of what?

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:37

Exactly JaWell. Bring up your children to think for themselves and it is all quite useful- they don't have to grow up thinking that Noah's Ark could be true!

JaWellNoFine · 20/07/2015 09:39

Oh. Should have added that I totally disagree with religion in schools but I think the fight needs to be in Westminster not the local primary.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:39

I am not an authority- not having read it for decades but I imagine as a punishment. You can easily imagine primitive people thinking the recent floods in UK were a punishment.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:40

It is no good fighting the local primary - they are following the law. Changing the law is what is needed.

JaWellNoFine · 20/07/2015 09:43

Not to worry. My kids know that books that mention gods belong on the Fantasy Fiction section...

fourtothedozen · 20/07/2015 09:43

You are not supposed to be taking the Old Testament literally.

So we can discount the ten commandments?

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:43

I do find it a bit worrying when adults ask how they decide if something is true or not. Does this mean that you simply believe some authority if they tell you something? All the more reason to get children questioning everything- starting with you.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:46

The 10 commandment were written by man and were what was important at the time. They would be different now. Some still stand. Or do you think Christians have to believe Gid was shouting it down and Moses had his block of stone and chisel handy?!
Maybe collective worship is a huge mistake if people are so literal.

Mehitabel6 · 20/07/2015 09:47

Why would you discount the 10 commandments?

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