Praying in C of E primaries?

[sherby]

If anybody has a DC going to a CofE school can you tell me if they are expected to say prayers during the day?

Or how a CofE school actually differs day to day to a non religious school.

I ask because we are an atheist family but our catchment school and the one DD is most likely to get allocated is CofE.

It is a state school-Cof E is the state religion-the Queen is Head of both and defender of the faith. It is the law that schools have a daily act of worship. (Not a daily meeting-a daily act of worship). I think the Prime Minister appoints Bishops. It is all linked.

gosh morningpaper I didn't mean it in any negative or sinister way! I should have been clearer, what I mean is (for my DS anyway) he would be bored, he would figit, and he would not pay any attention to what was being said by the adult or adults at the front of the church, that's all I meant. I'd rather he was playing. I agree it is just a building, and definately don't think of them as sinister or anything, just that a 4 or 5 year old wouldn't get much out of it. At 8 or 9 they may appreciate it more and be able to take in the experience better...

And - I'm sorry that I'm labouring this point but I really don't sse it as the role of the school to take my children to church! In fact, the more I think about it the bizarrer it seems. But, as I know from the looooooooooooong thread I posted a link to, most people don't see the bizarreness of it!

seeker if it gets to you that much then do something to change it. Otherwise I don't see much point in getting worked up and annoyed by it. You really only have two options here, either accept it, or do something to try and change it.

I have gone for the easy life and accepted it

Do what, for example? I voted Labour - that didn't work........!

Ok I get the message. I'll shut up.

lol no no no you need to do more than just vote labour!!

Start a revolution woman

A very respectable revolution

"Waht do we want?"
"A secular education system!"
"When do we want it?"
"As soon as reasonably possible!"
"Whqat do we say?"
"PLEASE!"

My problem with religious worship in schools (as opposed to religious education) is that it assumes a default position of the existence of God, and small children are very susceptible to this kind of thing. I remember being scared as a young child that if I didn't pray for every single member of my family every night, something awful would happen to them. I was so relieved when I realised that actually there was no evidence of God's existence and I didn't have to believe -- it was a huge weight off my shoulders.

I just don't see why school has to have anything to do with it. If parents want their children to worship, they can take them to church / mosque / synagogue / whatever. I want my children to learn about morals but not those dictated by any particular religion.

Also I just don't agree that religion is "harmless". You may do and that's fine, surely we should all have the choice over how much religion our children are exposed to?

Totally sympathise with op and agree with Seeker ( again - I waded in on that other post too) and MegBusset. I can remember someone telling me on one of thse threads to 'change things' ! Exactly how? In elections my vote counts for nothing as we live in an extremely safe (Tory) seat. Yes, I think we all know why the schools do the worship thing (Bishops in House of Lords, Queen D. of the faith)but we just think it is all plain wrong.

I'm actually a practising R.C but I totally sympathise with the parents on here who object to the inate religious teachings in school. My children are baptised too but do not/will not be attending a Catholic school because I believe that faith should be fostered at home and in Church, not at school.

I also teach p/t in a CofE school. Prayers and hymns are said in assembly but at no other times. Still, the ethos of the school is clearly built on an accepted belief in God. The children are often told 'And Jesus taught us to do... etc. TBH,many teachers use it more as a discipline tool rather than anything else.

I don't see how the government can say they support (non-)religious freedom and support the LEA catchment systems which (especially in rural areas) leave parents only one option, that of a church school.

Oh, and as a teacher I agree than removal from lessons will only draw attention to your child and most likely isolate them within their peer group.

Well said Cushioncover and your post is particularly valuable coming from a non-secularist (if that makes sense).

In my view, it's not just the hymns and prayers that bother me, it is the ethos underpinning it. Like Cushioncover suggests, jesus is used to discipline as much as anything. I mean, wtf is that about?

You can get a book with secular hymn-like songs to sing in assembly. All about being thankful (rather than thankful to God) Talking about trees and family etc. It's very nice.

I have no objection to an RE lesson. In fact I think learning about various religions and faiths is important. It teaches children that there is a wide range of options open to them. They can then make a reasoned decision based on what they have learned.

Can I just point out that I,too, believe in science.
I've never met anyone who seriously believes in creationism. Even in Catholic schools, children are taught that the old testament is a book of stories made up to help explain things to people before there was a better understanding of how the world worked. This is certainly what I teach my children too.

We're not all literal interpretation nutters!

Nothing wrong with teaching kids about the various brands of superstition/mythology on offer. Nothing wrong with teaching them that some people are still dumb enough to believe myth as fact. But expect them to believe it and say and do things that are supposed to propitiate some imaginary being...? Nah, don't see why my DS should be subjected to that.

Unfortunately, particularly given the present government, the superstitious do have an unjustified amount of power. They can squawk and flounce and demand special status for their idiot beliefs - they can insist they are allowed to discriminate, and allowed to interfere with other people's right to free expression etc.