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Faith schools are urged to open doors to all religions

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Published Date: 04 December 2008
FAITH schools should stop selecting pupils on the basis of their religious background, new research said today.
A report by the Runnymede Trust said radical reform was needed to ensure such schools promote social cohesion.

The report added that faith schools should be "for the benefit of all in society rather than just some".

It went on to say: "If faith schools are convinced of their relevance for society, that should apply equally for all children."





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  • Last Updated: 04 December 2008 10:23 AM
  • Source: Edinburgh Evening News
  • Location: Edinburgh
 
1

markantony,

uk 04/12/2008 15:00:25
It,s about time all faith schools are banned, why should we allow our children to be brain washed into believing all this rubbish!. There young minds are so open to abuse by this type of bigoted inviroment. religion should be tought for what it is , a load of unfounded superstious mumbo jumbo ,that robs the child of free thought!!!
2

Stewart C.,

Stranraer 05/12/2008 01:46:30
markantony, what school did you attend?

Presumably not one that saw the importance of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Don't be soft lad, the Gov't wants to end faith schools because it wants to end faith because it wants total power over everyone.
3

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05/12/2008 05:27:15
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4

markantony,

uk 05/12/2008 08:54:24
Not one of you can prove there is a god , I have more faith in the tooth fairy , at least she deliverd ,LOL,But when our kids get older we make it clear to them she is just fantasy, fiction. When are these schools going to do the same,or are they just grooming the kids for a life time of Subservience,
Stewart c,if you want a good laught at religion and politics ,try starship troopers 3, or the life of brian. See life for what it is ,not what some one else would have you believe it is before your old enough to know better.
5

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05/12/2008 08:57:23
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6

Puzzler,

Edinburgh 05/12/2008 10:07:04
Faith schools - or rather Catholic schools in the Scottish case, with Cof E in England - are being asked to open up because the demand for entry is very high. Many parents pretend to be Christians simply to get access.

You won't find a queue a mile long waiting for entry to any other kind of school, because other faith schools - by which poeople really mean Muslim schools -are focused upon controlling children - particularly girl's - not on educating them.

The demand for access to Christian schools begs the question why people of different faiths and none want their kids to go to them. The answer is quite simply because, far from indocrinating children or filling their heads with fables, they offer a good education and a stable moral environment.

Neither do they cause prejudice.

I went to a Catholic school in the 1970s and was given a good understanding of other religions and taught to respect peopel's point of view while being confident of my own. The education I got about world religions stood me in very good stead when I started to travel later in life.

Instead of a lot of nonsense about "banning" faith schools - why is it that people supposedly challenging "oppressive" ideas are always on about banning things? - why not analyse why they work and try and copy it? It would be a lot more constructive than simply destroying good schools offering a successful service.

7

markantony,

uk 05/12/2008 10:26:45
hi vincent, my kids have are now 10 and 11 years old they have in the past asked me what my religious views are, My reply is simply " they are private to my self every person should make up thier own mind inregards to religion ,It is not for me to lead you one way are the other, you must take all the information available and make up your own mind in what you believe"
It is not for me to Influence them they must descover this for them selves and when they are older i have no doubt we will debate in detail our views. Thats why i believe we should not have religious schools. As far as education is concerned I agree 100% with puzzler ,but i look on this as a failing in state schools rather than a Strength in religion based schools.
8

markantony,

uk 05/12/2008 10:29:47
1 question puzzler .are you a catholic?
9

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05/12/2008 13:06:50
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10

markantony,

uk 05/12/2008 15:26:02
Vincent w
Don’t be offended by my point of view , it has been formed by life experiences and observations the terminology may be strong and possibly insightful but I have seen many times the negative affects of religion . On no occasion have I ever attended a church where the possibility that there is no God has been a topic of discussion.
I put it to you, how many people who attended a catholic school are now Muslim? And how many people who are catholic attended Muslim church schools? Can you see the point I am making?
I can assure you I would not give my support to a school that has an atheist mandate in the same way and for some of the same reasons I do not support a purely religious based school.
If a child of mine wishes to follow a religion then I would not hesitate in taking her to meetings in her own time. Not part of the normal school day. But if she wants to learn about religion then I have no problem with it been taught at school.
I have no problem with adults and there informed choices or there beliefs. But how would you feel if I came to you claiming that Santa was real and I opened a school that followed this belief and taught it to the children of Santa’s followers. That is how I view the concept of church schools.
11

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05/12/2008 15:57:47
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12

markantony,

uk 05/12/2008 17:06:03
Hi Vincent
I worked at state schools for 20 years and my partner still works there, I could not claim that they are fundamentalist atheists, purely because even in that environment I have not heard anyone question the existence of God,
I have just asked my 11 year old daughter if anyone has questioned the existence of God, and she replied a science teacher when asked about God creating the earth in seven days stated she did not believe in that and believed in something called the big bang theory.
I cannot condone the teaching of religion as a disciple of a particular faith in the school curriculum because I find religion to be a dividing force that sets man against man belief against belief, it would be like asking someone to follow Chelsea while others claim Liverpool are the way. When there is no proof just scripture and blind faith to support either cause. So it should be left to the individual to make there own way in life and not have it thrust upon them in the school environment
13

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05/12/2008 22:24:51
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Iftikhar,

London 06/12/2008 15:48:21
State Funded Muslim Schools

British schooling has been mis-educating and de-educating Muslim children for the last 50 years and for the first time the Muslim leadership openly declared that British school is a home of institutional racism where there is no place for foreign culture and languages. Institutional racism is depriving Muslim children of the chance to go to their own faith schools. It leads LEAs to reject or delay approval of Muslim schools. Policy makers like Mr. Graham Lane and others like him do not want to see even a single Muslim school in the United Kingdom. The British teachers have no respect for Islamic faith and Muslim community. Western education system can easily deprogram Muslim children and force them to adopt un-Islamic values. Let the Muslim parents decides how and where to educate their children. According to MORI social research institute on behalf of Bristol LEA, nine out of ten Muslim parents agreed with the model of an Islamic secondary school set up within the state system. I rejected British schooling for Muslim children in the early 70s.

A child who has English as a second language is seen as having a special need – not as having a skill to be lauded from the rooftops. Bilingual children think in different way. Language has a profound effect in shaping the ways people think and act. Certain concepts are embedded in words that do not translate. There are repertoires of phrases which exist in Arabic or Urdu because there is no English equivalent. State schools are slaughter houses and are not suitable for bilingual Muslim children. Muslim children in the UK may lose out when they join reception classes because the school’s values and language reflect those of the dominant native culture, rather than those of their home. Almost all recent research literature agrees that if you want children whose home language is not English to excel in English –medium schools, it is important to nurture and acknowledge that first language a
15

markantony,

Uk 07/12/2008 17:14:09
Hi Iftikhar,
Your comments are exactly what is wrong with religion been taught in schools , you claim of injustice against Muslim children, in my world children are children , not Muslim, Christian ,catholic or what ever you would try to make them be just to satisfy your own needs. In child hood you would start the divisions that have plagued man for millennia and you believe this to be the right way to progress. What chance have the kids got of having free will NONE!!. History appears to have taught you nothing.
Hi Vincent
“With children it's a question of delivering the parables, which impart morals, thought etc and allowing free thought to follow.”
I have said this for years, it is the baggage that is carried along with these very important messages which I cannot swallow, and in attaching such baggage I find it devalues the message.
The concept of heaven and hell disgusts me. It amounts to nothing more than threats and reward, when really good behavior and morals should come not from fear or reward but from a common goodness taught to our children by the very parables you mention without the religious undertones. Sorry if it seems a bit harsh but I am still flustered by Iftikhar comments on what he/she termed “Muslim children”

 

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