Learning about other's beliefs

Recently my oldest GD had been taught all about the Sikh religion . We were in a local shop run by a Sikh gentleman , she then whispered about his reason for wearing a turban and asked me if it was ok to talk to him about his religion. He was so helpful, showed the importance of the bracelets he wore amongst other things . She enjoyed seeing first hand a person who had been the subject of that day's lesson . He was delighted to hear that her school was teaching all religions . He felt the more we know about each other's beliefs the less frightening we will be to each other . Not all Muslims treat women badly the same as not all Christians forgive as taught by thebChurch

Good point Dorset

I cannot say that it would bother me sending my children to school when the Iman was coming, however the parents have the right to their views and I would respect that.

So many points raised here. Thank you all again.

The school does have the local vicar come in sometimes for plays or special assemblies & also- I believe- the priest from local church too. More like guest than a speaker from what I have seen. They do a Nativity in school every year.
My DiL is RC & son brought up loosely C of E - my first husband was RC too so we have had a bit of experience with mixed marriages.
Someone mentioned a gay teacher- they have one already- not a problem.
They also have a boy whose parents insist he is of Hell's Angels religion so he has to wear his hair long & 2 or 3 children from a fairly local traveller's camp. Quite a mixed bunch for a sleepy Surrey village!
My elder DGS is learning about ALL religions at his 2nd school although he is dropping the subject next year to concentrate on sciences so I guess they will all get a rounded education when they change schools.
Hopefully anyway.

In retrospect having been schooled quite strictly in the catholic faith, I am of the opinion now that I was indoctrinated and it had a negative effect on me and my peer group several of whom I still see, so our school days come up in coversation from time to time. I'm not against religious schools per se, but increasingly I'm beginning to see the argument for secularism in the education system. I think religion should be taught objectively, pupils should learn about different faiths and how they fit into the great scheme of things historically and culturally because it will help them understand the world today. I don't think any one religion should be shown to be preferential and pupils could also be made aware, whislt there is a positive side to religion, there is also a negative one. It's my perception that schools are hampered in tackling the latter due to cultural sensibilities. The problem is that religion can breed intolerance, it shouldn't, but unfortunately it can. The bete noir for the religious teaching staff at school was the protestant faith, it was if The Reformation had happened yesterday as far as they were concerned and every protestant was somehow culpable for not only the Dissolution of the Monastries but the subjugation and subsequent persecution of catholics. Although they were pretty economical with the truth about the persecution catholics inflicted on all manner of other religions and cultures. Their teaching I conclude now was totally biased. However, that was 40 to 50 years ago, I gather from children I know who have passed through a catholic school of late there is less indoctrination going on. It was only when I was older that I was able to rationalise how we were taught and that we were imbued with the prejudices of some of the teaching staff. It's very much with all of that in mind and knowing how young unformed minds can be shaped, I find the idea of whipping up a dislike for other religions by teaching staff harmful. The term "non believers" can be used in a pejorative way. However, I understand how important religion is to some and I think there is a need to respect that. For example, The Charlie Hebdo cartoons were undoubtedly very insulting and although I find I disagree with myself sometimes, on the one hand I think that free speech is so important, and in a perfect world people should rise above criticism and insults, I find it hard to find the balance as far as the Charlie Hebdo cartoons were concerned, they hardly seemed worth defending considering their puerile nature and the trouble that ensued. The publishers didn't seem to exercise any wisdom as to how they were going to be received.

I think we should respect others beliefs, but equally that needs to be reciprocated.

Great piece Terribull, I reckon that sums it up.

Don't they teach Religious Studies in Schools these days? I would have thought that would be the appropriate lesson to explore other Religions

Like you say, it is their decision but it's a shame if the parents have not discussed this with the school before planning to withdraw the children. Likewise, perhaps the school should have foreseen that this should be discussed with the parents. Personally I was banned from showing any interest or connection with anything but CofE which left me with an intense curiousity!

This is a primary school so I am not sure that comparative religion is taught until secondary school age.

I gather from children I know who have passed through a catholic school of late there is less indoctrination going on
I do hope there isn't Terribull, of any religion.

Just wondering if a Catholic priest or Cof E vicar would be welcome in a Muslim school to talk about their religios beliefs -I think not .

religious !

You cannot judge all Muslims that is extremely wrong and the children will grow in ignorance about the people and the religion. Our grandaughter is in year 11 and her school believ s in children understanding and respecting other religions. They have debates in her class and the students in her class are from all different races and colours we are very proud of her understanding and respect for other students in her school. It's imperative that children learn to understand these religions. We are not religious but we are against racism. My gd is mixed race and we are white.

There are so many beliefs. YOUR'S are absolutely correct. Therefore the others are wrong. But we pretend to respect them. This is even more silly than believing in a Sky Fairy in the first place. Why does any of this get inside a school's front door, beyond mentioning "Some people like to believe some pretty odd things"?

Jalima my personal,experience is that primary school children are taught about all the major religions in a factual way.
My DGS attends the Cof E primary school that I attended in the 1950s. Then there were no children of other faiths in the school and very few in our small town. Sixty years later, the school has many children of different nationalities and faiths, reflecting the community it serves. I believe it is important for children to be equipped for the world they will grow up in. I hope OP's son will voice his concerns to the school, to allow them to explain and allay his fears.

My daughter's childminder had an excellent OFSTED assessment. The only criticism was that there was a lack of cultural diversity, quite difficult to provide in her area. Perhaps the school is trying to address this.
When I was a head, in a Middle School, my Muslim pupils were an asset in assemblies,knowing far more about Christianity than those who were supposedly Christian, Jesus being one of Mohamed's prophets.

I respect the views of the atheists here but will ask, do you not care when you speak of imaginary friends or believing in the sky fairy you are mocking some posters? Why not be satisfied with - I don't believe in any faith or similar

My experience too Gaggi3. DH was head of a very large secondary school with so few Christian pupils they were not required to have a Christian act of worship. However their RE GCSE results were the best in the authority because these pupils had an excellent knowledge of their own faith, mainly Sikhism and Islam as well as a thorough knowledge and interest in Christianity. Hope for the future?

Pamish "^its more important for schools in white ghettos^. The definition of a ghetto: apart of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.
We are not in the minority.
Barmyoldbat. "^FGM is not part of islam^ . Maybe not, but most perpetrators of this barbaric practice and the innocent young girls and babies are.

Does it matter if people grow up in ignorance of religious beliefs? Surely it's ethics and morality and what counts as principled behaviour that people need to know something about? You don't need religious faith or knowledge of religions to learn about that stuff.
Religions do incorporate ethics and morality but ethics and morality don't depend on religion; they exist independently.

A lot of what kids learn in school is about customs and rituals associated with religions, e.g. what someone mentioned about the muslim prayer mat being aligned a certain way so that the prayer faces Mecca; that's not a moral or ethical thing (no-one would be hurt if it didn't happen); it's just tradition.

Good post bags

Today's world has surely been at least partly shaped by the past and much of that past was shaped by religious beliefs. The present is also being shaped by religious beliefs from the distortion of Islam by extremist Middle Eastern terrorist groups to the prospect of the reversal of the Roe v Wade decision led by an extremist Christian. I believe it is extremely important to have an understanding of major religions, especially the three Abrahamic religions, that continue to exercise powerful influences on politics, politicians and society in general.

I do not for a second dispute that having morals and ethics is not dependent on having a religious belief. How could I, as an atheist? Nevertheless, I maintain that there is a difference in the personal and the political (in the sense of the people) and it is vital to understand those who seek guidance or authority (or both) through religious belief.

Lily, FMG is practised by non muslims in Africa and muslims, christians and animists in the middle east. It is a culture practise not a religious one.

I agree about the need for understanding of the seeking of guidance or authority through religious faith, absent, but that's a topic for adults, not kids. Like some other subjects, I think it would be perfectly allright to leave study of that kind of religious belief and societal involvement to university level.

At school level the simple acknowledgement of different customs of behaviour (which needn't involve beliefs at all) is sufficient, I think. Schoolkids, especially primary school kids, don't really know what their beliefs are. At that stage they just mimic the adults in their lives.

bags Aren't lots of customs of behaviour within families and among children informed or at least shaped by religious practices, even if children merely mimic the beliefs of their parents? Northern Ireland springs to mind where children (and some adults) regarded the differences between Protestants and Catholics as insurmountable and paramount in the Troubles but remained unaware of political implications. I agree that primary school children aren't ready for deep analysis of different religions, but a broad picture can explain why some differences exist in the way families live – differences that can easily be misunderstood, such as personal dislike, stand-offishness (is there such a word) and other children's concerns.

There is another important factor in children learning a bit about other people's religious beliefs. They may find out they have more in common than they have been led to believe.

And to make it a choice, like other university subjects.