Learning about other's beliefs

x posts, absent.

Yes, what you say is true, but in most UK schools now, there is a much wider mix of cutlural heritage and differences are far less polarised.

I say most, but increases in the number of faith schools, which I blame on ALL the main UK political parties, is worrying.

I think the NI troubles were as much tribal and political as religious. The tribalism still occasionally rears its ugly head in Glasgow between football teams. But, yes, religion props it up, or rather, stupid misconceptions about religious differences (i.e.tribalism) prop it up.

Religous customs are mainlt about controlling how people behave. So are tribal customs. In our not so distant past it was important for survival to be able to recognise members of one's own tribe. As a species, we've still got a bit of civilising to do.

You talk a lof sense Bags

Gaggi3 Many years ago out NWR had a Jewish member was asked to give a talk about her religion. Most of the historical input was done by a Northern Irish protestant who had been very well versed in old testament history all her life.

Great Guys.

There have been a few mentions of the National Curriculum and RE. I have just checked that my knowledge was up to date and it is. RE is locally organised and supervised by a SACRE
Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education (SACRE)

What is a SACRE?
SACRE is a council which is set up by each Local Authority.

What does a SACRE do?
It is required by law that Religious Education (RE) be taught in schools, but RE is not part of the National Curriculum, instead RE is a local responsibility. SACRE oversees RE and collective worship in Community Schools.

Who makes up a SACRE?
There are 4 committees on a SACRE:
Committee A: Representatives of religious groups other than the Church of England;
Committee B: Representatives of the Church of England;
Committee C: Representatives of teacher organisations;
Committee D: Representatives of the Local Authority.

They meet at most 3 times a year.

What are its duties?
Its main function is to advise the Local Authority (LA) on matters relating to collective worship in Community Schools, together with ensuring that good quality RE is provided in all schools in accordance with their agreed syllabus.

The SACRE can require the LA to review its agreed syllabus
It must consider applications from Headteachers that their school be released from the requirements for collective worship to be wholly or mainly of a broadly Christian character. This is known as a determination;
The SACRE must publish an annual report of its work.

What else can a SACRE do?
A SACRE's broad role is to support effective provision of RE and Collective Worship within its remit by:
Giving advice on methods of teaching the agreed syllabus of RE, including the choice of teaching materials;
Monitoring reports on RE, collective worship and spiritual, moral, social and cultural development (SMSC);
Considering complaints about the provision and delivery of RE and collective worship referred to it by the LA;
Providing support and advice on any issues regarding religious education and collective worship that might impact on schools.

One thing accurred to me: could this school have been marked down by Ofsted because their RE isn't diverse enough.

No Craftycat I don't think you are wrong, you have a very sensible outlook.I believe children make better judgements in life if they have as much information as possible about all aspects of life, it helps them to cope in diverse situations . I was brought up in the Baptist faith in a village ,which also had a Church of England Church & the school was Church of England , one gran was Cof E the other Baptist , they never got on! Absorbing all this gave me an inquisitive interest in finding out about all faiths & I would now class myself as a humanist, such a shame that your son & his wife are so scared to let their children have access to the diversity of the world we live in, which in my opinion would equip them with the skills to get on in life as well rounded adults a BIG HUG for you Craftycat , it's not easy being a granny X

petra that could be the case. There was a primary school in Devon which was marked down because it only had white English pupils and I think had to exchange with a school in London to find out about diversity.

I don't know why it should be marked down - after all, they pupils can't help the area they live in, but it's always good to learn about cultural and other differences.

PurpleDaffodil Thank you for the information. I enquired about SACRE for the authority where the DGC live and it says:
We are constantly working to fill these vacancies to maintain a rich and diverse SACRE so it is not always as easy as it would seem to fulfil the what is set out in law.
These positions are filled:
Roman Catholic Church, Salvation Army, Pentecostal, Baptist, Bah­ faith, Buddhist faith, Jewish faith, Muslim faith
But vacancies for C of E, Hindu, Sikh and Free Churches which surprised me.
And no Humanist post listed, either filled or vacant

excuse typos!!

Ohh dear Jalima, does this mean I belong to a minority group ! Lol ?Thanks also for sharinf the stats facts with us .

Sorry ohhps meant sharing

that MAY have been a "joke" but it certainly didn't come across as one,Catholic priests are in the main good people ,,sure there are the odd ones who behave in ways they shouldn't but that happens in all faiths and none ..I was raised Catholic ,I most certainly was NOT indoctrinated by the priests who we saw rarely in school or by the nuns who taught us .I also came from what was called a mixed marriage ,my father was raised protestant ...extreme protestant ,in the orange order and masonic lodge and my mother was the daughter of a devout Irish catholic .I married a man whose religion was different to mine and brought our children up in the CofS .I dont consider myself to be of any faith ,I do think the more people make barbed "jokes" or remarks about other faiths the less tolerance there is .It is neither helpful nor necessary .If you made the same remark about a Rabbi oor Iman there would be an outcry

Surprising norose4!

I have been to several Humanist funerals (sorry, don't mean to sound depressing!)

I don't think that arranged marriages are a religious requirement - more a cultural thing but I am not sure.

Our neighbours were Hindu and theirs was an arranged marriage. As happy as any other marriage as far as I can tell!

Sorry to hear that you have had several funerals to attended Jalima, a serious leveller for us all.

Paddyann , not sure if you meant me , but if so I wasn't aware any joke had been made .

Well, this is over the years norose4, I think the first Humanist funeral we went to was several years ago for a very dear friend and it was very moving.

I can only imagine Jalima that such a funeral would be in some way more real & spiritual being unencumbered by religious protocols , not that I have a problem with traditional services (just in case someone reads this as being derogatory) After all what ever our own personal beliefs we all are , well just humans!

This really wound me up. 25 years ago my daughter learnt about the various major religions in primary school as part of the curriculum. Will your son remove his children from school for that too? With this attitude, no wonder the world is in the mess it's in.
And no, I'm not particularly religious in any direction other than "love thy neighbour".

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I like this cartoon which has been around for a while. It says a lot about religious views and religious criticism.

Just reading "Frost in May" which is a famous novel about Catholic convent school life. The cult of self-flagellation and the warping of natural instincts is horrifying. I have a catholic friend who bears out the reality of these practices.

Why is it horrifying ? It's the choice of the individual

I don't think Catholic schools are like that any more even if some were in the old days.

Well, DGS's isn't, he loves it.

I read that book when I was about 14, Luckygirl, and I've never forgotten it. Anniebach, it isn't the choice of the girls in this book - you'd have to read it to understand.