Faith schools?

The mother of one of my catholic pupils had fled from Ireland because the priest had told her it was her duty to accept her husband's drunken rapes and the local Guarda just laughed at her complaints.
Thousands of women 'took the boat' to get an abortion, and middle class women could get the pill if they claimed to have heavy periods.
I think it is the hypocrisy that I find so sickening

Yes I know that absent My sister lives there and DH has an Irish passport. but it does illustrate the point that religious power can influence such legislation. Sorry if it was a distraction.
When i was 21 you had to be married to go to the FPA (or say you were engaged). I think the roots of that were religious maybe?
We are lucky in this country that contraception has not been legally forbidden (I think?)

JessM Ireland – as in Eire – isn't part of the UK.

Greatnan More likely cancer is a just punishment for having sex whether outside or inside their rules. Sex is for woman the whore not woman the madonna.

Some religious leaders thought it was wrong to immunise girls against the herpes virus that can lead to cervical cancer as it might encourge them to have sex. Presumably cancer is a just punishment for breaking their rules.

Drugs??

they were in Ireland Carol until recently

I know we have laws about doctors being able to prescribe contraception to under-16s in certain circumstances, but haven't come against any UK contraception laws that are founded on christian beliefs?

carboncareful contraception?

baba, I have found that one of my daughters is much wiser than I am and has guided me through a very traumatic family situation. Unfortunately, age does not always bring wisdom or serenity but I agree we can certainly try to influence things for the better.

Thanks for getting back to the subject. I think we grans have a great deal to offer in the way of tolerance and experience of both the good and the bad, so let's pass that all on to whomsoever will listen and help the next generations to find their personal inner strength.

....and many of the laws in this country are christian based/influenced: marriage, divorce, adoption, education, drugs, abortion, contraception

I think my stance is to say " I respect your right to hold your opinion, but I think it is completely wrong". Where I stop respecting that right is when any religion seeks to impose laws based on its own beliefs which the whole nation is bound to obey.

Hi baba. Just as in all conversations there can be digressions on gransnet. Perfectly valid to say something like "can we get back to the subject" and carry on the discussion. Just like real life.
I came across a very interesting Muslim custom last week (which is a slight digression, but I don't feel like starting a new thread) - My MIL's carer, who has just the one daughter, told me for her it is not acceptable to take ANYTHING from her daughter. Other than maybe a birthday present. She said if her own mother visited her and had anything more than a glass of water she would leave some money behind. Is this universal does anyone know, or is it just an Indian thing? Does this explain why having a son is so important?

I think my view is, "I will tolerate your religion, I don't have to respect it."

I think it depends on our definition of the word respect. I favour the New Shorter Oxford. There are several examples of the verb and I have no problem with any of the given definitions, but in this context I'd suggest 'Refrain from injuring, harming, insulting or interfering with' fits the bill.

northerngran - a really good post. I totally agree with you.

em As you rightly say, that sort of behaviour and approach was about politeness and tolerance. I don't think it's about respect.

Where I taught, we had a significant proportion of Muslim children. What we meant by 'respect' was quite simple and in a primary school did not involve theological debate about who was right and who was wrong. It meant being supportive of those children fasting during Ramadan, behaving appropriately when we visited the mosque, asking and answering questions in a polite and controlled way etc. It meant learning about and discussing some of the main tenets of different faiths so that we could understand the customs of others. It did not involve indoctrination or evangelising. I did not ever feel it was just political correctness but was a valuable way to encourage tolerance in society.

I don't see how anyone who genuinely believes that a specific faith is the only true faith can respect other faiths which, by definition, he/she will regard as false and wrong. Such a suggestion is simply lip service and political correctness. Whatever a faith school discusses in terms of religious education and lother religions, inevitably the conclusion is that these other religions are wrong – by implication if not in so many words.

baba we think alike

I do not have a problem with faith schools...as long as their curriculum includes plenty of education on and respect for other religions. Growing up in a blinkered environment is certainly wrong - but then children can get that from parents not just from schools.

Where I live there are a number of faith schools (primary) of varying religions eg: C of E, Catholic and jewish and all of them promote tolerance and respect for other cultures and religions and ensure they integrate their religious practice with schools with other beliefs (for example the Catholic school and the Jewish school get together to celebrate their respective harvest festivals)

Religion or no religion, we live in a multi cultural society where is it is essential that we learn to understand and respect one another. This begins at home and must be continued in schools whatever their beliefs

baba - you are not alone in taking all discussions about religion very seriously indeed and I am sorry this thread did not meet your justified expectations.
I have just read that schools spend about £1 per child per year on RE lessons and many will be surprised to learn that I find this deplorable. Most schools teach about religions, and do not indoctrinate. The more children understand about the beliefs of others the less prejudice they will feel.

To go back to your question Baba. I agree with you. I think schools should be secular and faith is for parents and families. Here in France state schools are completely free from any religious influence. There are private faith schools, but they do not take the majority of children.

My last post on here was definitely facetious nonsense. All my other posts on here have been honestly meant.

Sorry if I'm being defensive.

I'm a bit disturbed that what I intended to be a serious debate turned into a facetious sequence of nonsense. I hope, as a new member , that's not what all sincere comments on important topics degenerate into.