City schools could be front for evangelists

[Briar]

More New Labour treachery...

City schools could be front for evangelists

Fears grow over fundamentalism in new academies

Gaby Hinsliff, political editor

Almost half the Government's planned new flagship city schools are sponsored by religious organisations, prompting fears that the programme could become a 'Trojan horse' for radical evangelicals.
The next wave of privately-funded City Academies includes at least one school planning to teach children creationism - the doctrine that the earth was created by God and that the Darwinian model accepted by scientists is therefore wrong.

The popularity of the nationwide academy scheme with other faith-based organisations has alarmed Labour MPs, who fear they may exacerbate religious divides and help evangelicals to target the next generation.

Barry Sheerman, chair of the Commons education select committee, said it was time for a fundamental review of faith in education, particularly the potential role of Muslim-led schools.

'If we are going to not have divided, ghettoised communities we have to be very careful of this enthusiasm that some in the Department for Education have for faith schools,' he said. 'And we have got to be very careful about the growth of very religious minorities getting a hold on academies.'

...

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1544143,00.html

[fedsron2us]

1. Welcome to your sectarian future

It appears that the British government learnt nothing from the troubles in Northern Ireland. You are more likely to find a coherent education policy emerging from a horses arse than from Blair's administration.

[lockdown]

2. How much influence does Ruth Kelly have in this?

Just asking...

[D-Notice]

3. Doesn't she have

summat to do with Opus Dei?

[lockdown]

4. She admits a connection with them yeah,

so I would be very uncomfortable about her having much say on policies that promote religious schools. Not that they would be desirable even without that connection.

[Briar]

5. Faith schools

were Blair's big thing before Ruth Kelly became Education Secretary. She's there to promote his policy of establishing more of them.

[lockdown]

6. Thanks

I knew she hadn't been in the position too long, knew less about the faith school initiatives. Guess pious Tony sees her as perfect for the task.

[Benbow]

7. So only Catholics are going to be allowed to have faith schools?

But not Anglicans or Muslims? Sorry if I am missing something.

[lockdown]

8. Different religions including Catholics.

[fedsron2us]

9. Protestants, Catholics and to a lesser extent Jews

already have schools that are funded within the state system. Muslims, perhaps not unreasonably, want the same treatment. This situation is in part historical accident resulting from the fact that many of the institutions incorporated into the state educational system since the 19th century were originally church schools, founded and paid for by religious dominations. I suppose the key question is whether religious education should have a central role in education and therefore be funded out of the state coffers or whether it should be regarded as a matter of private conscience to be paid for by individual parents. My personal view is that church and state should be completely separated as they are in some parts of Europe. It is ludicrous that atheists and agnostics should have to hand over their taxes to pay for the indoctrination of children in religious beliefs that they do not share. Of course, such a decision would require the disestablishment of the Church of England as a state cult with the Queen as its head. It would also mean that the monarch would no longer be crowned according to Christian rites. Although this would seem like a break with ancient tradition, in practice English kings and queens have always dated their reign from the death of their predecessors not their coronations. The church has always tried to claim its authority was necessary to legitimize the power of the state. This situation was never formally accepted by Britain's rulers even before the Reformation. Unfortunately, the complete separation of church and state is never going to happen whilst we have a prime minister who is hopelessly confused in his thinking on the subject. His blathering about the London bombers being the enemies of 'true religion' (ie they are not proper Muslims) shows he has not got a clue. The sad fact is that an individual can be Catholic, Protestant, Jew, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, atheist or agnostic but they can not subscribe to all these faiths at the same time. Similarly it is crazy for a government to pretend that it can promote the advance of all religions simultaneously. I loath the violent rantings of the radical Islamicists but I have to confess that there thought processes show more logical consistency than the febrile meanderings of the current British administration on the subject.

[Guy_Montag]

11. I think you're getting carried away,

I don't see why the C of E has to be disestablished, the Queen could still be head of it & head of state, just like I can work part time in two separate posts. The monarch could be crowned by whichever rites they wish, after all they are not Christian rites as such (I mean Christ would be somewhat confused by them), they are more to do with culture. I'll put money down that if Charlie gets a chance, there will be a more religiously diverse ceremony, well at least I'm sure the Chief Rabbi & most of the Muslim council will get an invite, even if he still gets crowned by that nice, aging hippy.

However, I believe religious schools are the perfect breeding ground for religious bigotry & racism. Just look at NI, but my preference is to look at Scotland, particularly the differences between Glasgow & Edinburgh (or any other city).

Glasgow has a good number of Catholic schools, Edinburgh has 1. Celtic is the Catholic team, Rangers the Protestant one, Edinburgh on the other hand, Hibernian is the east side team & Hearts is the west side team regardless of religion, despite coming from the same religious roots as the Old Firm.

If kids don't mix with others from different ethnic groups & religions, then all the prejudices of their parents will never be broken & will just be reinforced.

Blair is creating a time bomb for future generations.

[non sociopath skin]

10. Emmanuel College on Tyneside is funded by the Vardy family ...

...a bunch of God-bothering Car Salesmen who have insisted that Bible Bollocks is taught alongside Real Science as two possible explanations of Creation.

Is it just me or is it just a MITE outre to have Wealthy Neocon Loonies funding partly-state funded selective denominational schools which teach medieval Mumbo-Jumbo as facts?

Or am I just a little out of the loop?

The Skin

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. Are flagship schools like charter schools here in the States, i.e.

publically funded but exempt from many of the regulations affecting state schools?

Is Religious Instruction still part of the state school curriculum? I had an English pen pal in the 1960s, and she had "RI" in school.

[muriel_volestrangler]

13. Yes, fairly like charter schools, I think

They aren't controlled by the Local Education Authority. Some body (could be a rich individual, could be a charity, or a corporation) puts up about £2 million, the government puts up the rest of the money to establish the school (more than they normally put up for a 'bog standard' school), and then the sponsor gets to choose the school governors, and so sets up the 'ethos' of the school - they appoint the head teacher, who appoints the rest of the staff. There is a national curriculum that has to be taught, but there is some room for variation. All running costs come from central government, though they hope the sponsor will continue to help with capital costs.

BBC link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/4357383.stm

"Religious education" must still be taught, but parents can withdraw their children from it.

http://www.theredirectory.org.uk/law/

"Circular 1/94 describes the aims of RE as 'developing pupils' knowledge, understanding and awareness of Christianity, as the predominant religion in Great Britain, and the other principal religions represented in the country; to encourage respect for those holding different beliefs; and to help promote pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural and mental development'."