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Britain
Another step towards dhimmitude
2005-02-14
Posted by:anonymous2u

#9  Me, too, JH. A general overview of world religions would add to students' knowledge base, but it seems like these religious discussions devolve quickly into why my religion is better than yours and would absolutely do so in high school, when kids are so ego-fragile. Plus, imagine the litigation nightmare when schools have to handle complaints about the ingrained biases of teachers for/against a certain religion? This sounds like a mess to me-I don't know what the solution is. I wouldn't outlaw a religious survey class, but perhaps you could protect the school and its families/students by 1) making it an elective course, 2)supplying an outline of the class to parents which they must agree to, sign and return to the school before class even starts.
Posted by: Jules 187   2005-02-14 4:26:31 PM  

#8  I tend to agree w/DB. We didn't have any religious studies in high school & I think it's better that way. There's enough work teachers have to do just w/the core curriculum of math, science, english, history, etc that needs to be addressed prior to even hedging the relgious question imho.
Posted by: Jarhead   2005-02-14 4:16:03 PM  

#7  I guess by the 9th grade most children do understand. Younger than that I'm not so certain. I agree with your post #6. But to get into detailed studies I still think College is best. The class I took was beyond High School level.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2005-02-14 4:07:43 PM  

#6  But I think it should be taught as comparing religions: the Catholics think this, the Methodists think that, the Jews the other, Muslims... Bhuddists... and so forth. This (pbuh) nonsense should be presented only as "the Muslims always say/write this after the name of prophets and saints (or whatever), just as religious Jews do not even write out G-d out of respect." Treating the Muslim religion differently and more respectfully than the rest is indeed a mark of dhimmitude.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-02-14 3:56:01 PM  

#5  I disagree, Deacon. High School kids are capable of understanding and appreciating that others have different beliefs (after all, isn't that the point of all the PC nonsense they've been fed since kindergarten?). And by high school they'll have noticed that some of their friends don't go to the same church, and wonder why. I'm starting to get questions from Trailing Daughter's friends about what makes Jews different from whatever they may be, and she is in 9th grade. I don't give them any scotch, though.
Posted by: trailing wife   2005-02-14 3:49:08 PM  

#4  This appears to be the policy of only one of the half-dozen-or-so examining boards in the UK, and OCR have been up to it since at least 2002 (2003 exam's specimen paper here). I'd suggest that David Holford asks that his school switch RE to another examining board. Some are better than others, and some are less pissy than others. Exam boards operate in a free market.
Posted by: Bulldog   2005-02-14 2:11:40 PM  

#3  Would they accept MTLHMOHS? (May the Lord have mercy on his soul) reference here
Posted by: James   2005-02-14 1:58:27 PM  

#2  This is why I believe comparative religion should not be taught in schools until college where it is an elective. One religion or another is going to be "insulted" no matter what you do. I took a course in Old Testament and really had my eyes opened, comming from a Fundamentalist Baptist up-bringing. We called our study sessions, "Scotch and Scriptures". I don't believe most children that young are able to grasp the concepts of what a religion entails.
Posted by: Deacon Blues   2005-02-14 1:23:56 PM  

#1  Unbelievable stuff. Is there no viable anti-PC force over there?
Posted by: someone   2005-02-14 1:19:02 PM  

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