World Religions Course Proposal for schools

jimd2

Posted also on the christianity thread but there is a relevance here also.

Interesting article here from the Indo, he certainly makes some valid points though I would have to disagree with his assertion that "Denominational schools already do an excellent job respecting children who come from other faith backgrounds and none".

The author says that the Dept of Education should be encouraging divestment to other patron bodies, to me that must be the objective and focus and not investing effort and resources into this new "subject". Since many Church of Ireland children have access to schools of their faith then I would imagine that the biggest number of children going to schools where they do not follow the religion would be atheists. So drumming up a new subject covering all religions wouldn't be of much interest to them either.


http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...-34175081.html

Custardpi

jimd2 wrote: »

I would imagine that the biggest number of children going to schools where they do not follow the religion would be atheists. So drumming up a new subject covering all religions wouldn't be of much interest to them either.


http://www.independent.ie/opinion/co...-34175081.html

On the contrary, a subject teaching about, as opposed to indoctrinating in religion would be relevant to all children, regardless of their faith or lack thererof. Like it or not you cannot hope to understand the history of Europe & the development of European culture without having a reasonable understanding of Christianity & to a lesser extent Islam & Judaism. No harm at all in giving an overview of other religions too, given how diverse society is becoming.

Michael OBrien

Custardpi wrote: »

On the contrary, a subject teaching about, as opposed to indoctrinating in religion would be relevant to all children, regardless of their faith or lack thererof. Like it or not you cannot hope to understand the history of Europe & the development of European culture without having a reasonable understanding of Christianity & to a lesser extent Islam & Judaism. No harm at all in giving an overview of other religions too, given how diverse society is becoming.

It is also very useful in protecting children from indoctrination as they can see just how many different viewpoints there are on the subject and gives them greater perspective on world culture and thus helps reduce xenophobic behaviour. Education is always better than ignorance.
I would prefer if they expanded it to include Belief systems so non theistic philosophies could be included so it was not all "god belief this, god belief that".
I think it a great mistake by some atheists to think that raising their children without any religious knowledge is a preferred option (you do hear stories about that from people who went to college and were influenced by theism, and had no idea how to respond critically to it because parents made religious discussion a banned or discouraged topic in the house, or gave that impression). They have no historical or social perspective then and can end up getting swayed by terrible arguments when they mix with other children. Also you don't want your child to become hostile to religious people, including classmates, either. This can result in more conflict than already exists in classrooms and playgrounds.

recedite

Important to note that the subject is to be called Education about Religions and Beliefs (ERB) and Ethics. So this is the first time that ethics has crept into the national school curriculum. Atheists and agnostics will readily appreciate that ethics is not necessarily the same as religious morality. And whenever a state referendum on a social issue crops up, this difference comes to the fore. The separation of church and state is an ongoing thing.
Anyway, we have a whole thread about such matters; in school patronage.