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Secular education

Posted on March 9th, 2008 by bryan.
Categories: General.

“‘Is the study of philosophy and theology a waste of time?’ Hawking, a notorious athiest, looks at his screen, and grimaces. ‘Yes’, he says, finally. ‘Most of it is based on a complete disregard of observational evidence and modern science’” (Stephen Hawking, interviewed by Rachel Cook in The Observer).

Stephen Hawking was talking, I think, about graduate and post-graduate study. But I’m sure he agrees that it applies equally to the teaching of religion in schools to children. The Campaign for Secular Education includes in its Statement of Aims and Objectives:-

1. Our aim is to have every child educated to the highest standards of intellectual honesty appropriate to their age and stage of development - in local schools where they can mix freely with and socialise freely with children of other races, classes, and creeds.

2. Instruction in religion should be the province of parents and their religions, in homes and churches if they insist on indoctrinating their children in their particular faith. It should be not be the business of the state education system to do other than educate, or to condone indoctrination.

3. Children have rights over and above those of their parents and they deserve objectivity.

4. Teachers should be free to teach their subject/s without having to undergo vetting on their religious affiliations, or lifestyle choices, and should be qualified and allowed to answer questions of ethics, belief etc. in an objective way.

5. There should be a programme of integration of Religious Schools.

The Campaign is not to ban or to detract from religion. Instead, it’s about removing religion and indoctrination from the state education system and putting them back where they belong - i.e. within the home, church, temple, mosque, etc. But it also recognises what many fail to understand or to accept - that children have rights over and above those of their parents and that they deserve objectivity.

Richard Dawkins argues that there is no such thing as a Christian, Muslim or Hindu child, merely children with Christian, Muslim or Hindu parents (not forgetting the role of their teachers). A child of 5, starting school, is simply not in a position to understand what religion is, never mind to make an informed choice about what religion (if any) to follow. Any ‘decisions’ that the child does make are the result of indoctrination by those exercising (or, arguably in the area of religion, abusing) their power and control over the child.

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