[Closed] Is this pandering yet again...Ramadan

Neal, if you meant that adults take these exams too, then yes, I see the reason for your edit.

I don't particularly care about adults and the consequences of their beliefs - they usually have a choice.
Their kids don't.

Halloween showings of 'The Djinnbusters' with all the original Ghostbusters music removed and replaced with Quranic recitation?

To be fair, that sounds brilliant. 😀

Could we extend the multiculturalism to throw in some Bollywood dances as well?

Gobuchul, you obviously didn't go to a catholic school,

I did.

I no longer follow the religion I was taught in school.

I don't feel particularly bitter, angry and resentful like a lot of others on here about having the whole Catholic thing as a kid.

If people did follow what JC taught, not to the exact letter as this is impossible due to the lack of clarity of the various translations but the underlying principles, then the World would be a better place. You don't have to believe he was God to do that either.

Do you think you would be considerably less spiteful about religion had you been brought up in a secular or even more tolerant environment?

One can do and act as one please but one cannot demand others to do the same]

FWIW i dont eat meat were i to make everyone vegan I would expect some "spiteful " reactions to this.
i also deplore that our govt decided all students must study RE - Again if religion left me alone and education alone i would not be as "spiteful" to it.

RE is a compulsory gcse at many secondary schools and takes up a huge amount of otherwise useful teaching time.

How would you suggest kids should be taught about how to live in a multicultural society?

Or don't you think that's important.

RE lessons aren't indoctrination to one religion, they are to educate about all of them.

And I'm saying that as someone who was taught RE in a catholic school by nuns, 30 odd years ago.

Undfortunatley they dont want to be left alone to do as they please they feel the need to both preach and make us all join in with the,m Tihis crosses the line for me

Geniune question.

I only went to religious schools so obviously there was a bit of praying and stuff, so I don't know what happened elsewhere.

"Back in the day", in "normal" state schools, i.e. not RC or C of E, was there much praying and stuff? I always assumed there wasn't much?

I was about to post same as Neal, RE is about understanding different religious beliefs, festivals etc and being understanding of others. It doesn't make you believe in God of any kind.

"Back in the day", in "normal" state schools, i.e. not RC or C of E, was there much praying and stuff? I always assumed there wasn't much?

I left a non-religious state primary in 1988. We had daily worship, including hymns and prayers, and said grace before eating.

I taught in a non-religious state primary in 1999-2000. We had daily worship, including hymns and prayers.

My daughter left a non-religious state primary in 2014. She had daily worship, including hymns and prayers.

"Back in the day", in "normal" state schools, i.e. not RC or C of E, was there much praying and stuff?

I went to a "normal" state primary and secondary school in Scotland (circa 1980 to mid-1990s)

As far as I know both were non-denominational (though Scotland being what it was the primary was generally regarded as a proddy one, because all the Catholics went to St Josephs).

My memory is that we had "assembly" once a week (I think.. maybe it was daily), where we all sat on the floor of the gym, a few boring announcements were made ([i]"please stop setting fire to the janitors cat"[/i] etc) then we sang a few hymns and finished with the Lord's Prayer.

How would you suggest kids should be taught about how to live in a multicultural society?

Or don't you think that's important.

RE lessons aren't indoctrination to one religion, they are to educate about all of them

I was about to post same as Neal, RE is about understanding different religious beliefs, festivals etc and being understanding of others. It doesn't make you believe in God of any kind.

I think you are missing my point here chaps, I don't think school is a place to learn about any religion. Don't get me wrong, I agree with the teaching of historical events that were religiously motivated (the english reformation for instance). Teaching tolerance of others beliefs can be done at home,

Teaching tolerance of others beliefs can be done at home,

Sadly, my mam knows bot all about Sikhs. Luckily, I was taught about them at school.

Why is teaching facts about dead people acceptable to you, but not facts about living people?

Fancy forcing your children to fast, honestly it's beyond belief, literally.

You learn how to live in a multicultural society by being given the opportunity to live in a multicultural society.

You don't have to be specifically taught not to be a knob to those of other faiths.
Just being taught not to be a knob is enough.

Signalling out religious diffence as something special is unhelpful.
Pointing out the benefits of accepting difference is not.

I don't think school is a place to learn about any religion.

I'm quite happy for my kids to learn about their own and other cultures, and that includes learning about religions which are often a central or formative part of those cultures.

I'm quite pleased when I hear my daughter say [i]"Some people believe..."[/i]. That's all good.

I'm much less happy when she follows it with [i]"But I know it was God because Mrs [X] told us."[/i] 👿

This thread was all about Islaam and Ramadan. And then a few Christians waded into it waving the "it's a Christian Country" flag. And were called on their accuracy and charity.

So rather deploying the knee-jerk lazy "millitant atheist" name-calling, those Christian posters might like to look back and see what actually happened here. The whiff of self-torching martyr is rather strong 😉

[quote=mitsumonkey ]Fancy forcing your children to fast, honestly it's beyond belief, literally.Yep, they should be like good christians and buy their kids lots of chocolate at Christmas and Easter. I wonder which options is worse for their kids health?

Teaching kids about all religions is also a really good way to create atheists.

Out of the mouths of babes, real religious truth: http://gu.com/p/4fdpb

As is not bringing the subject into schools in the first place.

Gives it a prominence it does not deserve.

.

This article seems relevant too:

Schools do not have to teach non-religious world views and should let students know Britain is "in the main Christian", the Government has said.

Nicky Morgan, the Education Secretary, has sidestepped a High Court ruling which found she unlawfully excluded atheism from the school curriculum.

A two year commission which found the UK is no longer a Christian country is also absent from the department's new guidance.

The new document says religious education should "reflect the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are, in the main, Christian."

-- [url= http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools-must-teach-that-britain-is-mainly-christian-and-need-not-cover-atheism-says-nicky-morgan-a6787951.html ]Independent, 28 Dec 2015[/url]

Why is teaching facts about dead people acceptable to you, but not facts about living people

I think most people agree that teaching facts about dead and living people is ok, not quite sure why you made that sweeping generalisation about my point; which is purely, for the last time tonight folks, I don't think religion has a place in school. History yes, multiculturalism (why does this intrinsically need to be linked to religion??) yes. Just not god of any particular flavour.

Have to love you and leave you as I'm off to cricket practice (now THAT should be taught in schools :D)

I'm not really sure what planet Nicky Morgan is on.

You don't think teaching facts about what religions believe is suitable for in school? Even Dawkins would disagree with that.

No, not as a separate subject Mike.
Incorporate it into sociology, it's at home there.

Giving it a prominence it doesn't deserve legitimises the belief.
We can still acknowledge it's importance and impact without doing that.

Modern RE is essentially a philosophy and ethics course.

So let's call it that then?

Yep, they should be like good christians and buy their kids lots of chocolate at Christmas and Easter. I wonder which options is worse for their kids health?

Modern RE is essentially a philosophy and ethics course.

"Back in the day", in "normal" state schools, i.e. not RC or C of E, was there much praying and stuff? I always assumed there wasn't much?

I went ot a c of E primary and refused to go to the secondary.

That explains the spelling I suppose 😉

😆

Perhaps atheists have the dispassionate cold perspective of people who think both religions are wrong, so they feel well positioned to call out what they might see as entitlement and hypocrisy, that members of the faiths may not see from their positions?

More likely that their minds are closed, which has no place in science either.

Can i get a sight of the syllabus, as laid down by the examboard that proves that point?

Not read it or have a clue if it supports the point but:

http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse

Stoatsbrother- I think it i[i]s relevant to bring Christianity into the discussion, since the question in the OP asked if we are pandering to one religious group in a country that is multicultural and not predominantly muslim. Nor is it unexpected that the thread should take such a direction, since it is a logical follow-on to the OP to debate whether Britain is still a Christian country these days, and whether religion of any kind should or should not influence the running of this country.

In answer to the OP, I have no probem with accomodating Ramadan in such a way.

Can i get a sight of the syllabus, as laid down by the examboard that proves that point?

This is the overview of the A level course taught at our place. We call it "philosophy and ethics" but the certificate says "religious studies":

AS Level
This course consists of two modules, each covering two topics that introduce students to the study of Philosophy:
Module 1: Philosophy of Religion
Ancient Greek influences on philosophy of religion;
Judaeo-Christian influences on philosophy of religion;
Traditional arguments for the existence of God;
Challenges to religious belief.
Module 2 – Religious Ethics
Ethical theories;
Applied ethics topics.
A2 Level
Students who choose to continue their study of Philosophy and Ethics will take two further modules:
Module 3 – Philosophy of Religion
Religious language and the meaning of religious statements;
The nature of religious experiences;
The coherence of the concept of God;
Life after death;
Miracles
Module 4 – Religious Ethics
Meta-ethics;
Free will and determinism;
Conscience;
Virtue ethics
Applied ethics topics.

of course it does not support his view and i could have found it myself

Its clearly religious education - only one option does not mention religion in it-as that is what it is termed
[url= http://www.aqa.org.uk/subjects/religious-studies/gcse/religious-studies-a-8062/specification-at-a-glance ]overview here to save a big paste [/url]

We call it "philosophy and ethics" but the certificate says "religious studies":

Reads more like the philosophy of religion should be the proper title.

More likely that their minds are closed, which has no place in science either.

I like to think I'm at least as open-minded as those of a strongly religious nature...

Looks to me like there's a few on here who can't distinguish between accommodating people's religious practices and promotion of religion in schools.
If you're upset by schools having a perfectly reasonable discussion about moving a couple of exam dates then you must be bloody furious about everything else that happens ever. This is not an issue.

Modern RE is essentially a philosophy and ethics course.

Which is how it is now being taught in some schools here in the East Midlands, made the local TV news a while back.

A quick look at ks3 re resources showed an introduction to James and John Stuart Mill’s ethical theories on happiness and Adam Smith's notion of human sympathy.

Ha!

Summer exams will not be fitted around Ramadan, confirm boards: http://gu.com/p/4ftzk

interesting answers !

Would you be happy if you started hearing prayer calls when out shopping etc ? only asking...

Yawn.

bearnecessities - Member
Yawn.

Yawn all you like...Im only asking a question

Our local mosque is probably too far from the town centre to hear it, especially over the noise of buses, etc. I any see why it would be more bothersome than hearing church bells.

Did a Muslim touch you in a bad way when you were a kid or something? You seen very concerned about very minor Islam-based hypothetical changes.

Did you miss my link on the previous page saying that exam times haven't been changed?

miketually - Member
Our local mosque is probably too far from the town centre to hear it, especially over the noise of buses, etc. I any see why it would be more bothersome than hearing church bells.

Did a Muslim touch you in a bad way when you were a kid or something? You seen very concerned about very minor Islam-based hypothetical changes.

Very strange reply...