Do you agree with religion in education?
Poll
Do you agree with religion in education?
Religion in education is a controversial topic. Whether that be attending a religious school or being expected to study Religion to at least GCSE level.
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Scroll to see replies
Original post by Airmed
Religion in education is a controversial topic. Whether that be attending a religious school or being expected to study Religion to at least GCSE level.
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
I don't mind it being taught but it shouldn't be a mandatory subject.
I think it should be a subject you can opt out of when you're choosing your GCSE subjects, I hated taking R.E or 'Ethics & Morality' as my school called it, and I would rather have had additional Graphics or Art lessons.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by (づ￣ ³￣)づ
I think it should be a subject you can opt out of when you're choosing your GCSE subjects, I hated taking R.E or 'Ethics & Morality' as my school called it, and I would rather have had additional Graphics or Art lessons.
It was compulsory at my school. I think only one person didn't do it, and that was because they started to deliberately flunk it.
Original post by Airmed
It was compulsory at my school. I think only one person didn't do it, and that was because they started to deliberately flunk it.
I think it should be mandatory for young children to learn about it, but in a laid back environment, then you should have the choice to opt out of taking it as a subject when you start secondary school since most kids make their mind up on whether they believe in religion at primary school level anyway..
My R.E teacher despised me because he knew I hated the subject, and I made no effort in lessons, instead using the hour to work on my Art coursework.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by (づ￣ ³￣)づ
I think most kids make their mind up on whether they believe in religion at primary school level, my R.E teacher despised me because he knew I hated the subject, I made no effort in lessons and instead used the hour to work on my Art coursework.
I think that depends on what kind of primary school you go to. I went to a Catholic primary school, so we made our First Communion in primary four and our Confirmation in our last year, so we were always surrounded by religion. Personally, I didn't figure out my thoughts on religion until I went to grammar school.
Original post by Airmed
Religion in education is a controversial topic. Whether that be attending a religious school or being expected to study Religion to at least GCSE level.
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
We were forced to do RE gcse despite many pupils objecting to it. I agree with being taught about different religious beliefs to encourage people to respect them but being forced to only study certain religions in lessons I have a problem with as it doesnt encourage respect between different beliefs. I also think teaching about humanism and that all atheists aren't militant wouldnt go amiss:P
I believe summaries of the major religions should be taught in all schools - for example I was taught exclusively about Islam and a small amount of Sikhism, would've enjoyed covering Hinduism and Christianity etc.
I think a basic understanding of different faiths is important for a more tolerant society.
But I think ALL faith schools should be banned. It's indoctrination. And very often they don't follow basic curriculum...
As an aside, I went to a CofE primary and have to say the version of Christianity presented couldn't be anything further from the Bible I've read as an adult. I wonder how many people would be religious if their religion was introduced in adolescence/adulthood, not programmed from birth...
I think a basic understanding of different faiths is important for a more tolerant society.
But I think ALL faith schools should be banned. It's indoctrination. And very often they don't follow basic curriculum...
As an aside, I went to a CofE primary and have to say the version of Christianity presented couldn't be anything further from the Bible I've read as an adult. I wonder how many people would be religious if their religion was introduced in adolescence/adulthood, not programmed from birth...
Original post by Airmed
I think that depends on what kind of primary school you go to. I went to a Catholic primary school, so we made our First Communion in primary four and our Confirmation in our last year, so we were always surrounded by religion. Personally, I didn't figure out my thoughts on religion until I went to grammar school.
That is a good point, I went to a state school so it was probably more lax, but I still think that most people generally have some idea about what they believe by the time they're in Yr 6 (around the age of 10).
I think that we should teach Creationism and Evolution hand in hand, as a single subject instead of being separated into science and R.E, there's a great video of a debate between Bill Nye and Ken Ham that is definitely worth the 02:30:00 watch.
Spoiler
(edited 7 years ago)
Cohesion should be spoken about in form groups, assemblies etc, and not a mandatory subject of which all the subjects within it may be/are likely to be completely false. I also think that it would be very difficult to teach/inform without bias. I certainly witnessed this in my school.
Let's look at this from a difference perspective... If we did one hour of understanding witchcraft each week, would that be worthwhile?
Let's look at this from a difference perspective... If we did one hour of understanding witchcraft each week, would that be worthwhile?
Original post by 1010marina
As an aside, I went to a CofE primary and have to say the version of Christianity presented couldn't be anything further from the Bible I've read as an adult. I wonder how many people would be religious if their religion was introduced in adolescence/adulthood, not programmed from birth...
That's a very good point.
It is interesting that there are a good number of actively Christian parents who want their children to attend a secular school and learn about religion outside of school. This is because they believe that religion should be integral with their families personal lives and not just outsourced to school which should instead concentrate on secular education like English and science and geography. At the same time there are a good number of atheist parents who want their children to attend church schools because they believe that they are better at instilling morals and ethics into children than secular schools are. Some even think that the quality of education in secular subjects is higher as well.
Original post by Airmed
I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
You put your finger on it here. For this reason, I believe people should try to understand what other people believe.
That means religion should be studied - but that is not quite the same a 'religion being taught' because it can be taught in different ways. Religion can be taught in a 'confessional' way: that means it is taught in the expectation that the teacher believes, and that the pupils will come to believe, in that religion. But it can also be examined in the same critical way which may be applied to all academic subjects.
I consider studying religion to be essential to a well-working society made of non-believers and believers of many different kinds; but that may be different to being taught the Catholic faith in a Catholic school, as you were. I'm not a believer.
BTW some people will tell you that "Theology" is a course by believers for believers while Religious Studies is more critical. Well, there's no evidence that is necessarily the case, and I myself studied theology at King's where it was treated as a proper, critical, academic subject.
(edited 7 years ago)
Original post by Arran90
That's a very good point.
It is interesting that there are a good number of actively Christian parents who want their children to attend a secular school and learn about religion outside of school. This is because they believe that religion should be integral with their families personal lives and not just outsourced to school which should instead concentrate on secular education like English and science and geography. At the same time there are a good number of atheist parents who want their children to attend church schools because they believe that they are better at instilling morals and ethics into children than secular schools are. Some even think that the quality of education in secular subjects is higher as well.
It is interesting that there are a good number of actively Christian parents who want their children to attend a secular school and learn about religion outside of school. This is because they believe that religion should be integral with their families personal lives and not just outsourced to school which should instead concentrate on secular education like English and science and geography. At the same time there are a good number of atheist parents who want their children to attend church schools because they believe that they are better at instilling morals and ethics into children than secular schools are. Some even think that the quality of education in secular subjects is higher as well.
This definitely. My daddy is atheist, former Catholic, and the three of us went to Catholic school, simply because those schools were known to be good for education. I went to one of the best grammar schools in N.I and my sister went to one of the best secondary schools. And both fiercely Catholic.
Original post by (づ￣ ³￣)づ
@Airmed Have you thought of adding a poll to this thread?
Good idea, let me see if I can edit!
Original post by Stychomythia
You put your finger on it here. For this reason, I believe people should try to understand what other people believe.
That means religion should be studied - but that is not quite the same a 'religion being taught' because it can be taught in different ways. Religion can be taught in a 'confessional' way: that means it is taught in the expectation that the teacher believes, and that the pupils will come to believe, in that religion. But it can also be examined in the same critical way which may be applied to all academic subjects.
I consider studying religion to be essential to a well-working society made of non-believers and believers of many different kinds; but that may be different to being taught the Catholic faith in a Catholic school, as you were. I'm not a believer.
BTW some people will tell you that "Theology" is a course by believers for believers while Religious Studies is more critical. Well, there's no evidence that is necessarily the case, and I myself studied theology at King's where it was treated as a proper, critical, academic subject.
That means religion should be studied - but that is not quite the same a 'religion being taught' because it can be taught in different ways. Religion can be taught in a 'confessional' way: that means it is taught in the expectation that the teacher believes, and that the pupils will come to believe, in that religion. But it can also be examined in the same critical way which may be applied to all academic subjects.
I consider studying religion to be essential to a well-working society made of non-believers and believers of many different kinds; but that may be different to being taught the Catholic faith in a Catholic school, as you were. I'm not a believer.
BTW some people will tell you that "Theology" is a course by believers for believers while Religious Studies is more critical. Well, there's no evidence that is necessarily the case, and I myself studied theology at King's where it was treated as a proper, critical, academic subject.
This is what I think should be done in schools. You're right though. I did Religion even at A Level. The specification claimed to be around the Christianity teachings, but that was pure *******s. I was taught the Catholic view.
Original post by Tubbz
I think it's quite good to understand and study religion, it gives you a good understanding of why someone is behaving the way they are, and it may not be because they're a good/bad person, but more due to indoctrination.
With the last bit, what are you trying to say?
Original post by Airmed
Religion in education is a controversial topic. Whether that be attending a religious school or being expected to study Religion to at least GCSE level.
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
I'm all for faith schools, having been to one myself and enjoyed the experience. I don't think they're all/automatically bad things. BUT I strongly believe that what and how they teach should be closely monitored by authorities, regardless of whether it's a state or private school or academy or free or whatever. Particularly across RE/philosophy/ethics, sciences, and PSHCE lessons, to make sure they're not trying to brainwash students. I don't think people should be forced into taking a GCSE in Religios Studies/Education though
I believe there is now a rule in place in at least SOME exam boards that you have to study two differing faiths for GCSE. (So you can't do Catholicism and Christianity, you have to do Catholicism and, say, Judaism or the Sikh faith.) I think this is a very good idea and should have been brought in far sooner tbh
Original post by Airmed
Religion in education is a controversial topic. Whether that be attending a religious school or being expected to study Religion to at least GCSE level.
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
Do you agree with religious schools or being taught religion in school?
Did any of you attend a religious school? I attended Catholic grammar school, and we only briefly learnt about Protestantism in second year (and mainly the difference between all the churches). Should religious schools at least educate their students about other religions?
I agree because people should be made aware that not everyone believes the same stuff as everyone else!
Hey 
I went to a Catholic secondary school too. From year 7 to year 9 we learned about Catholicism and areas of the new testament but we also learned about Judaism and Hinduism too. From year 10- year 11 when we began studying for our GCSEs, it was strictly the New Testament as we did Christian modules for GCSE religious studies. The thing is, due to time constraints I wouldn't expect schools to try to teach many other religions. I mean, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different religions so how would an institution decide which is best to teach? These religions are also huge with vast denominations and sacred texts, Christianity alone is huge and even we only managed to scrape in Mark's Gospel which is only one book of the 27 books in the new testament. There isn't any time to learn the other books of the new testament, especially for GCSE. I asked my teacher, why we didn't begin learning the old testament or other books of the new testament earlier and she said due to the age of students. Some of these topics are quite complex. Now that I am much older and have studied more on the bible, I wouldn't expect my year 7,8 or even year 9 self to be aware of certain philosophical teachings that mainly sixth form schools teach their religious studies A level students. Like I said before, there are also many denominations, not just Catholicism but protestants and Orthodox Christians. For GCSE, your school doesn't decide what areas to teach in Christianity if they are doing Christian modules, instead the exam boards decide what needs to be taught through their specifications. We took AQA and ticked each areas of the specification once our teacher had covered areas of the module. I've read the bible and that alone took years to read, without studying anything it can take minimum a year to read. I guess you can say, well schools have the power to pick modules that deal with different religions. Yes, but at the same time, I wouldn't expect my Catholic school for GCSE to teach Islam or Hinduism (though some do) since the teachers we had and school ethos/pathos was mainly Catholic. Same for an Islamic school, I wouldn't expect for an Islamic school to teach GCSE Christian modules. Their speciality would be in the religion they are most familiar with, meaning better grades for students.
I went to a Catholic secondary school too. From year 7 to year 9 we learned about Catholicism and areas of the new testament but we also learned about Judaism and Hinduism too. From year 10- year 11 when we began studying for our GCSEs, it was strictly the New Testament as we did Christian modules for GCSE religious studies. The thing is, due to time constraints I wouldn't expect schools to try to teach many other religions. I mean, there are hundreds, if not thousands of different religions so how would an institution decide which is best to teach? These religions are also huge with vast denominations and sacred texts, Christianity alone is huge and even we only managed to scrape in Mark's Gospel which is only one book of the 27 books in the new testament. There isn't any time to learn the other books of the new testament, especially for GCSE. I asked my teacher, why we didn't begin learning the old testament or other books of the new testament earlier and she said due to the age of students. Some of these topics are quite complex. Now that I am much older and have studied more on the bible, I wouldn't expect my year 7,8 or even year 9 self to be aware of certain philosophical teachings that mainly sixth form schools teach their religious studies A level students. Like I said before, there are also many denominations, not just Catholicism but protestants and Orthodox Christians. For GCSE, your school doesn't decide what areas to teach in Christianity if they are doing Christian modules, instead the exam boards decide what needs to be taught through their specifications. We took AQA and ticked each areas of the specification once our teacher had covered areas of the module. I've read the bible and that alone took years to read, without studying anything it can take minimum a year to read. I guess you can say, well schools have the power to pick modules that deal with different religions. Yes, but at the same time, I wouldn't expect my Catholic school for GCSE to teach Islam or Hinduism (though some do) since the teachers we had and school ethos/pathos was mainly Catholic. Same for an Islamic school, I wouldn't expect for an Islamic school to teach GCSE Christian modules. Their speciality would be in the religion they are most familiar with, meaning better grades for students.(edited 7 years ago)
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