I went to a CofE Primary School and a Catholic Secondary School. The Primary was actually very open to everything. We had to learn about religion (I believe even non-religious schools have to teach RE) but if we learned about a lot of different religions, and went on school trips to temples and things as well as Churches, but I never really felt like I was being told to believe any of them. I even remember being taught things that I'm sure the Church itself probably wouldn't be OK with. However, I have a (Muslim) colleague whose two youngest kids go to that same school, and she tells me that her kids come home from school and want to say grace before they eat because their teachers told them to, so it would seem that the school has changed radically in the last 16 years. Poo.
My Catholic Secondary school had very few Catholics considering it was a Catholic school, there were more Muslims than Catholics due to the fact that it was located very close to what must be the most Islamic place outside of Mecca; Edgware Road. But the RE classes there were almost all about Catholicism, with a short paragraph here and there about what other sects of Christianity believe. Certainly never a word about any other religion at all. Ever. When I was 15 they even sent me and a few others on a Catholic Retreat to a place called Kintbury in West Berkshire. I actually had quite a nice time and never felt like any of the religious activities were forced on me. I had to go to an evening Prayer thing in the attic every evening, but actually praying was voluntary, I was quite content to sit and daydream instead. Whatever happened there, sending me was undoubtedly an attempt by my school to convert me. It didn't work, but some of my best memories are of the time I spent there, so I'm glad they made me go.
One time, my school had a non-uniform day in aid of Comic Relief. We could wear our own clothes instead of uniform as long as we were something red and donated at least £1 to Comic Relief. Now, Cormac Murphy-O'connor, then Archbishop of Westminster, head of the Catholic Church in England (and later a Cardinal) was a frequent visitor to our school; and when he found out about this he went mental and my headteacher got into a lot of trouble. Why? Because one of the things Comic Relief does is provide condoms to people at high risk of HIV and AIDS in Africa. We still had our non-uniform day, but all the money went to CAFOD instead. Cunts.
So I think it's very important for schools to be secular. If I wasn't such a strong-willed, free-thinking person, that secondary school experience could have left me a total bigoted cunt. If it were still possible for a religious school to be how my primary was when I was there, that would be fine, but I think that's all in the past now and it's high time we took religion out of schools entirely. Especially in the UK, where secular schools are fairly rare. Within a 15 minute walk of my house there are three CofE Primary schools, four Catholic Primary schools and one Secular Primary School. Wth is that about?
My Catholic Secondary school had very few Catholics considering it was a Catholic school, there were more Muslims than Catholics due to the fact that it was located very close to what must be the most Islamic place outside of Mecca; Edgware Road. But the RE classes there were almost all about Catholicism, with a short paragraph here and there about what other sects of Christianity believe. Certainly never a word about any other religion at all. Ever. When I was 15 they even sent me and a few others on a Catholic Retreat to a place called Kintbury in West Berkshire. I actually had quite a nice time and never felt like any of the religious activities were forced on me. I had to go to an evening Prayer thing in the attic every evening, but actually praying was voluntary, I was quite content to sit and daydream instead. Whatever happened there, sending me was undoubtedly an attempt by my school to convert me. It didn't work, but some of my best memories are of the time I spent there, so I'm glad they made me go.
One time, my school had a non-uniform day in aid of Comic Relief. We could wear our own clothes instead of uniform as long as we were something red and donated at least £1 to Comic Relief. Now, Cormac Murphy-O'connor, then Archbishop of Westminster, head of the Catholic Church in England (and later a Cardinal) was a frequent visitor to our school; and when he found out about this he went mental and my headteacher got into a lot of trouble. Why? Because one of the things Comic Relief does is provide condoms to people at high risk of HIV and AIDS in Africa. We still had our non-uniform day, but all the money went to CAFOD instead. Cunts.
So I think it's very important for schools to be secular. If I wasn't such a strong-willed, free-thinking person, that secondary school experience could have left me a total bigoted cunt. If it were still possible for a religious school to be how my primary was when I was there, that would be fine, but I think that's all in the past now and it's high time we took religion out of schools entirely. Especially in the UK, where secular schools are fairly rare. Within a 15 minute walk of my house there are three CofE Primary schools, four Catholic Primary schools and one Secular Primary School. Wth is that about?
