Ban

[Godhead]

What would you want to see banned, and on what grounds?

[Dotard]

Fire ants. On the grounds of my property.

[Darwinian]

Faith schools.

Religion has no place in the education of impressionable children.

[Godhead]

Darwinian -

How about faith schools for adults? Or optional lessons about religion, for kids?

[Paul the Human]

Chaps and Thongs Night at the biker bar next door. Sure... it sounds like a great idea, but... it's not. *shudders*

[Darwinian]

Darwinian -

How about faith schools for adults? Or optional lessons about religion, for kids?

I'm not bothered about adults learning about religion if they want, or even children if they are interested in the subject.

What I do object to are entire schools set up by churches or other religious authorities that have a specific agenda in mind which is to teach children that a particular faith is correct. To me this is simply brain washing and is one of the main reasons that the religious virus carries on infecting new generations.

There's a big difference between telling children that some people believe in a god and telling them that god is real.

My son went to a Church of England school and the number of times he would come home and tell me that his teacher told him he should believe or the local visiting vicar telling the whole school that God does this and Jesus did that, or that ridiculous happy clappy Christian puppet show that used to visit all the time. To me this is the pernicious indoctrination of innocent and highly impressionable children who have the right to decide for themselves what their place in the Cosmos is without having their minds poisoned by a bunch of devout Christian teachers closely monitored by the Church authority.

To me it is an evil and the sooner it's stamped out the better.

[Godhead]

Darwinian -

Ok what about having guest speakers go to schools and debate with each other (theist V atheist), while the kids observe and ask questions, or even join in if they wish?

[Darwinian]

Darwinian -

Ok what about having guest speakers go to schools and debate with each other (theist V atheist), while the kids observe and ask questions, or even join in if they wish?

Why? Why not have political debates or debates based on musical taste or artistic preference or anything else? What's so special about religion?

Religion seems to have a vastly over inflated position of its own self importance in today's society and because of this seems to think it has the right to impose itself as the core of our lives and also in our schools.

I think we should follow the Australian example where many schools don't even teach religion.

[Godhead]

Darwinian -

You're expressing a preference. But do you object to guest speakers going to schools and debating atheism V theism, and the kids asking questions and joining in?

[Darwinian]

Darwinian -

You're expressing a preference. But do you object to guest speakers going to schools and debating atheism V theism, and the kids asking questions and joining in?

I would have no objection if this particular debate was part of a whole debating programme where many other topics were also covered and the emphasis was on the teaching of debating skills.