The Government’s Qualifications and Curriculum Authority wants schools to teach less about Christianity and more about other religious and non-religious beliefs, from Islam to atheism. Mick Hume, writing in today's Times, comments:
I am an atheist of the fundamentalist, evangelical school. But teaching our children about atheism in Religious Education classes? ... This post-religious RE is about preaching the new State religion of multi-culturalism, or intolerant tolerance. All beliefs are to be treated as equally valid, and nobody is to be allowed a claim on the truth, or the right to offend anybody else’s faith. That dogmatic worship of relativism can only undermine the principle of any belief worth having, whether religious or secular. ... if there is to be RE in state schools, I would prefer my children to be taught full-on Christianity than offered a vapid pick-and-mix of multicultural spirituality. At least that would have the virtue of teaching them that there are such things as truth and commitment, and that some beliefs are worth fighting for. It would also give them certainties to react against. As our daughters, now aged five and six, grow up, I hope to teach them about the freedom to worship as they see fit — and the freedom to rubbish all religions without constraint. In the meantime, let them come home from school saying that they believe in Jesus. And let them read the beautiful King James Bible, rather than the gospel according to government quango and committee.
