Shared values? What shared values are in a forced prayer to the Christian god?

Forcing kids into praying to someone else’s imaginary being is beyond intolerant, it’s insane. It’s insane regardless of whether or not said kids have an imaginary being of their own that is different from the one pushed onto them by schools.

Also, I dare hypothetize that enforcing the values of a cult that tells you all your future sins are already forgiven and that all you need to do is mindlessly follow several century old doctrines is as far from preparing young people for a responsible adult life as it gets.

There are millions of better ways to share values and even more better ways to prepare teenagers for their future - how about teaching them something about rationality, tolerance and skepticism, for a start?

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“I am concerned that this is the thin end of the wedge and could be just the start of a process that devalues and ultimately marginalises the provision of collective worship in schools”.

Lets hope so, wedge away!

“Collective worship has been branded as something that young people grow out of by the age of 16” (if only, some people never grow out of it) “, at precisely the time when it might be the best way of feeding both their minds and their hearts” (haha perhaphs the latter in a hallow sense but definitely inhibiting to the mind) “as they start to explore the responsibilities and consequences of adult life,” Dr Morgan said.

And this exploration of responsibilities and consequences is best undertaken by group imaginary friend worship?

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I live and was brought up in Wales. It’s been over 10 years since I left high school but even back then I distinctly remember how meaningless and uninteresting our weekly assembly had become. At the very best, we had just one act of collective worship per week (which merely consisted of reciting the Lord’s Prayer in a manner more akin to learning lines for a test rather than an act of genuine religiosity). The vast majority of us just did not take an interest in it. It was irrelevent. The last thing we need in this day and age is to force kids and teachers to waste time pretending to take this shit seriously. Let it be a matter of personal choice, something you do in your own time.

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I think this is a good thing, reason not faith indeed.

I am interested in what might happen to religion in the future though. Can it really be relegated to the same plateau as astrology? Is astrology as weak as we would like?

Looking at my own experiences of church and religion they were so boring and so unlikely to inspire collective awe that they assisted on my path away from them.

If religion is removed from children’s general experience then all to the better, but this might just push it back into little niches of which people have little or no experience. How can we push it back, but still educate as to what a waste of time it is for most of us? Still use i as an example of how we used to be and what so many children were put through.

I guess the negative experience will be lost. This is a good thing in many ways, another step on the road, but meanwhile religion will still be strong in the world and will be strong in closed communities and families, and most people will not have these negative, boring and forced experiences of it.

Will that matter though? Lets stop it and see

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Typical whining Aries.

Right, must go and pray to Lord Xenu.

Quick thought though, surely ALL kids should be allowed to opt out of prayers if they so wish, ignoring the stupidity of having prayers in a school at all.  This means they FORCE under 16s to pray???  That can’t be right.

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exploring the responsibilities and consequences of adult life could be much better accomplished without mindless praying to imaginary deities. If you want to build community values why not spend the time exploring, debating and discussion issues that are pertinent to society and affect the lives of these young people. What a waste of time.

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