Religious symbols in schools

Personally I find religious symbols very useful. They allow us to avoid accidently insulting people.

Hitler had a particular "problem" with the Jewish faith. Equally, extreme communist ideology has a problem with religion in general. Marx described religion as, "the opium of the people." Feeling it was used by the powerful as a way of obscuring the real causes of oppression and poverty. Religion he felt was used by the Powerful (the Establishment) as a way of comforting and subduing all anger in lower/middle class people who perhaps should have been rebelling against their conditions, rather than curling up and dying?!

Hence Soviet oppression of churches. And likewise communist oppression of religious faiths in China and South East Asia - particularly Buddhists (esp Chinese oppression in Tibet right Now!!!!) Politics and religion have been two sides of the same coin for centuries. Catholics fighting Protestants and vice versa.

People who want religion in school do NOT have genuine motives, however, morally strong they believe their position to be. Religion in schools is the next best thing to indoctrination. This is essentially what you get with faith schools - that only allow ONE type of religion. If there is to be any religion in school it Must be about teaching, not just one faith but, as a minimum, Four!

It is amazing how people claim religion is responsible for the world's ills and specifically wars and inhumane acts. How about Pol Pot, Hitler, Stalin or North Korea just now - all atheistic philosophies with wicked people in charge. No, it's not religion, it is people who are at fault - all of us.

To SkulliWagg, if Virginian Mary had an abortion, by definition God would be dead - Reference Nicene Creed.

If God were dead, killed as it were, there could be no Virginian Mary for the Angel Gabriel whom to Annunciate. Indeed there would be no Angel Gabriel either.

Neither would there be a Devil, nor Beast 666.

No Apocalypse, or Day before the Apolcalypse.

Nero would have had no fun. And there would have been no human torches or martyrs. No saints.

Just think what might have happened to the history of the world and to each and everyone of us if the Virgin Mary had had an abortion.

BBC News Tue 18 Mar 08..

An east London Muslim, who was well known for giving religious talks, has been jailed for 10 years for rape. Abdul Makim Khalisadar pleaded guilty to raping a 27-year-old woman after forcing his way into her home in 2005.

Khalisadar is unemployed but used to work as an assistant in a primary school teaching English and Maths.

He also worked with an anti-drug-and-violence project in east London's Brick Lane, and was well known for his religious talks.

Seven of Khalisadar's friends who last month admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice were each jailed for 12 months.

Belal Ahmed, 24, Tanbir Ahmed, 24, Mohammed Tahar Hussain, 25, Iqbal Hussain-Ali, 25, Tony Autier, 30, Thouhid Ahmed, 24, and Shaherul Islam Khan, 24 - all from East London - admit lying to the police in formal statements.

They claimed Khalisadar was giving a talk at the East London Mosque at the time of the rape.

"I'm going to rape you," he said twice. She said she was pregnant with twins, which was not true but she was trying to stop the assault.

He forced her to perform a sex act, and threatened to kill her when she tried to escape. He held a knife to her throat, saying: "You love your Daddy."

Religion is a rumour. It never happened.

In reply to 'Who Cares'. What utter nonsense, where are you coming from?

What would be pointless, is if I went to see the vicar for some money for my car tax. This is an example of pointless.

Religion is fantasy, make believe and a complete waste of good time.

Providing you go through life doing your bit, raising a family you can't go far wrong. This is nothing to do with any religion. It's alright praying all day when you've nothing else to do.

At this time of year those seeking to remind fellow schoolmates of the Passion of Christ by sporting crucifixes around ther necks, those of you who do not believe in this nonsense, pin a large sprig of fresh parsley to your lapel. If asked what it is advance the theory to the querent that parsley is the Devil's Herb. Then wave it in their face. If you wish to deal a blow to the other individual make a voluntary gift of the parsley to them, as this constitutes a wish of the person's death to whom it is presented. Advise them knowingly to plant parsley in the full awareness that they risk inviting the Grim Reaper into their homes.

A world without religion would be pointless, what would we live for?

Religion is for the weak willed. When you are dead you are dead!

God's ultimate dictatorship

I am the Lord thy God, who have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Thou shalt not have any other gods besides me
Thou shalt not make for thyself any graven image
or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; thou shalt not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, punishing the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those that hate me; but showing mercy to thousands of generations of those that love me, and keep my commandments.

Such a God is outrageous. Such a God is fascist.

Such a God demands unqestioning obedience, and threatens one's decendants.

That's no God for me. Keep Him out of School.

Just quickly back to the original thread, as I'm new to this discussion. Religious symbols are just a branding as are the labels on clothes. Although this might be unpopular as a view. keep school uniforms. Make them cheap, practical and allow no other adornments on on the school grounds. This includes religious, fashion, political or charitable labels. As a school boy we wore a uniform, it consisted of dark grey trousers a white shirt, school tie and blazer. Every boy wore the uniform regardless of which year he was in. Same thing at my sister's school. There was no pressure from TV, parents or friends to dictate how you looked, In the morning you simply put your uniform on and went to school.