Am i wrong?

[trekbabe 0]

Are there any seperation laws in the UK? (Seperation of church and state). I am not well versed in British law, if there is then this would seem to be a clear violation of the law. If there isn't then there really should be one.

I have e-mailed my brother. He is a university lecturer, and is part of the law division, so i'm sure he will be able to help me.

[ARMS 0]

My daughter, Amy, came home from school yesterday and told me she got a detention from her R. E teacher. The teacher asked them all what they found interesting about Islam, and my daughter replied " nothing", so she gave her a detention.

 

Now i learn that thay want her, and all the class to learn about the faith, though the majority of them have told the teacher they do not wish to. That they would rather spend their lesson concentrating on their own faith( roman catholicism)

 

I live in an city where the ratio of Asians is very high,and a lot of Asian children go to Amy's school. Thay do not have to participate in the daily routine of the catholic faith, and rightly so, as it is not their chosen faith and to force them to do so would be wrong. This is exactly how i feel regarding my daughter so i am going to ring the school this morning and voice my objections about making her study a faith she has no interest in, or desire to learn about. Furthermore, if they push the issue i will take it further.

 

Am i wrong?

In no way did she deserve detention.

 

I found RE lesson pointless personaly, as i had already known and accepted most customs. So i just sat there blankly.

[Theunicornhunter 2]

trekbabe Posted on Jun 21 2003, 07:09 PM

 

.... I have never heard of seperation law, and assuming there is one just how would it work in my favour? pls forgive my ignorance, but i know very little about law

Separation from Church and State comes from the First Amendment of the US Constitution. There are basically two clauses that refer to religious freedom in the first amendment. One is the "free exercise" clause and the other is the "establishment" clause. The latter is what is generally refered to in these case. It states that the federal government can make no law concerning the establishment of religion. Because it is a federal (constitutional right) - states are obligated to follow it as well. That is important because education is under the purview of state governments in the US.

 

Since public schools are arms of the state government they are precluded from establishing a religion by any act that endorses a specific belief or faith. This would not apply to private schools who are not arms of the state and in fact many private schools in the US are religious schools and their whole purpose is to endorse religion along with secular education.

 

Ironically, this has been taken to the extreme in some instances in that teachers in public schools are not allowed to wear crosses that might denote their religion. But some districts in California are also forcing education in Islam. Makes no sense. However, they have been able to successfully argue they are only introducing children to diversity rather than endorsing a specific religion which I imagine is what your school will argue as well.

 

I would be interested in knowing what you find out about British law. This might be a case where you could find a public interest law firm that could help you out.

[trekbabe 0]

Thankyou for the clarification UH. i am not sure if there is law governing this kind of thing in England, but if there isn't there should be. I agree that Amy's school will make the assertion regarding diversity. I had already thought of that.

 

However, i emailed the headmaster yesterday with my concerns, so i shall wait for a response now. Hopefully,he will understand my position, but i very seriously doubt it.

 

I can put a copy of the letter i wrote on here if anyone would like to read it, but didn't want to be so presumptuous by just sticking it in there, as it is quite a long letter.

[trekbabe 0]

Just to keep you up to date on what is happening. I have the legal right to remove Amy from R.E, as many muslim, Hindu and Jewish parents do with their children. I have had a reply from the headmaster who acknowledges my complaint and wishes to speak with me in person to discuss the matter, in the interest of Amy's education. He will get back to me within 10 days to arrange an appt. so i will let you know what happens. If it ok with you all i would like to print off your responses on this topic to show him. as i mentioned your outrage in my original letter, but if you'd rather i didn't i understand.

[Lubak10 0]

Being a student myself, I'm curious about other religions.

 

BUT, a school has absolutly no right to force children to learn about other RELIGIONS other customs, yes, general beliefs. But not religion. It is up to them and their families, not their school.  B)

I agree. My school has a Comparitvie Religions class that I can't wait to take but it's an optional class. I don't think I would enjoy it as much if I was forced to take it.