You can't fully separate morals/ethics from religion/spiritual philosophy.

If you have morals/ethics then you have to have some reference standard of what is right and what is wrong-- this is basically the very definition of an ethical action. Furthermore, the standard is something that the person has to *believe* in if you are going to act ethically according to the standard. (If you act according to the standard but don't believe in it then you are *not* acting ethically-- belief in the standard is a *necessary* part of an ethical action.) This faith/belief in the standard means that it is a religious or spiritually philosophic entity to some degree.

Even if you are are atheist-- if you have a notion of ethical/moral behaviour then you have a religious side because your notion of ethics requires an act of faith. Being atheist doesn't preclude somebody from being religious- for example, many forms of Buddhism are atheistic yet they are all commonly considered to be religions/spiritual.

I don't agree with that logic, thinkabit,

You certainly need some philosophy on life to have moreals and ethics, but you don't necessarily need a religion or to follow any of the spiritual paths you have used as examples. I was brought up without seeing the inside of a church or being educated on any particular sprirtual path.

My parents simply taught me to respect other people and not do anything to others that I would not like done to myself. You can argue that is spiritual if you like, but I would disagree - it's just being humane.

seeing the perverted ethics of the secular ethicist on Q&A last night shows how bereft of morals these high priests are. They are so worried about a chook being eaten while promoting bestiality. Ethics without absolutes is just plain nonsense and anyone with half a brain knows that.

Doesn't the push for ethics classes in NSW public schools emanate from some kind of rule that proscribes any other kind of learning taking place while the weekly scripture classes are in session? My understanding is that currently, students who opt out of religious instruction are prevented from doing anything else educational as an alternative.

I agree that "religious instruction" classes have no place in government schools. If parents want their kids proselytised, they should send them to religious schools or Sunday School.

While I'm not as sceptical about ethics classes for all students as some others are, I'd like to see the content before supporting them or otherwise.

Yep, someone with half a brain certainly does.

Here is an example of an ethics dilemma that may be put to children in an ethics class.

There are 2 men. One rich, one poor. The rich man gives the poor man $20. The poor man can now buy food for the day, get somewhere to stay or maybe buy himself a blanket to keep him warm.
The rich man hardly noticed the loss of $20 but the poor man gained a lot. The poor man gained much more than the rich man lost.
Given that, is giving the poor man the money the right thing to do? Would not giving him the money be wrong?
What if the rich man said "no Im not giving him anything let him go out and get a job and work hard like I do". Would that be wrong?

If you think it would be right to give the poor man the $20 and wrong to not help him do you think it would be right to "force" the rich man to give the $20 to the poor man?

There is no "correct" answer and everyone has to decide for themselves and most importantly they have to think! Ethics isnt about "right" and "wrong" it is about using your own mind and thinking for yourself. Not mindlessly parroting the god said this is good, god said that is bad line. Which is what you will get in religious education classes.

All kids should have ethics classes. It will make them better people and better citizens. It will also teach them how to think for themselves and how to cope with disagreement and conflicting opinions.
Religion has no place in schools and personally I think the brainwashing and indoctrination churches practice in relation to kids is a particularly harmful form of child abuse.