Thanks for all the comments. I should point out that this piece was published on my blog and I wrote it in about 20 minutes, so it is not meant to be an extensive or intellectual analysis of all the issues. Thanks to all who "like" it, and apologies to those whose right to "dislike" is taken away by Facebook.

Here are some facts of SRI classes and chaplaincy (not readily reported over at The Age):

• -Re/SRI Classes total around 1.5% of the school curriculum (30 mins per week). This hardly seems like a likely springboard for a religious take-over of society.

• -No student is forced to attend RE classes and can readily withdraw.

• -All faith groups have access to provide classes or chaplains- so Christians have no ‘advantage’.

• -The class teacher is present in the RE class the whole time to oversee proceedings (are we saying we don’t trust our teachers to look after the welfare students?).

• -Schools have to voluntarily apply to have chaplains and are not forced to do so. The vast majority of schools who have them want to keep them. (see report by by Edith Cowan University and University of New England http://www.suqld.org.au/_sys/_data/downloads/The_Effectiveness_of_Chaplainc_BRIEF.pdf).

• -If any group has violated the government codes and regulations, they will be dealt with by those agencies.

What is unfair here?

Finally, here are some important points from The Victorian Governments Education and Training Reform Act 2006:

a. the persons providing the special religious instruction must be persons who are accredited representatives of churches or OTHER RELIGIOUS GROUPS and who are approved by the Minister for the purpose;

b. attendance for the special religious instruction IS NOT TO BE COMPULSORARY FOR ANY STUDENT whose parents desire that he or she be excused from attending

Sandpiper, you'll be pleased. I took up your challenge.

>>All the Bible stories have layers and layers of meaning... A challenge for you... revisit a few of those "stories"<<

Since you mentioned Lot, I looked him up, and found this:

"...the men of the city, even the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, both old and young, all the people from every quarter: and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us... and Lot went out at the door unto them... and said, I pray you, brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two daughters which have not known man; let me, I pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is good in your eyes: only unto these men do nothing; for therefore came they under the shadow of my roof." Gen 19:4-8

Unless you read it differently, here's a father offering his daughters' virginity to a crowd of men, in order to protect his guests.

Wow!

And a bit later, his daughters repaid him for his generosity of spirit.

"And the firstborn said unto the younger... Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him... And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father... And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him... And they made their father drink wine that night also: and the younger arose, and lay with him... Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father." Gen 19:31-36

This is the guy saved by Abraham's prayers? Whose wife was murdered for looking over her shoulder?

This is what you want to teach our kids?

Give us a clue as to the "layers and layers of meaning" that make this an OK story.

Nickosjt

OK.

If RE is as harmless as you say and the in class teacher is able to monitor the RE teacher (provided they are not busy with the opt-out students). Is there harm?

YES:

Why can't RE simply be an Opt-In class? Those who really want to attend can and the others can study a topic of their choosing, or more appropriately comparative religion and philosophy.

The fact that students are marginalised for the benefit of RE classes is nothing more than dressed up discrimination.

And to repeat the bleeding obvious; RE is what churches should be doing not schools.

Nick, if you replace 'religious' with 'political' (just as an analogy) in your writing, then then the objections of people who do not share your faith have will become immediately clear.

Nicholas: "Re/SRI Classes total around 1.5% of the school curriculum ….

The budget allocation for chaplaincy alone amounts to around 25 per cent of the total Federal education budget. Consider the time kids spend with the chaplain in the playground or class room; or at lunch time prayer groups. Then there’s church camps promoted by the chaplain, relying on peer pressure and pester power to get the kids away from their parents where Education Department restrictions on proselytising don’t apply. Plus kids’ involvement in Trojan horse gendered religious programmes like Shine and Strength. Don't play games, we know how far fundamentalist religion has infiltrated into our secular schools.

Nicholas: "No student is forced to attend RE classes …”

How about the estimated 80% of kids in RE classes in Queensland who, according to the department’s own guidelines shouldn't be there because their parents didn’t nominate a religion on their enrolment form. EdQ knows about this, but won't take any action. Some parents don't even know their kids are taking RE - we've certainly heard from some who got a hell of a surprise when their child came home spouting Scripture!

Then there’s the 'un-churched' kids who are bribed into attending with lollies and promises of 'lovely presents' at the end of the year. Or the kids who are made to feel so isolated, punished or bored for being left out of RE that they beg their unwilling parents to let them attend.

Or how about the kids from Ulladulla who were made - against their parents express wishes - to sit in the back of the RE class. In that case, the RE teacher and chaplain posted on the internet praying these kids would hear Bernie's words and be converted. When parents complained, the kids were put just outside the door of the RE class - with the door open and Bernie talking as loudly as he could so they wouldn’t miss anything.

Either you are woefully misinformed about this whole catastrophe or you are lying for Jesus.

Nicholas: "All faith groups have access to provide classes or chaplains …

... The major employing bodies to whom the vast majority of taxpayers' cash is going to are Christian and require their employees to be Christian. People without an affiliation to a religious organization are excluded from chaplaincy unless all attempts to secure a religious person have been exhausted. Humanists, pagans, Wiccans etc are excluded from giving SRE classes - so not all beliefs are catered for. The Buddhists have already complained they don't get funding.

Nicholas: "The class teacher is present in the RE class the whole time …”

Teachers have better things to do with their time than to babysit SRE teachers - just one reason the Victorian Teachers Union, the Australian Education Union and many appalled teachers oppose the classes.

One teacher from wrote to me just this week. She said, "I am absolutely FURIOUS at the moment … I had to endure yet another scripture lesson with my high school class today ..."

Apparently, apart from urging the kids to attend her church for a ‘fun event’ the SRE teacher told them what they were learning in about evolution from their science teacher wasn't true - in fact it was 'far-fetched'.

Nicholas: "Schools have to voluntarily apply to have chaplains and are not forced to do so.”

If the government provided schools with the choice of a chaplain or a trained youth worker which would they'd choose? If they let schools choose between half a billion dollars for more teaching resources or for chaplains - which do you think they'd choose?

Nicholas: “The vast majority of schools who have them want to keep them. (see report by by Edith Cowan University …"

That report has been thoroughly discredited and is not worth the paper it's written on. Let Mr 97% Porkie tell the story here: http://bit.ly/jrBbXd

Nicholas: "If any group has violated the government codes and regulations, they will be dealt with …”

The Australian Secular Lobby has been reporting these kinds of violations to Education Queensland for years and they're largely ignored. I've heard the same stories in other states.

Nicholas: "What is unfair here?"