Here's one for you religionists to hotly deny:

http://www.alternet.org/story/154435/the_religious_right%27s_plot_to_take_control_of_our_public_schools?page=entire

McReal no matter how hard you try, any true rationalist knows the evolution myth is based on faith not evidence. Must be hard to have keep the faith when the story keeps changing. The textbooks I had in school are now be very embarassing for evolutionist. Like gw however they know no shame (one of the tennants of evolutionary faith).

runner,
Evolution is verified by the way DNA works, and the manifestations of that.

GOOD ARTICLE, Dr Maureen Doig - it addresses issues of poor choice.
As you said -

>> Religious philosopher Simone Weil recognised as much. In her essay The Needs of the Soul, she argued that people who find themselves in circumstances that “necessitate … obligations incompatible with one another, without being able to offer resistance … [are] made to suffer …”. <<

runner, Do you realise that millions of christians around the world accept the mountains of evidence that prove evolution? OT literalists really make a mockery out of christianity, don't you?

I'm glad people are now starting to identify the effective discrimination and isolation that occurs in a state school when a child opts out of RE. Children should not be divided up by religious affiliation, nor should they be identified to the community for further discrimination.

Toshie5,

The Atheist Foundation of Australia has received complaints of this nature in an endless stream. It has been the apathy of the public that has prevented a proper evaluation of what is going on in public schools with religion. Things are changing rapidly and articles like that by Meredith Doig will alter perceptions eventually.

A secular government should have nothing to do with indoctrination of any ideology into those least able to mentally defend themselves. This includes particular religious views and indeed a non-religious perspective. Religious views based in an archaic understanding of reality should be the most abhorred. Unfortunately this latter grouping is messing with the minds of children in our state schools authorised by the government of the day. Shameful does not adequately cover this situation.

David

David you are correct, children must not be brainwashed into any sort of religion until they reach an age when they can make up their own mind "no religion is better than some religion"' not the other way around as quoted in the letter
Adopted children living here from Islamic countries with non Islamic adoptee parents would if they were living in their own country be already studying the Koran, but they now do have the choice of non religion or religion depending on the adoptee parents when they are of an age to make their own choice regarding this issue ( actual case), it really shows how stupid and indoctrinated to all people any religion really is.
It really is like National Service many years ago,being trained to kill people, and winning medals in the process, rather than showing respect and love to all mankind. We only have to look at the selective readings anywhere from the Bible, always the good never the bad,if children are required to learn religion at school then for goodness sake let there be open discussions, the bad readings as well as the good, but I bet this will never happen. After all the Bible is only about love, pigs a...