Well done Donnie, unlike others you actually understand the concept. But why do you say it would only work in theory? It works pretty well in the English National Curriculum.

I have always been facinated by religious beliefs. Not so much in the beliefs themselves but why people believe in them. In other words, what particular state of mind or psychology makes someone believe something that would normally be viewed as stupid or ridiculous. After all, in normal circumstances the vast majority of people would scoff at talking angels, the dead springing to life, or virgins giving birth.

In this regard science and religion can inter-mix. There should be more scientific study as to why willingly delude themselves as per the recommendation of Daniel Dennett in his book 'Breaking the Spell'.

Yes yes, hold fast to ‘secular’ education. Unfortunately this term is often misunderstood as anti-religious. It actually means ‘living in the world, in the age’. The term can be traced to Greek rationalists who initiated the study of ethics - the notion that something could be inherently good or bad, separate from its association with a ‘god’. It has nothing to do with hostility to religion. Thus, public education, in this day and age has a secular duty to inform students about the social, political, theological force of world religions which impact on all our lives.

The benefit of Religion Education in the UK is seen in terms of increased cultural awareness, not faith in any particular creed.
It is possible for secular governments and educators to explore religion (history, practice and beliefs) in a non-sectarian way. Trouble is, historically this has not been the case. However, the future demands that we raise our children less ignorant than ourselves.

'The benefit of Religion Education in the UK is seen in terms of increased cultural awareness, not faith in any particular creed.'

This is an exceptionally good point Ms. Byrne! Nothing opens up the religious mind like having a pantheon of gods paraded before it.

it is impossible to be secular, be you an individual OR a nation-state, should you have no knowledge of religions in the first place. that is commonsense.

teaching young australians more about religions, in relation to a recent history of the world (and of course to the antiquity of our aboriginal people) will certainly benefit a Tolerant Australia. to suggest otherwise is to be ignorant of how the world works, and 74% of australians who declared themselves tied to a religion last census.

Extending the teaching of religion into the philosophy and morals of certain world religions would become much trickier. australian kids just don't get taught about the intellectual sciences and philosophy in high school. it would be unfair to teach them strictly religious thoughts in schools were (to name but a few huge western thinkers) plato, mill, kierkegaard, nietzche and foucault - aren't allowed in.

"Global Religious History and Function" as it could be called, should only be taught through a compulsory history course, which is modern, well-researched, interesting and can be taught appropriately to both young kids and older ones. To be the person in charge of deciding such a curriculum would be a challenge, and as Realist agrees, there is not much room to move there anyway

Hi trueaussie, i don't mean it wouldn't work in practice i just see it as a can of worms given the lobbyists and vested interests in play. But that said, if the cultural and social benefits of such education - that the author and some above have raised - are guaranteed and bias or perversion of the subject matter can be prevented then i would gladly ditch my conservative viewpoint and be all for it.