Abandoning our heritage
I was amazed to read the headline "Compulsory religion is out of date" (Opinion, September 7).
This is a bit like saying there's no need to bother with English or maths either.
Knowledge of Christianity is such a basic part of our heritage.
Schools used to have a daily act of worship, and as a schoolboy I really enjoyed heartily singing a couple of hymns before going into class. It was also an opportunity for the whole school to gather together.
Experiences like this help our children to make up their own minds about their beliefs in future.
If we do not teach our children about the Ten Commandments, and they do not go to church, how may we expect them to understand the difference between right and wrong, and how the laws of the land must apply to everyone?
There is no other moral code. The Ten Commandments come from the very Top!
Lack of observance is one of the reasons why we have such an increase in violence, unruliness, burglary, fraud and murder in our society.
It would be imprudent to abandon God by eliminating Him from our schools.
As a nation we need all the help we can get. If only half our people believe in God, that will still count in our favour.
God will be our shield and we shall be rewarded. As was Abraham (Genesis 15).
Nigel Mutimer, Coalville
Compulsory religion is out of date
The findings of a survey suggest many schools are failing to meet their legal obligation to provide pupils with a daily act of worship.
This is not surprising as an Ofsted report a few years ago found only one quarter of schools comply with the requirement. The new survey also found that the majority of respondents – 60 per cent – did not believe a daily act of worship should be enforced.
Given that the law is being widely ignored and most people do not care, is it not time to change it and drop this requirement?
And while we are on the subject, could the same not be said for the obligation placed upon schools to provide religious education?
We have the greatest respect for those who regard religious faith as important. However, that increasingly does not apply to a large proportion of the population who would regard themselves as agnostic, if not atheist.
It would therefore make more sense for schools to make their own decisions, based on the background of their pupils and their own ethos, over issues such as daily acts of worship and whether to teach religious education.
Clearly, religious schools, and the number of these are growing, would want to do these things. Other schools in areas where there are large numbers of religious families might want to do so also.
That would allow parents for whom faith is important to choose accordingly.
However, in an increasingly secular society where many people clearly regard religion as having little or no importance to them, it is surely pointless to tell all schools to have daily acts of worship and teach religious education.
Creationism in the classroom
The subject of creation science has once again be raised in a controversial manner by a local clergyman.
Therefore, I would put the question, should schools and colleges have the intellectual freedom to educate their students on the debate between the theories of intelligent design and that of Darwinian evolution, encouraging students to do their own research into the science behind these theories?
As a democracy that encourages a variety of freedoms of expression and promotes individual initiative, would it be appropriate on occasions to allow qualified scientists from both sides of this debate to input to this process if school governors and head teachers deem it appropriate?
Could this be something for our new Mayor, Sir Peter Soulsby, to instigate?
Tim Heatley, Leicester
