What do we seem to be saying?
18.11.09 | bob |
From the BBC news piece:
Graham Coyle, a teacher and national team leader at the Christian Schools Trust, which represents 43 independent schools, questioned what the BHA was asking parents to do.
“They seem to be saying that they don’t want parents to pass on to their children their fundamental beliefs – about what is right and wrong, about respect for other people and living in harmony,” he said.
“If that is what they are saying then they are asking parents to abrogate their responsibilities. And if parents don’t pass on these beliefs who is going to fill the vacuum?
“To say that we are labelling our children by passing on our fundamental values is mistaken.”
He added: “If a humanist says to his child ‘I don’t believe in God’ then he is making a statement and passing on that belief.”
Of course it’s not true that the Don’t Label Me campaign says you can’t pass on any kind of moral education! It’s only about labelling children and other kinds of really tight constraint on the development of their “worldview” – whatever it may end up being. Far from being about abrogating responsibilities, parental open-mindedness – allowing children the space to explore different ideas from your own for themselves – is a very worthwhile and virtuous responsibility to undertake!
Anyway, the BHA loves critical thinking, of course! So we’ve answered the questions raised here in the Billboards Critical Thinking FAQ. For example see after the jump.
How are religious parents supposed to bring up their children if they’re not allowed to practice their faith with them?
The posters are about the practice of labelling children and “claiming them” for a faith. The posters are not about parents expressing their own religious, philosophical, moral or political views or even involving their children in their religious rituals. However we do hope they will raise awareness about what it does to someone’s self-image when others presume a particular view of them, especially young and impressionable people. Such presumption gives them less choice to freely develop a worldview for themselves.
How does one instil morals without inculcating children into a specific religion?!
You do not have to be religious to be moral. Right and wrong can be found within society and by discussing responsibilities and the effects of your actions on others. We are certainly not against the discussion of morality – indeed we support the right of children to be free to explore their moral and philosophical beliefs. You can find more information and guidance at:
- our Education section and educational resources in our shop.
- Our Humanism section and Humanism resources in our shop.
- The Growing Up in the Universe site at www.humanistgrid.net/guu
November 18th, 2009 at 22:23
Religious people often fail to see, or do not want to see, that there is a difference between religious belief and ethics. If the new campaign can raise public awareness over that distinction, it will have done one thing good. If it shatters the privileges of the faith schools, that would be a bonus.
November 19th, 2009 at 0:25
That’s rather sneaky, they way he snuck in the bit about living in harmony and respecting others, as though that is just as exclusive to Christianity (or at least theism) as believing in God (and the rest of the content of the creeds) is… Perhaps it would be news to this person that Humanists actually believe in living in harmony too, and it doesn’t take a God breathing down your neck to know it is a good idea. In fact it is probably easier to live in harmony with others if you don’t for example, believe they are going to Hell due to not sharing your beliefs, but just treat them as being on an equal level with you, just another human, with similar joys and sorrows and needs.