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Author Topic:   Sweden bans religious doctrine in schools
hERICtic
Member (Idle past 4713 days)
Posts: 371
Joined: 08-18-2009


Message 1 of 4 (600470)
01-14-2011 3:33 PM


Thought it was interesting and worthy of disussion:
http://frethink.com/...religious-doctrine-as-if-it-were-true
Swedish government — it’s illegal for schools to teach religious doctrine as if it were true.
Courtesy of The Guardian:
The Swedish government has announced plans to clamp down hard on religious education. It will soon become illegal even for private faith schools to teach religious doctrines as if they were true. In an interesting twist on the American experience, prayer will remain legal in schools — after all, it has no truth value. But everything that takes place on the curriculum’s time will have to be secular. Pupils must be protected from every sort of fundamentalism, said the minister for schools, Jan Bjrklund.
Creationism and ID are explicitly banned but so is proselytising even in religious education classes. The Qur’an may not be taught as if it is true even in Muslim independent schools, nor may the Bible in Christian schools. The decision looks like a really startling attack on the right of parents to have their children taught what they would like. Of course it does not go so far as the Dawkins policy of prohibiting parents from trying to pass on their doctrines even in their own families — and, if it did, it would certainly run foul of the European convention on human rights. It does not even go as far as Nyamko Sabuni, the minister for integration — herself born in Burundi — would like: she wanted to ban all religious schools altogether. But it is still a pretty drastic measure from an English perspective.
The law is being presented in Sweden as if it mostly concerned fundamentalist Christian sects in the backwoods; but the Christian Democratic party, which represents such people if anyone does, is perfectly happy with the new regulation. There is little doubt that combating Islamic fundamentalism is the underlying aim, especially in conjunction with another new requirement that all independent schools declare all their funding sources. This would allow the inspectors — whose budget is being doubled — to concentrate their efforts on those schools most likely to be paid to break the rules.
It’s good to see a few governments brave enough to take a stand against supernatural thinking being presented as established fact. Theists demand we accept their opinions as fact without feeling compelled to offer any sort of credible evidence to support their claims.
Sweden has issued a challenge with this law; if theists want their beliefs to be taught as fact, provide as much proof as science has for evolution or gravity.
Edited by Admin, : Shorten title.

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 01-14-2011 5:14 PM hERICtic has replied

Admin
Director
Posts: 13100
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002


Message 2 of 4 (600487)
01-14-2011 5:14 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by hERICtic
01-14-2011 3:33 PM


Two things.
Could you shorten the title so it fits in the allowed number of characters?
Did you want this promoted to one of the religious forums, or would you prefer Creation/Evolution Miscellany?

--Percy
EvC Forum Director

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by hERICtic, posted 01-14-2011 3:33 PM hERICtic has replied

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 Message 3 by hERICtic, posted 01-14-2011 7:54 PM Admin has seen this message but not replied

hERICtic
Member (Idle past 4713 days)
Posts: 371
Joined: 08-18-2009


Message 3 of 4 (600498)
01-14-2011 7:54 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by Admin
01-14-2011 5:14 PM


Sweden bans religious doctrine in schools?
As for the thread, it could go in many directions since it conveys quite a few different aspects. Faith and Belief? Creation and Evolution in the News? Or like you suggested, Miscellaeous Topics in Creation/Evolution.
Whatever you feel is best.
Edited by hERICtic, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Admin, posted 01-14-2011 5:14 PM Admin has seen this message but not replied

Admin
Director
Posts: 13100
From: EvC Forum
Joined: 06-14-2002


Message 4 of 4 (600552)
01-15-2011 7:57 AM


Thread Copied to Miscellaneous Topics in Creation/Evolution Forum
Thread copied to the Sweden bans religious doctrine in schools thread in the Creation/Evolution Miscellany forum, this copy of the thread has been closed.

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