School Praying Ban Backed

[baggieal]

Totally agree the Head’s decision was backed about a praying ban. Religion in my view unless a faith school should be kept out of education.

Surely this person if they wanted to pray could have done this at lunch break in a quiet spot or when going for a number 2!

[Omegstrat6]

Totally agree the Head’s decision was backed about a praying ban. Religion in my view unless a faith school should be kept out of education.

Surely this person if they wanted to pray could have done this at lunch break in a quiet spot or when going for a number 2!

My understanding is that for devout followers of Islam there are 5 important prayer times and that to miss any of them is regarded as a serious lapse of faith. That said, there are only two that may impact on normal school times. The first, Dhuhr, is just after noon and so could fall during a normal lunch hour. The second, Asr, is normally late afternoon. All prayer times are dictated by the position of the sun so will change slightly through the year. For today, as example, Dhuhr falls at 12:53 and Asr at 16:43. This means that Asr falls outside of school times.

Depending on the strictness of the individual's faith there may be some compromise and flexibility so that prayer times can be as close as possible to these times rather than exact. In these cases-where only Dhuhr may apply-I personally don't see why such a mid-day prayer cannot be accomodated, especially if there is a large Muslim population in the school. If they are that strict (which would mean the children would have to also be up to pray just before sunrise for Fajr as well as still be up for Isha at around 10pm) then, yes, attending a Faith school should be the option.

Personally, however, I dislike any kind of Faith School as I believe they can too easily only serve to indoctrinate and encourage closed minds and discrimination. Religion, to me at least, is like politics and whilst not instilling hatred, we should encourage our children to learn about various forms of it and challenge beliefs where needed rather than follow them blindly.

[kettering_baggie]

There should be no religious ‘education’ in schools, none at all, a complete waste of time. Fairy tales are for the nursery.

[mickd1961]

My understanding is that for devout followers of Islam there are 5 important prayer times and that to miss any of them is regarded as a serious lapse of faith. That said, there are only two that may impact on normal school times. The first, Dhuhr, is just after noon and so could fall during a normal lunch hour. The second, Asr, is normally late afternoon. All prayer times are dictated by the position of the sun so will change slightly through the year. For today, as example, Dhuhr falls at 12:53 and Asr at 16:43. This means that Asr falls outside of school times.

Depending on the strictness of the individual's faith there may be some compromise and flexibility so that prayer times can be as close as possible to these times rather than exact. In these cases-where only Dhuhr may apply-I personally don't see why such a mid-day prayer cannot be accomodated, especially if there is a large Muslim population in the school. If they are that strict (which would mean the children would have to also be up to pray just before sunrise for Fajr as well as still be up for Isha at around 10pm) then, yes, attending a Faith school should be the option.

Personally, however, I dislike any kind of Faith School as I believe they can too easily only serve to indoctrinate and encourage closed minds and discrimination. Religion, to me at least, is like politics and whilst not instilling hatred, we should encourage our children to learn about various forms of it and challenge beliefs where needed rather than follow them blindly.

The parent and child knew the school rules before the girl joined which should make this a non story.

But it won’t.

Get ready for the masses ranks of zealots and nutters at the school gates holding placards etc.

I give this courageous head teacher a month before she’s forced out.

[baggieal]

The parent and child knew the school rules before the girl joined which should make this a non story.

But it won’t.

Get ready for the masses ranks of zealots and nutters at the school gates holding placards etc.

I give this courageous head teacher a month before she’s forced out.

The Head should be commended!

[Omegstrat6]

Tbh, I think that a school should not ban pupils prayer times merely as a point of principle but that they should only accommodate such a request if they can make the necessary "reasonable" adjustments. If they cannot then they can then refuse with an appropriate explanation to support that decision and the parents would have no recourse to complain.


Just because a pupil or parent demands something should not mean the school has to give in-"I want doesn't get" as I'm sure many of us of a certain generation were told as kids. Sadly it seems too many these days have an over exaggerated sense of self entitlement and seem to think they have a "right" to whatever they want. Recent surveys amongst teachers show just how much time they now spend on dealing with both pupils and parents who seem to think school rules do not apply to them and theirs whether this is around issues of religion, gender self identification, mobile phones or skirt lengths.

As for religion in schools, I know it may be a bit tricky, but I actually think that it is important that all pupils have a broad understanding of the different faiths but that such teaching is designed not to favour any one particular religion and is careful to be respectful so as not to provoke discrimination or hate. That said, however, I also believe that it is important to recognize that whilst the tenets of most religions encourage believers to lead a "good" life and help others, there are also some aspects and interpretations that are much less salubrious and can be anti-abortion, mysogynistic, patriarchal or homophobic for example. Surely, with older pupils especially, these aspects should be debated just as they might be expected to debate historical events and decisions. If parents or pupils of any faith find this heresy then they should leave and not have any recourse to complain.

[kettering_baggie]

It seems to me that it is nonsensical to ‘teach’ religion in schools. On one hand they teach science and then, by going into religion, effectively contradict the science by saying that fairy stories should be believed! Absurd, well that’s my view.

As for this recent case, legal aid was given to the pupil concerned, well over £150,000 apparently. What an utter waste of taxpayers money.

[Grand Wazoo]

It seems to me that it is nonsensical to ‘teach’ religion in schools. On one hand they teach science and then, by going into religion, effectively contradict the science by saying that fairy stories should be believed! Absurd, well that’s my view.

As for this recent case, legal aid was given to the pupil concerned, well over £150,000 apparently. What an utter waste of taxpayers money.

There are an awful lot of eminent scientists who now have changed their opinion and subscribe to a creator of the universe. Calling it fairy stories is a rather narrow minded and arrogant statement, in my opinion. But we will all find out for sure eventually. If your theory is correct you ain't gonna know that you were correct. But if you are wrong as I believe you are then you are in for a shock.

[kettering_baggie]

There are an awful lot of eminent scientists who now have changed their opinion and subscribe to a creator of the universe. Calling it fairy stories is a rather narrow minded and arrogant statement, in my opinion. But we will all find out for sure eventually. If your theory is correct you ain't gonna know that you were correct. But if you are wrong as I believe you are then you are in for a shock.

What I don’t believe in is the religious stuff, not the same as believing or otherwise in some form of subsequent consciousness, about which I am agnostic. Religious education is about ‘enlightening’ children about those religions and their history; as far as I know, religion has been used primarily as a means of controlling populations and some unspeakable horrors have been inflicted on people by religious dictats, that applies to all religions. Many religious leaders throughout history have been hypocrites, preaching to the masses while behaving very badly themselves. Should there be any ‘Judgement Day’ for us all, the way that we have behaved towards other people and our planet will be the deciding factors in whether we enjoy eternal bliss or purgatory! None of us are perfect but surely if you treat others as you wish them to treat you, you shouldn’t go far wrong?

Will we find out one day? Who knows? Nobody. I read a quote the other day by Ricky Gervais, ‘When you are dead, you won’t know that you are dead. The same applies to stupid people’! Well, I thought it was funny!

[mickd1961]

There are an awful lot of eminent scientists who now have changed their opinion and subscribe to a creator of the universe. Calling it fairy stories is a rather narrow minded and arrogant statement, in my opinion. But we will all find out for sure eventually. If your theory is correct you ain't gonna know that you were correct. But if you are wrong as I believe you are then you are in for a shock.

Who are these “eminent scientists” then?

I’d be interested to see the list of them?

Thanks in advance.