- Target:
- Australian Government
- Region:
- Australia
My children are enrolled in a public school which teaches Christian Religious Education as part of the curriculum. From the age of 5, children are taught that "Jesus is Lord" and "God made the sky, God made the stars". A chaplain is at school outside of CRE times.
When I tried to remove my son from the CRE sessions, the teacher replied "This would be awkward, because he'd have to sit at the back of the class reading or something - we have nobody to supervise him".
On top of this, my child is subject to becoming outcast; and I am forced to take him home early every Monday until the situation is changed. I am all for children learning morals, values, virtues, and even learning about religions - but in an educative manner and not an instructive one.
To the honourable the speaker and members of the legislative assembly of the parliament of Western Australia in parliament assembled.
We, the undersigned, ask that Compulsory Religious Education in state schools be suspended until the Government is able to offer a course that caters to the needs of all students, regardless of their religious or cultural background.
The current Christian Religious Education program is insulting to followers of other faiths, and non-believers, because it teaches that Christianity is the source of spiritual values.
We support instruction about ideas and behaviour that lifts spirits and enriches lives, however, state school children come from a wide range of spiritual, cultural and religious backgrounds.
We ask the legislative assembly to replace existing religious education with a program that promotes and encourages spiritual/psychological well being in families, relationships and society by offering a course in basic philosophy, with references from all religions and great thinkers.
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The Remove Christian Religious Education from Public Schools petition to Australian Government was written by alison and is in the category Education at GoPetition.