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Mercury · 09-21-2010, 02:42 AM

I have enjoyed this thread, and think that everyone has been pretty civil, (on both sides) which is all too rare.

I find that religious people, atleast here in the UK, have jumped on to this 'aggressive athiest' thing in the last couple of years, so now anyone saying clearly and slowly that they do not believe in any kind of deity is classed as aggressive, strident, shrill etc. Additionally, because of the harm being done to our state school system with the huge amount of faith schools now, those who dare to speak out are labelled as angry secular athiests, even if they have some kind of belief.

Part of the problem here is that many people are not aware of the kind of teaching that is going on in these faith schools. It is not like it was when you could tell it which faith the school belonged to, only by watching which god they prayed to in assembly. Some islamic state schools spend 50% of the school day learning the koran, and in other lessons, such as science, the children are taught what the koran has to say about things. I find that appaling, and unfair on the children. It is a betrayal by the education department, who should ensure acceptable levels of teaching in every school.

It would never have occured to me ten years ago to bring up my lack of belief in any god or religion, it just wouldn't have been needed. Now, sadly, it is as though we were going backwards in our understanding of pretty much everything, and a troubling new faith based approach is being adopted to institutions (such as schools and hospitals) which have no business IMO doing anything on 'faith'. This is why I am more passionate than before, and make my views known more clearly than i would have done previously. I can't be too worried if stating my views politely but strongly manages to offend some people.

09-21-2010, 02:42 AM	#124
Mercury Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 164 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: London, UK Device: Sony 505, iPad	I have enjoyed this thread, and think that everyone has been pretty civil, (on both sides) which is all too rare. I find that religious people, atleast here in the UK, have jumped on to this 'aggressive athiest' thing in the last couple of years, so now anyone saying clearly and slowly that they do not believe in any kind of deity is classed as aggressive, strident, shrill etc. Additionally, because of the harm being done to our state school system with the huge amount of faith schools now, those who dare to speak out are labelled as angry secular athiests, even if they have some kind of belief. Part of the problem here is that many people are not aware of the kind of teaching that is going on in these faith schools. It is not like it was when you could tell it which faith the school belonged to, only by watching which god they prayed to in assembly. Some islamic state schools spend 50% of the school day learning the koran, and in other lessons, such as science, the children are taught what the koran has to say about things. I find that appaling, and unfair on the children. It is a betrayal by the education department, who should ensure acceptable levels of teaching in every school. It would never have occured to me ten years ago to bring up my lack of belief in any god or religion, it just wouldn't have been needed. Now, sadly, it is as though we were going backwards in our understanding of pretty much everything, and a troubling new faith based approach is being adopted to institutions (such as schools and hospitals) which have no business IMO doing anything on 'faith'. This is why I am more passionate than before, and make my views known more clearly than i would have done previously. I can't be too worried if stating my views politely but strongly manages to offend some people.