Has anyone had success.??

[66 vegie]

Hi Me again.

My husband and I were wondering if any one on this forum has had any success handing out information on Humanist studies, Ethics,Atheist studies and evolution information to there kids public school....i don't know about you but my school has given me a flat " NO" to teaching Ethics in Scripture class time to the Non- Religious kids who sit there while the religious kids have there brainwashing session.

Just a thought.

[Elbert]

Contact the Education Department with details of the lessons you are proposing and demand the right to teach the class of kids unoccupied during RI.

[kencooke]

my school has given me a flat " NO" to teaching Ethics in Scripture class time to the Non- Religious kids who sit there while the religious kids have there brainwashing session

It is probabely a falacy to assume that scripture classes are primarily about ethics. It is probably truer to say that ethics is at the periphery of religious instruction. You can get an idea what one the major christian denominations teach in their scripture classes by looking at the web site of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine - Curriculum resources (http://www.ccdsydney.catholic.edu.au/currRes/overview.html) page.

I am beginning to think that the strategy of secular/humanist organisations to get accepted as alternative providers of scripture classes by offering courses in secular ethics is not the way to go.

Instead we need to develop a non theistic system of seeing our position in the universe.

In NSW, the law states more or less than any religious group is entitled to apply for and be registered by the relevant government minister as a provider of Special Religious Education (scripture classes) in the State public schools. See Groups approved to provide Special Religious Education in NSW Government Schools (http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/policies/religion/providers/index.htm)

In the Scientology High Court case of 1983, Religion was defined very broadly such that it is possible that secular humanism could be regarded in law as a religion.
Justice Murphy opined that...
"Any body which claims to be religious, and offers a way to find meaning and purpose to life, is religious," he said. "The list is not exhaustive; the categories of religion are not closed."
While Justices Wilson and Deane isolated several characteristics: belief in supernatural, ideas on man's nature and place in the universe, codes of conduct, adherents being an identifiable group and adherents seeing their group as a religion. Most of these were satisfied by most of the world's main religions. The more of these that were satisfied, the more likely it was a religion. This was the case with Scientology.

See an account of the Scientology High Court Case (http://www.suburbia.com.au/~fun/scn/press/831028au.htm) as reported in the Australian at the time.