Story
Help the British Humanist Association (BHA) in its campaign to phase out state funded 'faith’ schools and reform our education system by ensuring we can employ our dedicated campaigns officer for another year and fund his campaigning activities.
There are nearly 7,000 state-funded ‘faith’ schools in England. Many of these have the power to discriminate against children and teachers, excluding those of the ‘wrong’ or no religion. Religious groups can also exercise considerable influence on the curriculum, especially in the areas of Religious Education and sex education. The result is religious and socio-economic segregation, with thousands of pupils being denied a broad, balanced and inclusive education.
The BHA campaigns for inclusive schools with no religious admissions policies, balanced teaching about different beliefs and values, and no compulsory 'collective worship'. The BHA also campaigns to combat the growing threat to education from creationism and pseudoscience, as well as for wider improvements to values and moral education across the school curriculum and supports improved Sex and Relationships Education, Citizenship Education and the inclusion of Philosophy.
Our campaigner will make sure that the voice of UK citizens who oppose faith schools is represented in the most powerful way. To do this our campaigner helps to stimulate and organise local campaigns against new faith schools and lobby government and parliament to reform the laws that allow state funded schools to discriminate on religious grounds, that requires they provide collective worship and to teach unbalanced curricula of religious education. This work is enormously important, yet very difficult to fund. The religious lobby, in contrast, is both well-resourced and deeply entrenched in our political system.
Recent work by the ‘faith’ schools campaigner has ensured that:
· concerns about ‘faith’ schools were debated by MPs and peers at every stage of the Academies Act’s passage through parliament, leading to widespread media coverage
· local campaigns against new ‘faith’ schools received expert advice and support
· schools now have clear government guidance stating that creationism should never be given parity with evolution
· the BHA’s policy statements on religion in schools have the support of teaching unions such as the NUT, ATL and ASC
· government guidance on Religious Education now recommends the teaching of humanism and other non-religious beliefs.
Please give generously. Even the smallest gift will make a huge difference to what we can achieve.
Any money donated beyond our target will be spent on BHA education campaigns.
There are nearly 7,000 state-funded ‘faith’ schools in England. Many of these have the power to discriminate against children and teachers, excluding those of the ‘wrong’ or no religion. Religious groups can also exercise considerable influence on the curriculum, especially in the areas of Religious Education and sex education. The result is religious and socio-economic segregation, with thousands of pupils being denied a broad, balanced and inclusive education.
The BHA campaigns for inclusive schools with no religious admissions policies, balanced teaching about different beliefs and values, and no compulsory 'collective worship'. The BHA also campaigns to combat the growing threat to education from creationism and pseudoscience, as well as for wider improvements to values and moral education across the school curriculum and supports improved Sex and Relationships Education, Citizenship Education and the inclusion of Philosophy.
Our campaigner will make sure that the voice of UK citizens who oppose faith schools is represented in the most powerful way. To do this our campaigner helps to stimulate and organise local campaigns against new faith schools and lobby government and parliament to reform the laws that allow state funded schools to discriminate on religious grounds, that requires they provide collective worship and to teach unbalanced curricula of religious education. This work is enormously important, yet very difficult to fund. The religious lobby, in contrast, is both well-resourced and deeply entrenched in our political system.
Recent work by the ‘faith’ schools campaigner has ensured that:
· concerns about ‘faith’ schools were debated by MPs and peers at every stage of the Academies Act’s passage through parliament, leading to widespread media coverage
· local campaigns against new ‘faith’ schools received expert advice and support
· schools now have clear government guidance stating that creationism should never be given parity with evolution
· the BHA’s policy statements on religion in schools have the support of teaching unions such as the NUT, ATL and ASC
· government guidance on Religious Education now recommends the teaching of humanism and other non-religious beliefs.
Please give generously. Even the smallest gift will make a huge difference to what we can achieve.
Any money donated beyond our target will be spent on BHA education campaigns.