Johann Hari: Dear God, stop brainwashing children
Worship is forced on 99 per cent of children without even asking what they think
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Let us now put our hands together and pray. O God, we gather here today to ask you to free our schoolchildren from being forced to go through this charade every day. As you know, O Lord, because You see all, British law requires every schoolchild to participate in "an act of collective worship" every 24 hours. Irrespective of what the child thinks or believes, they are shepherded into a hall, silenced, and forced to pray – or pretend to.
If they refuse to bow their heads to You, they are punished. This happened to me, because I protested that there is no evidence whatsoever that You exist, and plenty of proof that shows the texts describing You are filled with falsehoods. When I pointed this out, I was told to stop being "blasphemous" and threatened with detention. "Shut up and pray," a teacher told me on one occasion. Are you proud, O Lord?
Forcing children to take part in religious worship every day is a law worthy of a theocracy, not a liberal democracy where 70 per cent of adults never attend a religious ceremony. That's why the Association of Teachers and Lecturers – one of the teachers' unions – has recently moved to ask the Government to stop forcing its members to take part in this practice.
Why does this anachronism persist in this blessedly irreligious country? For all their whining that they are "persecuted", the religious minority in Britain are in fact accorded remarkable privileges. They are given a bench-full of unelected positions in the legislature, protection from criticism in the law, and vast amounts of public money to indoctrinate children into their belief systems in every school in the land.
I can understand why the unelected, faltering religious institutions cling to this law so tightly. When it comes to "faith", if you don't get people young, you probably won't ever get them. Very few people are, as adults, persuaded of the idea that (say) a Messiah was born to a virgin and managed to bend the laws of physics, or that we should revere a man who at the age of 53 had sex with a nine-year-old girl. You can usually only persuade people of this when they are very young – a time when their critical and rational faculties have not yet been developed – and hope it becomes a rock in their psychological make-up they dare not pull out.
But why do the rest of us allow this fervent 5 per cent of the population to force the rest of our kids to follow their superstitions? Parents can withdraw their children if they choose – but that often means separating the child in an embarrassing way from her friends and exposing them to criticisms from the school, so only 1 per cent do it. Most don't even know it is an option.
More importantly still, why is worship forced on 99 per cent of children without their own consent or even asking what they think? As the author Richard Dawkins has pointed out many times, there are no "Christian children" or "Muslim children". I was classed as "Christian" because my mother is vaguely culturally Christian, although at every opportunity I protested that I didn't believe any of it. Children are not born with these beliefs, as they are born with a particular pigmentation or height or eye colour. Indeed, if you watch children being taught about religion, you will see most of them instinctively laugh and ask perfectly sensible sceptical questions that are swatted away – or punished – by religious instructors.
I am genuinely surprised that no moderate religious people have, to my knowledge, joined the campaign to stop this compelled prayer. What pleasure or pride can you possibly feel in knowing that children are compelled to worship your God? Why are you silent?
The prayer-enforcers offer a few arguments in their defence. At first, they claim it instils "moral values" in children. The scientist Gregory S Paul produced a detailed study in 2005 to find out if rates of murder and rape went up as levels of religion went down. He found the exact opposite. On detailed international comparisons, the more religious a country is, the more likely you are to be stabbed or raped there. There isn't necessarily a causal relationship – but it blasts a bloody hole in this claim.
Of course, if you actually followed the morality explicitly commanded by the Bible, Torah and Koran, you would kill adulterers, gay people, apostates, and disobedient children and be sent to prison. Thankfully, the vast majority of religious believers long since decided to disregard much of "God's word", because it is manifestly appalling, and read it metaphorically. But you have to strip away an awful lot of the texts as metaphor before you get to a few bland lessons about being nice to each other. Can't we get the lessons about niceness from somewhere else, without the bogus metaphysics and endless injunctions to kill our friends?
Once the morality defence dissolves, the religious switch tack, and claim that children indoctrinated into religion perform better academically. As "proof", they point to the fact that faith schools perform somewhat better on league tables. It's true – but look a little deeper.
There have been two detailed studies of this, by the conservative think tank Civitas, and the Welsh Assembly. They found faith schools get better results for one simple reason: they use selection to cream off highly motivated children of the wealthy and weed out difficult, poor or unmotivated students who would require more work. Once you take into account their "better" intakes, faith schools actually underperform academically by 5 per cent (and that's before you factor in all the other problems they cause).
I am absolutely not saying that schools should teach children to be atheists. No. Schools should take no position on religion. They should be neutral, and equip children with the thinking skills – asking for evidence, and knowing how to analyse it rationally – that will enable them to make up their own minds, when they wish, beyond the school gates. How can a religious person object to that, without admitting that open-minded, evidence-seeking adults would see through their claims in a second?
And so, O Lord, I ask you – and the British Government – to set our children free, at last, from being forced to worship You. Amen – and hallelujah.
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Comments
We should let children decide their own political views, but statistically, 80% of teachers identify themselves as centre left and learn economics from the Daily Mirror, or from the unbelievable economic illiteracy of Hari's prognostications on his economic policy and its supposed consequences. We should stamp out that bias in state schooling and make sure teachers teach centrist politics when necessary and leave children to make up their own mind. A prayer is not going to turn a boy/girl into a militant ideologue. Militant ideologue's breed their own kind.
So Johann, stop pretending to a radical intellectual. You are neither and fail miserably at trying.
Week in, week out, our children are forced to pray to a god they don't believe in for the most part, churches and Sunday schools are the place to teach children about religion, schools for everything else that matters.
I do not agree that churches and Sunday schools are the best place to teach children about religion ? they tend to be biased, and have been known to slip in a bit of indoctrination themselves.
Still you have not answered my question, which is, and you are? an answer in honesty without spin would be nice, ........ so?
No signs of ethnic background i.e. no veils, turbans, crosses or knives to be worn or brought to school as a taxpayer I want people to learn the technical aspects of society if they want religion they can get it at home from their parents. Go to New Zealand and Australia where if they do not like it they will be deported not like this shower of clowns that we fund in Westminister who grovel to these insidious individuals. Let us adopt the French attitude to religion in schools.
I live in Australia and they are more accommodating to muslims and veils than the British, they're probably both more PC in general - I'm afraid the hard-line racist view of Australia was solely a construct of their last PM, John Howard
While I agree it should be removed altogether, to say 99% are forced into prayer is a massive exaggeration - in 2004 the Chief Inspector of Schools said that "at present more than three-quarters of schools fail to meet this requirement." - it's basically defunct under common law
While we're tackling unused, idiotic laws, you may as well go after the blasphemy laws too
Getting rid of the 'Lords Spiritual' would be a much better use of column inches
Agreed that the bishops in the House of Lords are an anachronism long overdue to be removed.
you're - contracted form of you are.
bring back education.
That is such a stupid and false calim it almost beggars belief.
For many educated in Catholic schools there is often a shared memory of psychological abuse by priests and Christian brothers who often terrorised children a young as five or six with vivid descriptions of eternal hell, unspeakable torment.
Religion has no place in our modern society. The common problems that the entire world face must be tackled with humanity, sympathy and rationality. Perhaps replacing religious lesson for young children with green studies focussing on climate chasnge, biodiversity issues, species exinction, abuse of animals in factory farming, impact of HIV- and for older children an introduction to philosophy, completely neglected in our syllabus would help.
Religion is a source of great comfort and joy to a great many people. Yes, there are people who take it too far, those who promote hate disguised as religion, and yes there are flaws, but the vast majority of religious people educate their children in an open and responsible manner.
"For many educated in Catholic schools there is often a shared memory of psychological abuse by priests and Christian brothers"
And twenty-odd years ago there were a great many people with a shared memory of satanic ritual abuse, which time and time again has been proved false. Memory is not a cut-and-dried thing, it's subjective and falliable.
Religious education is slowly changing, taking on a multi-faith approach, and as such has every place in contemporary society, as does religion itself.
The majority of Indy readers will probably have been subjected to this sort of indoctrination, and we can all see the results of twisted faith-based hate. Atheists/agnostics/humanists are mainly quiet thinkers who have reached their own conclusions in spite of parental and state religious domination. Many however now find that the level of religious influence is such that to remain quiet is just too uncomfortable to bear.
To remain silent in the face of such inequality grates against the conscience. Have a look now and again at the religious channels on TV - see the 'sponsored links' at the foot of this page - it's a hair-raising experience for the unindoctrinated.
If you're an atheist/agnostic/humanist then you need to speak up, as you can't possibly be satisfied with the unfair treatment being meted out.
Do pray, Do not use seal skin, Do wear helmet, Do not eat transfat.
Everything not prohibited should be compulsory.
Who are these guys, anyway?
You did not listen. See what happened. Now are awake for the children, are you.
Dear God, stop brainwashing children. Moreover, you think he will listen to you? I have no idea how many sins we all commit daily.
Worship is forced on 99 per cent of children without even asking what they think
I refuse to believe this statistics. 99%? Kind of skewed. Take the gays and lesbians. They are on the worn path altogether. What are the children, from the age 3 to 17?
When they grow, they see this. What do you think? They will pray. No. They will steal also.
Let us talk of the ministers in UK who refuse to pay back the expense or refuse to look into this issue. If ministers do not pay, corporations will pay. I wonder.
Who created this habit? We as local folks not in the parliaments keep on coughing the tax, come rain or sunshine. There are inspectors, penalties and closures or threats of closure of the businesses. I fail to see why the same is not applicable to the ministers. Are they immune to such avoidance of petty expenses like a taxi ten times a day to the out of London, The children going with them for picnics, the maid pick up, the wife going for shopping. The list can be seen in the papers, as we know, they ought to know. They receive donations on pretext of becoming Parliamentarians when the election loom.
You mean that in short they are the thieves in the Barbie Dolls? dresses.
I hope HE Hears you. Please let me have the recipe.
I thank you.
Firozali A.Mulla
You took up a similar though not identical position when commenting recently upon womans rights in Islam. Perhaps you may benefit from analysing your own motives for conveying regular criticism on a subject in which you are clearly no expert.
Peace to all, regardless of religion, colour, creed or culture.
So please, the seerah of the prophet (no he wasn't he was a charlatan: all prophets are) Saws, the Apocalypse of the nutcase St John, The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Dianetics, the Baghavad Gita: all twaddle, all nonsense: all less useful than wheel on a tomato. No respect for any of them: stuff it up[ your arse.
But I can't see it happening with so many god-botherers in the House of Commons. So ask them at election time and don't vote for them.
People with strongly held opinions seem to be playing a game with different cards so they can never convince each other of their point of view. The religious play with Faith as their trump card and the non-religious play with Reason as their trump card.
If schools insist on teaching Religion and the Bible then they should also teach Objectivism and the books of Ayn Rand. The philosophy of Objectivism is much more satisfying than Faith.
Atheist bus ? Canadian Atheist bus ? Atheist buses in Barcelona, Madrid & Malaga ? Bus Kampagne, Germany ? Bus humaniste (français), Québec, Canada ? Campagna Bus, Italy ? Dutch Atheist bus campaign ? Finland Atheist bus ? Seattle atheist bus ? Indiana atheist bus ? Washington DC atheist bus ? Atheist trains Ireland ? Atheist trams in Zagreb, Slovenia banned ? Atheist Bus Madison, Wisconsin, USA? Indiana Atheist Bus, USA
The National Federation of Atheist Humanist & Secular Student Societies
Excellent article.
"I am genuinely surprised that no moderate religious people have, to my knowledge, joined the campaign to stop this compelled prayer"
-Religious christians, even moderate ones, probably don't feel the need to stop the compelled prayer because they -to some extent- believe it is the truth being delivered. The ones that do object are probably somewhat mollified by the fact that as one poster has mentioned, this law isn't strictly adhered to. Instead, even in faith schools, morning assembly is often a weekly event, and often without any prayer.
As for these assemblies, I agree with the above poster entirely. Let the religious component to be neutralised. By all means have talks which explain what each religion believes (their metaphysics) and which discuss their moral codes (their ethics). But make these factual and value free, and include talks from atheists (on metaphysics and ethics). By all means have community singing, but ensure that it is diverse and not restricted to the hymns of a given creed.
Atheist bus ? Canadian Atheist bus ? Atheist buses in Barcelona, Madrid & Malaga ? Bus Kampagne, Germany ? Bus humaniste (français), Québec, Canada ? Campagna Bus, Italy ? Dutch Atheist bus campaign ? Finland Atheist bus ? Seattle atheist bus ? Indiana atheist bus ? Washington DC atheist bus ? Atheist trains Ireland ? Atheist trams in Zagreb, Slovenia banned ? Atheist Bus Madison, Wisconsin, USA? Indiana Atheist Bus, USA
The National Federation of Atheist Humanist & Secular Student Societies
Anti Relon
But to say that "if you actually followed the morality explicitly commanded by the Bible, Torah and Koran, you would kill adulterers, gay people, apostates, and disobedient children" is a very strange suggestion. I would welcome comments from those who understand the Koran, but when Matthew Mark and Luke all tell us in the bible that the most important commandment is to love God and to then love our neighbour as ourself - Johann Hari's statement above does not follow the New Testament. There is the occasion mentioned in John's gospel when Jesus is asked what should be done to a woman who had been caught committing adultery - to which he replied that whoever had comitted no sin should throw the first stone - the crowd left, and Jesus did not condemn the woman.
If we are going to make up our own minds on religeous teachings, let's consider the teachings properly.
If there's one theme that runs consistantly throughout the Bible, it's Grace. What mankind deserves isn't usually what it gets, summed up in the book of Romans:
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ..."
Jesus Himself showed this in the example with the adulterous woman, and as deity is meant to be fully embodied in Him, His actions represent God's attitude. But this is often lost on most people and in articles of this kind.
This is the, er, philosophy which brought you 'no such thing a society', 'greed-is-good-greed-works', 'f*** you buddy', and 28m on food stamps.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w
The Good Samaritan has got real, now he walks on by.
I agree with Simon, how come you want secularism in schools when Britain is not secularist,. i.e. the PM has to be Christain (not Muslim) and Protestant as well?
Sheila Boghossian. (Edinburgh/Beirut).