A LESSON IN FAITH

21-09-2006

Derrick Campbell offers a controversial view on just how far schools should go to accommodate the differentreligious beliefs of their pupils.

I was recently invited to attend a community representative meeting at alocal school and was surprised to discover the anxious efforts of the teachers to meet the needs of the Muslim community in the run up to Ramadan. Not being Muslim myself, I was keen to understand the nature of the event and the requirements placed on those who are expected to observe it.

During the discussions, one teacher asked if he should allow all the Muslim students to take every Friday afternoon off school, sothat they could attend their local mosque in the run-up to the festival. On the face of it, this seems reasonable. After all,there is a requirement to allow individuals time of to carry out religious observance. But on reflection, I felt uneasy, as it would meanstudentslosingfourafternoonsthat month, which is a big chunk of their schooling.

As a Christian myself, I am in support of allowing people to follow their respective faiths, but how far should one go in order to meet the needs of the various religious communities.Are there no limits?

My answer is that during the last censusin 2001, circa 72% of the population said they were Christian, so it's reasonable to assume that thecelebration of, and general support for, this faith's festivals shouldbegreater than that for other groups.

This is not an attack on Islam or any other religion per se, but simply a ‘voice of concern'. The whole principle of managing expectation is important,so let us look again at what we are getting ourselves into.Instead of forcinga ‘super liberal' inclusion agenda down everyone throats, let's putchildren's education first and accept that not everyone can be satisfied.

I say it's timeto stop to the practice of allowingyoungsters time off school for religious festivals apart from the traditionalones, such as Christmas and Easter. If not we could get toa place where our children spend more time out of school than in, simply because we're trying to satisfy every group that feelsthe need to be recognized.