Johann Hari: "Dear God, stop brainwashing children"

[ciphergoth]

Johann Hari, The Independent, 2009-05-08

Dear God, stop brainwashing children

Why is worship forced on 99 per cent of children without their own consent or even asking what they think?

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?

[...] 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?

[...]

Are there prominent religious campaigners on this issue in particular or State secularism in general that he's not taking into account? Are they getting articles in the national press, or trying to? Pointers welcome!

Comments

[thekumquat.livejournal.com]

I think a lot of people think kids being made to practce being quiet regularly is a good thing and don't care if religion is the trigger for that. Certainly I was always told that when asking why I had to go to school chapel, and it was my dad's reasoning for refusing to exempt me from it.

Have to admit that I always liked Assembly apart from the pointless Arf Arthur mumbling - losing cultural knowledge of classic hymns with rousing tunes would be a shame. I suppose the inspiring stories segment would get cvovered in PSME nowadays.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

I really wish someone else was teaching my son this, because we continue to struggle with it.

[actionreplay.livejournal.com]

I care. As a child, I was an atheist and deeply resented being made to learn the text of prayers on the grounds that the other kids were, or to do anything on the basis that God wanted it. As I kept pointing out, God does not exist, so why should I? I had no problem being quiet when asked, it just doesn't have to involve the forcing of a load of bollocks about some bloke who lived 2000 years ago that as far as I am concerned is complete and utter twaddle.

I'm not very forgiving on the subject of forcing christianity on small children, sorry.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

Sure, but there's other ways of doing that without bringing God into it. Asking children to 'think quietly about something that makes them happy' or 'how much they love their Mummy or Daddy', for example.

[barakta]

Quaker meetings was how I learned it... This was my number one trick for avoiding church as a child. Cos in Meeting nothing was forced, it was mostly silence and people who really gave off a peaceful aura.