UK Taxpayers May Be Funding Creationist Schools

“why the world appeared, and how nothing became something in the first place.”

Classic and idiotic. Why should be there a reason in the first place? And that “something from nothing” excuse shows how stupid those people are.

They challenge the unscientific certainty of the big-bang yet chose to teach about a much more less believable book, without questioning its own reliability at all. 

It is sad and very annoying to see such behaviour especially since the tax payer is paying for this type of education. 

I don’t like the idea of so many children being segregated by religious affiliation for most of their childhood. It seems like an environment like that might inherently create extra divisiveness in the culture between the different religious groups. 

There are historical reasons why Faith Schools are so prominent in the UK. Namely that the Church of England, the Scottish Kirk and Roman Catholics started providing free education to poor children much earlier than the state did. Thus when the state started providing universal education it was cheaper and easier to fund such schools where they already existed than build and staff new schools.

Of course the provision of basic education in the 19th cetuary does’t justify continued state funding for such schools in the 21st! One only has to look at the ongoing sectarian violence in Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland to see how damaging and divisive dividing kids along religious lines from an early age is.

I’m glad your article mentions the BHA, who oppose all state funding for faith schools, but it should be noted there is also the National Secular Society and the Accord Coalition (which includes many religious groups and is headed by a Rabbi) who are also campaigning to end this once valuable but now hideous anachronism.

Secularism is under threat at the political level in the UK like never before and has been since 1997. But the UK is becoming a more secular country at grass roots level than it has ever been. At some point in the not too distant future the balance will tip. It can’t come soon enough for my peace of mind.

The situation is very similar in Canada, especially Alberta. Publicly-funded religious schools in Alberta teach creationism, and evolution is taught only in an optional grade 11 biology course, and then only superficially with no mention of human evolution.
http://www.ffwdweekly.com/article/news-views/viewpoint/educational-choice-discriminates-9065/

Welcome to the UK Claudia.  Sorry about our shit weather and our faithschools.   Hope you are enjoying the Olympics.   

As a UK person myself, I disagree completely with the liberties and dominance that faith schools wield in their communities.

I find the differences in approaches to faith between the UK and the US absolutely ridiculous. On one hand, the US is supposed to be the secular one but is crazy about religion while the UK is perceived as secular but has a state religion! However, and this is a big sticking point for me, I think the US is better off. Seriously. The US has a constitution that actually spells out how religion should not be involved in politics etc. Sure, it is a bit of a hassle trying to enforce that but at least it is there, in black and white. The UK doesn’t have any of that, so any time someone kicks off in a religious way, they will often get a free ride because the law is on their side.  I have only really begun to appreciate this silent threat with the increase in faith schools, the anti-gay marriage lobby and women in the Church of England. It sucks.

I utterly despise  the shameful fact that the UK still has this anachronistic link between state education and faith schools, no matter what particular brand of woo woo they espouse. As in our politics, the state education system should be run on a secular basis where “We don’t do God”.

 This crapola parade got worse under that stealth god botherer Blair and now the Tory party are in faith creep into secular society is just getting worse.  Its a shambles now with all these different types of “academies” and all the rest of the twaddle. Secularise or stop their funding say I.

And I say that as a lad who attended a Catholic school run by Salesians. Made me the militant secularist I am today 😉

The English dictionary actually has the word “antidisestablishmentarianism”.  Moves to disestablish the Church of England (other faiths or denominations are not established) has been around for a very long time and there have also been antidisestablishment movements to counter it.
Faith schools follow the National Curriculum and children will fail SATs, GCSEs and Alevels if they are taught creationism as science or if they put “the controversy” in their arguments.  Since we don’t yet have the equivalent of Liberty University or Bob Jones they will not get a university science education.
Obviously this does not stop students from getting into arts based studies.
Free Schools are a new thing invented by Cameron’s government under the banner of localism and freedom of choice.  They can teach any acceptable curriculum and as long as creation “science” is disguised as religious education it will be smuggled into the curriculum but the students will fail all the nationally recognised tests and qualifications.
If you want a US equivalent think of as being like the voucher system touted by some right wingers in your country.
When we start getting christian universities we shall have to worry.
But if we abolish the House of Lords with unelected Bench of Bishops we may make some progress toward disestablishment – but then we might end up getting more religious not less.  We have a certain religious apathy in the UK because many regard the C of E as the face of religion and see it as a joke. Take that away and all the christian and non christian cults will start to look legitimate. Then we’ll end up like the US.