Religion

Labour needles religion and those who practice it.

Have you noticed?

Faith schools are attacked:

"That Mr Brown has been willing to tolerate a campaign against faith schools in England that he would not countenance in his own country is another reason for deploring what has been done since June 2007, when Mr Balls was given charge of the English education system. This newspaper published striking evidence earlier this week of the extent to which faith schools are suffering under the admissions rules he introduced in 2008. Over the past six months, more than 30 have been investigated by the Government's admissions adjudicator, and censured for doing what you would expect them to do: ensuring that their intake represents the faith they were founded to serve. "

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/benedict-brogan/6983794/The-crusade-against-faith-schools-is-an-attack-on-our-freedom.html

You would expect a faith school to accept children of the same faith into their fold. To expect anything else is a nonsense.

"With his witch hunt Balls hopes to appeal to an influential constituency that lies beyond his party stalwarts. The secular establishment views religion as a wilful rejection of social liberalism and science. They joyfully report any incident that seems to support their thesis, and conveniently ignore any counter-argument. "
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6969468/Why-does-Labour-hate-faith-schools.html

And again from the above:

"The fight for our faith schools goes to the heart of our society. At stake is our understanding of education. Should it be a tool for social engineering or a consumer service? Should it ensure equality or fairness? Government policy promotes neither.

Ed Balls thinks nothing of stomping on the rights of Christian, Jewish or Muslim parents to raise their child in a school environment that matches the morals-based approach of the home. He so loathes the notion of religious-based education that he prefers to tolerate Britain's increasing social inequality, which leaves the well-connected to flourish and the children of the humble and disadvantaged ill-equipped to hold down any but the most menial jobs."

Is this the motivation behind the animus against home educators? Is Ed Balls really afraid that home edders all over England and Wales are busily inculcating decency and morality into their young via the teaching of religious principles?

Is it his business?

Well, no, not one bit. When did government start to dictate religious instruction or belief? Isn't that a free choice for every man, woman and child? Can't you be allowed to make up your own mind which religion to follow or whether, indeed, to follow a religion at all?

Or is it even more sinister a move to alienate people from their humanity, their acts of kindness motivated by a belief in a God, their togetherness fostered by the knowledge that they are all one?

Does it make sense to slice apart a deep feeling that God cares about you and knows you? Will it improve anyone's life to be torn from the body that they have chosen to join?

Belief in God restricts the worst of human impulses, to maim and hate, to conquer and degrade other human beings.

By separating people from their choice to believe in whatsoever they choose, a government can fracture lives and disorder behaviour.

But maybe that creates better consumers because if you empty a person of religion or, at least, the ability to believe in something bigger and better than himself, you create a black hole of discontent to be filled with consumables. That is really what government wants. A race of slaves to the machine they make themselves slave to buy.

God help them.