Politics
Tuesday January 17, 2006
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
UK to Force State-Funded Faith-Based Schools to Admit Students of Other Religions
By Gudrun Schultz
UNITED KINGDOM, London, January 17, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Faith-based schools in the UK will no longer be able to limit their students to those of a particular religion.
The British government is introducing an amendment to the proposed Equality Bill today that will remove the power to determine school access based on religious affiliation from religious schools that receive state funding.
Faith-based schools have been receiving increasing government support over the last five years. According to an article in the Guardian in 2001, faith schools consistently achieve better classroom results. Although surveys indicate over 45% of England’s population claims no religious belief, there are 160 applications for every available place in a Christian classroom.
Despite this, opponents of religious schools say they contribute to divisions in society and lead to discrimination. The vast majority of faith schools are Christian. Out of 7,000 schools, 6,955 are Christian. 36 are Jewish, five Muslim and two Sikh.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, the head of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales, has said in the past he would not want large numbers of Catholic children attending Muslim schools, although he welcomed the presence of Jewish and Muslim children in Catholic schools.
Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor said that while he welcomed dialogue between the faiths, “fundamentally the creed of Islam is totally diverse from the creed of Christianity.”
Speaking on the state of the Church in the UK, Cardinal O’Connor said Christianity has been "all but eliminated" as a source of moral guidance in people's lives, and people are largely “indifferent” to Christian values and the Church.
"In our countries in Britain today, especially in England and Wales, Christianity, as [sic] a backdrop to people's lives and moral decisions - and to the government, the social life of the country - has now almost been vanquished," the Archbishop said.
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Human Rights Commission Drops Complaint Against Catholic Magazine
- Canada's Catholic Bishops United in Opposition to Order of Canada Being Awarded to Morgentaler
- Highlights from Canada's Debate on the Morgentaler Order of Canada Fiasco
- Golden Arches Awash in Rainbow Colors: Family Group Boycotts McDonalds for Support for Homosexual Agenda
- Bishops Investigate Report: 39 Abortions, 9684 Sterilizations Performed in Texas Catholic Hospitals
- President Bush and Senator McCain Address National Right to Life Conference
- Formal Request Filed to Terminate Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- UK Catholic, Muslim Doctors May be Forced to Refer for Abortion
- UK Contraception and Abortion Promoters calling for Sex Ed for Four Year-Olds
- LAPD Sued for Alleged Discrimination against Officer's Religious Beliefs
- Foremost Expert on Contraception Says the Pill is Not Working - It's "Outdated"
- Letters to the Editor for Friday, July 4
- Morgentaler Order of Canada Protest Set for July 9 in Ottawa
- LifeSiteNews Now on Facebook - Join Our Group, Spread the Word
Most Read this Week
- Archbishop Calls All Catholics to Demand National Award to Abortion Doc be Revoked
- Pro-Life Groups Horrified by Morgentaler's Appointment to the Order of Canada
- Pro-Life Group Appalled that Abortionist Morgentaler Would Even be Considered for Order of Canada
- Online Polls Ask Whether Morgentaler Should Have Been Awarded Order of Canada
- Confirmed: Advisory Council Has Voted to Award Order of Canada to Abortionist Henry Morgentaler
- Human Rights Commission Drops Complaint Against Catholic Magazine
- Numerous MPs Condemn Morgentaler Order of Canada Decision
- Order of Canada Members Return their Awards Over Morgentaler Decision
- Official Announcement of Arch-Abortionist Morgentaler Receiving Order of Canada
- National Group Launches Petition Calling for Morgentaler Order of Canada Appointment to be Revoked
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any Internet re-publishing of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews that have come from other news sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.