CYP Now - Opinion: Debate - Should religious school assemblies be enforcedmore?

Christian churches last week wrote to education secretary Alan Johnson urging him to do more to make schools hold religious assemblies, saying the failure to hold daily acts of worship is harming children's spiritual and moral development.

NO - ANDREW COPSON, education officer, British Humanist Association

Good inclusive assemblies have a vital educational role. But this aim isnot best served by a law that requires acts of collective worship. Aschool may do many things collectively but, lacking a shared religion,it is incoherent to require that they worship together. Governmentresearch shows that as many as 65 per cent of secondary school agechildren are not religious. Against such a backdrop of diversity, thecurrent law requiring collective worship is wholly inappropriate.

YES - CANON JOHN HALL, chief education officer, Church of England

By developing students' spiritual nature, they develop an appreciationthat goes beyond the material world, fosters a concern for others andprovides a forum for exploring shared values.

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