There is a downside to this new approach of letting the children decide for themselves, whilst they are living in a community that never had this choice as children.

My daughter who was not exposed to a daily school assembly and the saying of the Lord's Prayer, complains to us that see does not know these things and feels 'out of it' when such things are said at funerals, weddings etc. She also thinks (wrongly) that she is the only one who does not know the words to the hymns.

It could be worse. She could have had (at a certain age) physical mutilations imposed upon her by the collective faith of her community. But physical scars are not the only ones.