I am not at all religious, but I believe that religious education is extremely important.( Not convinced it should be compulsory by year 10 and 11 though). We live in a society which has many religions.Ignorance of other religions is at the root of many problems ,causing misunderstanding and unnecessary fear - which leads to prejudice.
At primary school, we investigate the religions of Islam, Judaism ,Sikhism and Hinduism alongside christianity.(Children are fascinated to see the connections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam).In class discussions they have come up with some interesting points and very measured responses to news stories and the way they are reported.They are less likely to jump on the bandwagon of labelling all muslims as terrorists.I wish many adults were as mature in their responses.

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