“ [England] makes teaching religion mandatory in public schools”
Just to add some nuance to this...
RE is the lesson in which pupils are taught about religion. It does not instruct that any particular religious claim is true or false.
And the “daily act of collective worship” is one of those laws that is widely disregarded, to the point where OFSTED inspections will note that schools are not compliant but not mark them down for it. It’s rapidly becoming one of those archaic laws like “the queen owns all the swans” which has very little practical effect on everyday life.
> The Education Reform Act (1988) requires that: -
> 2. Religious Education should be taught in accordance with an agreed syllabus.
> 4. The agreed syllabus reflects "the fact that the religious traditions in Great Britain are in the main Christian while taking into account the teachings and practices of other principal religions represented within Great Britain". (Education Reform Act 1988, Section 8)
Even if the concepts aren't taught as "truth" it makes things vastly easier for Christian parents to socialize their children in their religion. (Which the U.N. recognizes as a human right.) And it would likely be illegal in the U.S. (Teaching about religion generically would not be, but the provision about the Christian tradition of the UK would likely push it over the line.)
> Schools with a formal faith designation are required to arrange worship in accordance with their trust deed or, if they have no trust deed, in line with the practices of their designated faith. For schools without a formal faith designation, the majority of the acts of worship should be "of a broadly Christian character". In practical terms, this has been interpreted to mean that 51% of school days each school term must have an act of worship of a broadly Christian character.
Social conservatives in the United States would be thrilled to have laws like the one in the U.K. Obviously a country like the U.K. that's becoming irreligious might not take the legal requirement too seriously. Folks in San Francisco probably wouldn't either. But folks in Iowa would probably take these requirements seriously. Under current U.S. law, schools in Iowa in communities where 80% of people go to Church every week are required to operate like schools in France. (My wife and I once calculated that her little town in northwest Iowa had a church for every 150 people.)
Forcing Iowans to act like the French drives a lot of polarization and resentment. When you hear people complain about the "war on Christmas" that's what they're talking about--stripping away the fact that "the religious traditions in [the United States] are in the main Christian."
Just to add some nuance to this...
RE is the lesson in which pupils are taught about religion. It does not instruct that any particular religious claim is true or false.
And the “daily act of collective worship” is one of those laws that is widely disregarded, to the point where OFSTED inspections will note that schools are not compliant but not mark them down for it. It’s rapidly becoming one of those archaic laws like “the queen owns all the swans” which has very little practical effect on everyday life.