"All schools
with religious character
are sect schools"

Are you one of the 64% of British adults who thinks "the government should not be funding faith schools of any kind"? (ICM, August 2005)

Sign the online petition and open letter at www.petitiononline.com/sects which:

LATEST NEWS:
> "Peers Attack Faith Schools": Baroness Massey; "I am alarmed by the notion of an expansion of state-funded schools controlled by religious interests. I would like to see schools that are open to all; that are inclusive and welcoming of children of all beliefs and backgrounds." (23 June '06)
> Steve Sinnott (NUT) (via Stupidity-Free-Zone): Government blacklist on Trust schools partners will "create a hornet's nest ... Does that mean there is nothing to protect young people from religious extremists, from political groups, from pressure groups or from fast-food manufacturers?" (28 April '06)
> NUT: slams Education Bill as a work of "educational bigotry" (16 April '06)
> Polly Tonybee: "Just when faith turns hot and dangerous, threatening life and limb again, the government responds by encouraging more of it and more religious segregation. If ever there was a time to set out the unequivocal value of a secular state, it must be now. [...] So what on earth is a Labour government up to - and why don't Labour MPs refuse to let this happen?" (14 April '06)
> Teachers unions: Religious schools are "detrimental to community cohesion" and Education Bill will "provide fertile ground for religious and ethnic conflicts" (7 April '06)
> NSS: Archbishop's defence of faith schools is "disingenuous and self-serving" (14 Mar '06)
> The Socialist: "Stop Blair's divisive Education Bill" (8 Mar '06)
> NSS: "Religious propagandists are gearing up for a major push to take over schools in Britain" (3 Mar '06)

Read all archived news

>  proposes the term "sect school" in place of the term "faith school"

>  calls for amendments to the Education Bill (published 28th February 2006) to prevent the further proliferation of sect schools in the UK

>  calls for an end to state-funded education which is controlled by any religious group or affiliated with any religious beliefs

Note: the petition calls for an end to the proliferation of state-funded schools that "belong" to a denomination or faith. Learning the history and ideas of different philosophies in the context of legitimate religious studies is not the target.

A number of British Brights  drafted the petition. (The Brights are an online constituency and the assent of no individual not signed up at the petition is implied)

The NSS says  "write to your MP explaining your objections to faith schools in principle and [the Education Bill] in particular. Please do it as soon as possible... Sign the online petition and open letter "

The BHA dissents from "an education system that would segregate children according to their parents' religion"

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READ THE PETITION
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