ON HUMANISM AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Jean Marwick (May 12th) need have little fear that secularists wish to deny children information about religion. On the contrary, we wish them to be honestly informed about religions and non-religious life stances too so that they may indeed make up their own minds 'in the fullness of time' and in the light of fair, open and mutually respectful discussion. It is very reassuring to read the Rev Kenneth Hext (in the same issue of the S.T.) implicitly condemning any who 'confuse the pulpit with the classroom'. The more sober of the sceptics are glad of the mainstream churches in their helpful role of defence against the common enemy of all sensible people - cocksure fanaticism and murderous claims to special knowledge of all the things that are most important in life.

The first thing to recognise in the matter of religious and/or moral education is that we live in an ideologically plural society. An article published in THE SCOTTISH HUMANIST recently, drawing upon Church-based data, tells us that of the roughly 4m adults in Scotland only about 1.5m are acknowledged believers in any of a wide variety of religions. This !.5m, in very round numbers, comprises about 1m in the Kirk and some very small numbers in mostly minor Christian sects and non-Christian religions. Apart from the Kirk, the only sizable religious group is the Catholics. Of course not all the roughly 2.5m, not acknowledged as religionists of one sort and the other, are 'card-carrying' atheists but very many among them have deeply considered reservations about any religion. An increasing, but small, number are showing serious interest in Humanism.

We are all minorities and it behoves us not to forget that. It is quite wrong for minorities to be itching to 'get at the children' - even 'for their own good'. We all need to help the young to develop toleration without indifference, moral judgement without moralising, concern without busybodying.

Mainstream Christians have a valuable role to play and so have those of us who - instead of saying "we have left undone those things which we ought to have done. And we have done those things which we ought not to have done. And there is no health in us" - would rather say " we have done many of the things we ought to have done. And we have refrained from doing most of the wrong things we might have done. And so there is worth in us and hope for our kind."

That is probably what most serious humans think - it is called Humanism.

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