CityAgro, I don't think that being taught about the historical and hugely significant role that Christianity has played in the development of Western society, and the rejection of superstition, supernatural beings and hence (whether we like it or not) bigotry - are mutually exclusive. I think it's possible to appreciate the historical position of religion and in the case of Christianity, the literary appeal of the Bible, without having to adhere to unsupportable doctrine. Nor do I accept, as suggested by another poster that scientific teaching leaves a humanistic or "spiritual" void that can only be filled by religion. There is plenty of brilliant philosophy to deal with the human condition. One only has to think of the suffering of Hull City supporters over the years - it hasn't sent us all rushing off to Church! Here's a confession of sorts - when visiting a couple of years ago with my wife (we spent two and a half beautiful months in Yorkshire), we wanted the full "Vicar of Dibley" experience and went to a Sunday service at St. Stehen's in Robin Hoods Bay. To be perfectly honest though, rather than fill me with the grace of the Holy Spirit, it convinved me of the happiness that comes with the sense of community that Church sometimes provides - and that's a very human need that surely doesn't have to rely on organised religion to be satisfied.
Britain has become a worse place since the move away from organised Christian religion. The ideas that have filled the void may have brought some benefits to some people, but have brought misery to many more. (Divorce, abortion, fatherless families, STDs, rocketing crime stats, endemic corruption and dishonesty, selfishness etc). It's a very complex picture with very few demonstrable causal links. But the big picture is that living without any kind of restraint, moral compass, self-discipline etc leads to one bog ****ing mess. You don't have to be a practising Christian or believer in a deity to appreciate the positive aspects of Christianty, which also has plenty of imperfections. But to understand the benefits and the imperfections you have to be at least familiar with its long and complex history.....from the Spanish Inquisition to the Salvation Army. To merely assert "Religion is ****" is like saying "Foreign food is ****" . Says far more about the asserter than it does about religion.
Pretentious ****s may say it or people who wish to seem American. However it's not British speech unless used in a self-conscious or ironic way. Capisce?
I'm one of the very few people at my school who finds religion and philosophy interesting. I would class myself as an Agnostic with Jewish and Catholic heritage. Religion is a sensitive issue but it does lay down the foundations of modern society and the laws we have currently. If there was no religion and no deity to fear then the world would eventually result in anarchy. There are still more religious people in the world than Atheists as well, so you can't say that religion is stupid and it is a Medieval concept.
