It’s a weekend, so I’ll take a short break from astrology and write about religion instead.
I was reading an article in The Daily Mail titled ‘Children as young as five to learn about minority faiths‘. Apparently the British government believes that children should have an understanding of other religions, and that includes religions that have a very small presence in Britain, for example Zoroastrianism, which only has a few thousand members in this country.
The government’s plan can be criticised from at least three angles:
1. Five year old children shouldn’t have to learn about religion.
2. Britain is, or should be, a Christian country.
3. It’s taking multiculturalism too far, especially when it comes to religions such as Zoroastrianism.
Yet spirituality really is important, and I think most people would very much like to find God, even if they won’t admit it.
An awareness of spiritual concepts probably starts at a very early age, and by the age of five religious issues are going to be impinging on a child’s awareness. It might be because of cultural conditioning, but that doesn’t matter; religion plays an important role in society, even in Britain, that’s one of the world’s most godless countries.
If it’s true that most of us are looking for God, then we’ve got to get hold of the right map. Otherwise our quest mightn’t start in earnest until the moment of our death. And the earlier we’re introduced to map-reading the better.
We must nonetheless appreciate that it’s a journey with many paths, and a spiritual approach that’s right for one person could be wrong for another.
Those of us that regard the word of God as being something literal, that can be put down on paper, might be best served by Islam or Protestantism, with their emphasis on scriptual revelation. On the other hand someone who is inspired by pomp and ceremony might be better served by Roman Catholicism.
If we need direct experience of the divine power, with mere faith not being enough, then we’ll need something that has mystical edge, like Sufism. If we’re nature-lovers, and we’re turned off by established religions, then Wicca or Paganism might be the best alternatives.
Children should be aware of the many choices before them, and I suppose school is as good a place as any to learn about them.
Though as far as the British government is concerned, I don’t think that the spiritual advancement of the nation’s children is the main motive. Religion is being almost treated as something anthropological. You observe and study people’s traditions and customs, in a rather detached way.
So maybe it’s better to be taught just one religion, by someone who really believes in it. Unless you can find teachers who are passionately spiritual, but who also believe that God is bigger than religion. A tall order.
Copyright © 2010 Archie Dunlop
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