Yesterday the UK. House of Commons voted to pass a bill making gay marriage legal to the House of Parliament. I’m not a legal expert and this isn’t a legal blog so I won’t go into the details of what this really means but it’s a big step to making gay marriage legal in the UK. I watched the debate with interest for just under an hour and mostly heard a few of the same points repeated over and over. It has been made clear that no church will be forced to carry out gay marriage ceremonies should they choose not to, but advocates for religious freedom worry that teachers will be forced to teach gay marriage, even if it is against their ethics.
This argument really struck a chord with me. I attended church schools for almost my entire education from a catholic primary school, all the way to catholic college. Belief in God and the bible was assumed throughout, we prayed daily, mass was compulsory and religious imagery including crosses and statues were prominent. However, even though my schools were classified as religious, I sat the same SATs GCSEs and A-levels as other students all around the country. Not once did I feel that my religious beliefs were being compromised to pass these exams, and it could have happened easily. My R.E. lessons were firm that God created the world in 7 days and the first man was named Adam and Eve was made from him. Outside of school I was fascinated by science and confused at the concept of evolution and The Big Bang. Children are curious and I found out more about evolution and questioned my parents and teachers, before coming up with my own conclusion. I decided that God had started The Big Bang according to a long term plan, and that was how people evolved, according to His plan. My little brother attended the same schools as I did and came to similar conclusions at a similar age, before he turned 10. Nowadays I consider myself to be an Atheist. My brother has come to believe in reincarnation. My point is that we should learn to have more faith in our children. Give them facts and theories and leave them to form their own conclusions. Children question everything and this should be encouraged. Point them in the direction of alternative sources and let them make up their own minds.
It shouldn’t matter whether or not gay marriage is taught in schools. To be honest, I never remember being taught about marriage in school! My views on marriage were formed outside of school by observing the relationships in my family. It was this that taught me about love, marriage, divorce and re-marriage. If schools don’t teach gay marriage children will learn elsewhere. Homosexuality is prominent in our society, on TV, in films, in books and within our social circles. It’s not the schools place to teach it. Individuals can make up their own minds. Fear of what will happen in schools is by no means a legitimate reason to outlaw gay marriage.
shakeystacey 