My schoolkids – Ray Lac
SUBMISSION TO THE RUDDOCK REVIEW ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
BY
QUEENSLAND PARENTS FOR SECULAR STATE SCHOOLS
Permission is willingly granted for this submission to be made public
We submit that a secular education is one in which education about multiple religions and nonreligious world views may be provided, but public schools are not used as a platform for doctrinal faith instruction in any religion and the religious formation of children is left to parents in their private capacity. This approach in no way prevents or prohibits individual expression of religion in this space, within appropriate school rules in relation to safety and hygiene, but creates an environment in which the state takes a position that neither advantages nor disadvantages religion or non-religion. We suggest this is the optimal way to ensure freedom of religion and freedom from religion, the latter being equally as important to those who adhere to a particular faith as those who adhere to none, a principle which has added importance in public schools in a country as religiously and culturally diverse as Australia.
