Categories: uncategorized
Date: 03 October 2006 07:04:00
This BBC article about faith schools makes interesting reading.
The primary role of the Church of England and the Catholic Church in this country appears to be moving from giving a moral lead and providing for the spiritual care people to being an increasingly key part of our education system. Now I know that this has always been the role of the church to some extent, but with the growth of the state one of the key areas that the church was supposed to be relieved of was educating the masses.
Whilst I am grateful for the CofE provision of education (from which Third Party has benefitted throughout her educational life) it does leave me wondering what kind of reality the government and others live in. My reasoning for this follows the following logic (i) the C of E and Catholics, as with most other non-Pentecostal denominations is facing a decline in congregations and so a fall in income, (ii) the Cof E and Catholics, as with most denominations have an increasingly grey population which means that in the next 20 or so years income is going to fall dramatically, (iii) the government does not support the heritage of this country because it does not fund the upkeep of many old and listed church buildings (if my understanding is correct - please do correct me if I am wrong), (iv) whilst most of the funding of these schools is covered by the government &/ or parents (through contribution schemes, etc) the CofE centrally does need to make some financial contribution to its educational activity. Um, aren't we likely to head into a crisis soon - unless economics is the very reason that the churches are keen for faith schools to continue to grow. If the majority of entry becomes dependent on church attendance then it keeps the pews a bit fuller and sustains the income coming in - hopefully by more than the outgoings involved in this activity! Add to this it is one way to ensure that we don't end up with a totally unchurched society and you have some arguments for faith schools.
Personally I think that churches effectively bribing their congregations into the buildings through acting as a crutch for a state that cannot provide adequate, quality education provision for all its members - despite pledges from all parties to do so, is slightly suspect (and quite possibly even unbiblical) - or maybe that's just me.