UK rights group angered at religious exemption
A UK gay rights group has hit out at the Brown Government for kowtowing to religious groups at the expense of the gay and lesbian community.
The Pink Triangle Trust (PTT), a gay humanist educational charity, is furious the Government has introduced an amendment to the Children,
Schools and Families Bill which would allow faith schools to teach students about homosexuality “in a way that reflects the school’s religious character”.
PTT secretary George Broadhead said the amendment, introduced by Schools Secretary Ed Balls, was “outrageous” and the Government would be denying young people the right to “accurate, balanced” sex education.
“By taking this position, it is implicitly condoning homophobia in schools and undermining attempts to tackle homophobic bullying,” Broadhead said.
“This looks like another Section 28.”
Repealed in 2000, Section 28 was an amendment to the UK’s Local Government Act which prohibited the “promotion” or teaching acceptance of homosexuality in schools.
The Catholic Education Service has been named as one of the biggest backers of the amendment which would effectively allow faith schools to teach that homosexuality is wrong.
Dave, I do not think it is a good idea for you to regard all catholics as being the same.
It has been my experience that while homophobia is a reaction to the presence of homosexuals or the reference to homosexuals, that reaction can be influenced by cultural norms to reduce or increase the reaction.
I have also found that ideology can also be influenced by cultural norms and political policies to focus attention on and give importance to different aspects of the ideology.
Australian culture is heavily influenced by the cultures of Europe and the British Isles.
Those cultures are overtly homophobic and as a result the people influenced by the norms of those cultures are overtly homophobic.
I have visited the Philippines which is a predominantly catholic country and the Filipino people are not homophobic.
Homophobic cultures use religion and politics as tools and vehicles to express and demonstrate behaviour which they want to normalise.
I have also experienced homophobia in the gay community. I was quite shocked to discover that the majority of gays were not homosexuals and that many gays were in fact homophobic.
I am not qualified to make any conclusions as to why some gays are homophobic but I would like people who are qualified to investigate and report on the causes of homophobia amongst gays.
Bill,
If the Catholic Mafia expects to discriminate against us then I think you have to accept we do not get along. There are 100 hundreds of millions of people from our community all around the world.
The average Catholic does not support the Catholic Mafia. Drive around any suburb in Australia at Christmas and you will see more people go to Mardi Gras then attend a Catholic Churches combined. The Catholic Mafia is just over represented in parliament and not reflective of the community. They are a minority. I can assure you the many Catholic Priest I have met does not support them and cringe when they find out some of the nutty things they do.
The Catholic Mafia does not depress me. It makes our community stronger by uniting us. It brings us together. The more they try to discriminate the stronger we become.
Peter
The point that I am trying to make is that the world is not perfect and never will be and it seems a physical impossibility that all people can be happy all the time. So instead of being consumed by depression about that fact we all just have to find happiness where we can. Not even the “catholic mafia” or Fred Nile or Osama Bin-Laden can prevent anyone gay or straight from enjoying such delights as good food, fine wine, warm sunny autumn days, fellatio in the bathroom or anal intercourse on the living room floor. So turn that frown upside down and get on with living your life.
Um… is anybody seriously under the impression that religious schools were waiting for permission to teach the tenets of their religion? This has come up because the UK has introduced a standardised sex ed. curriculum across the board and introduced a maximum age to which individual parents can exempt their children. It means that all British children will receive some sex education in school no matter what, and that this will include issues like homosexuality, contraception, etc even if the religion into which they are being indoctrinated disagrees with them.
Bill I will never get used to living under the control of a bunch of Kiddie Fiddeling sexual retards, which the catholics are.
I will never tollerate the catholic church poisening the minds of my innocent little nephews. Convincing innocent little children that their gay uncles are dirty and abnormal and against the law of nature.
You are wrong to suggest thao we should get used to this type of catholic bastardry. I for one will never “live with it”
The Catholic Education Service wants Faith Schools to teach that Homosexuality is wrong?
So its saying that some of its students are “Wrong”? or for students to deal with themselves because that their considered to be born “Wrong”?
Does the Catholic Church also teach that other religions then themselves are wrong? (History is a keen example of this)
The Catholic Church is filled with a blood-stained history,of murder,torture,anything you can mention,the pope of that area gave them, their subjects the permission to do it.This they can never wash off let alone hide,and everyone knows they did some horrible ghastly things so they are the “Wrong” on a Grand Scale.
Mind you this is the same religion that “Sells” condoms.It makes you sick.
There are 1.1 billion of them (catholics) Dave. That must scare the crap out of you. Since you can’t get away from them unless you move to Iran, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan or North Korea, were GLBT people are even more marginalised you might just have to learn to live with them!!!
The Catholic Mafia strikes again!
I think they are against the natural order of things and are an abomination. The Bible is clearly against the Catholic Mafia. We must fight the Catholic Mafia as it is our Christian duty. We should not have to pay taxes that go to the Catholic Mafia.
They did this in Victoria. The Catholic Mafia have also got the Bill of Rights off the government agenda as it looked like we would be having some sort of protection.
Male Virgins in frocks telling others what to do in sex. And if you do not do what they want you will be discriminated against. What sort of sicko would support such people.