Archbishop of Canterbury: Children Should Be Taught The Lord's Prayer
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: Children are now half as likely to know the text of the Lord's Prayer than they were 40 years ago, according to a survey.

The study, which compared the answers of children aged 6-12 years old and adults who would have been that age 40 years ago, found that children today are less familiar with religious texts than their parents.

However, they are twice as likely to say that religion is important to them compared with those growing up in the 1970s.

Of the 1011 adults surveyed, 931 out of 1011 (92 per cent) said they knew the Lord’s Prayer as a child, while only 571 out of 1040 (55 per cent) of children knew it today.

The Archbishop of Canterbury told the BBC he believed that children should be taught the Lord's Prayer in schools and is worried by news that half as many children know the prayer.

Dr Rowan Williams said: "I'd like to see schools introducing children to the Lord's Prayer, so that they know that it's there, they know what it means and know why it matters. » | Josie Ensor | Saturday, March 31, 2012

Schoolgirls Targeted in Bahrain Raids
In first of five exclusive reports, Al Jazeera has unearthed evidence that sheds light on kingdom's brutal crackdown.

Al Jazeera is learning more about the full extent of the brutal crackdown in Bahrain against those it believes took part in recent anti-government protests.

The kingdom's oil company has fired almost 300 employees.

And according to an opposition group, police have raided up to 15 mainly girls schools, detaining, beating and threatening to rape girls as young as 12.

Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports.

Multicultural Britain! Sikh Schoolchildren Should Be Allowed Ceremonial Daggers, Says Britain's First Asian Judge
THE TELEGRAPH: Sikh schoolchildren should be allowed to wear their ceremonial daggers at all times in all public places, Britain's first Asian judge has said.

Sir Mota, who received a knighthood in the 2010 New Year Honours list, said he had worn his Kirpan without problems for up to 40 years. Photograph: The Telegraph
Sir Mota Singh QC spoke out after a number of Sikhs were refused entry to schools and other venues because they were wearing the Kirpan or other religious artefacts.

Sir Mota, who received a knighthood in the 2010 New Year Honours list, said he had worn his Kirpan without problems for up to 40 years, in public buildings including Buckingham Palace.

"Not allowing someone who is baptised to wear a Kirpan is not right," Sir Mota told BBC Asian Network.

The sheathed scimitar, which is attached to a cloth belt and normally worn discreetly under clothes, is one of five "articles of faith" that baptised Sikhs must be carried [sic] at all times. The others are Kara (a steel bangle), Kesh (unshorn hair), Kanga (a comb) and Kacha (special underwear).

Last year, a 14-year-old Sikh boy was refused entry to the Compton School in Barnet after governors ruled his Kirpan was a health and safety risk.

The same year, a Sikh police officer won his case for discrimination against Greater Manchester Police after he was told to remove his turban during riot training.

And in 2008, 14-year-old Sarika Singh won a High Court case against Aberdare Girls' School in south Wales after it excluded her for breaking its "no jewellery" rule for wearing a Kara. The school was found guilty of indirect discrimination under race relations and equality laws. >>> Aislinn Laing | Monday, February 08, 2010

If Children Are Taught That Patriotism Is Wrong, Britain’s Very Identity Is At Stake
MAIL ONLINE: One of the most startling aspects of our society at present is the way things that were once considered to be virtues have now become the object of intense disapproval, and vice versa.

A recent survey of teachers by London University's Institute of Education found that some three-quarters of them believed it was their duty to warn their pupils about the dangers of patriotism.

Once upon a time, loving your country enough that you were prepared to die for it was held to be the highest virtue.

Indeed, without patriotism there would be no one serving in the Armed Forces.

For the past 1,000 years, it has given the people of these islands the strength and courage to repel invaders and defeat the enemies of liberty.

Is it not extraordinary that such affection for your country should now be considered so objectionable that children should be told it is positively dangerous?

One teacher said that praising patriotism excluded non-British pupils.

'Patriotism about being British divides groups along racial lines, when we aim to bring pupils to an understanding of what makes us the same.'

But on the contrary, patriotism is what binds us together through a shared sense of belonging and a desire to defend what we all have in common. >>> Melanie Phillips | Monday, September 14, 2009