‘No change to religion in Queensland state schools’

Posted on July 27, 2017 
Filed under Australia

“There had been no change to religious instruction policy in Queensland schools said education Minister Kate Jones.
Ms Jones said the Palaszczuk Government supported religious instruction in state schools in consultation with parents…”

– Part of a media statement from the Queensland Government.

For background – see this earlier opinion piece from Murray Campbell:

“In the school playground, children talk about everything and anything: what they watch on television, who is eating what for lunch, their favourite sporting players and what bands they’re listening too, and what they’re hoping to do on the weekend. But if the Queensland Education Department have their way, the one topic children will not be allowed to speak about is Jesus.

In our click bait media culture, it is sometimes hard to discern real stories from the dubious, but sure enough, this story is legitimate.

The Queensland Education Department have undertaken to inform schools that children are not to discuss Christianity outside formal Religious Instruction classes.”

and also this story from News.com.au, Christmas cards, Jesus talk to be discouraged in ‘inclusive’ Qld schools.

“Christmas cards and Jesus talk may be quashed in Queensland school yards after a review into religious instruction by the state’s education department. The Australian has today revealed that the move to discourage Christianity references in the state’s school yards comes as part of a bid to crack down on “junior evangelists” who may be imposing their beliefs on non-Christians. …”

Bill Muehlenberg at CultureWatch writes (28 July 2017):

“This hastily released statement is really about two things: damage control, and sleight-of-hand government-speak. There was a huge public backlash about this, with petitions circulating, letters being written, and MPs being contacted. So the Labor government had to move quickly.”

Photo: The Hon. Kate Jones.