French Parliament Votes To Ban The Burka

[SciFiBoy]

Kantor said:

SciFiBoy said:

Kantor said:

Some people don't seem to be getting this:

France is a secular country. Completely secular. Religious Education cannot be taught in school or university. Pupils may not wear religious symbols of any kind, from any religion, to school. No Burqas, no crosses, no Kirpans, no Kippahs.

This is not intended to persecute Muslims. This is intended to preserve the non-religious atmosphere of France, and to prevent against discrimination more than anything else.

as I understand it, the Burka has nothing to do with their religion, its a cultural thing.

and teaching RE is fine, so long as its not biased.

It has everything to do with the Islamic religion. It is a symbol of Islam.

RE will always be biased, that's the thing. You're not going to have an atheist teaching RE, so the teacher will be of a certain religion (in Britain/France, most probably Christianity). Also, separation of church and state, and all that. Religion has no place in an institution of learning based on scientific proof.

okay then, I have no issue banning religion from schools.

I just think that the Burka is more complex an issue than people think, some women do chose to wear it, they shouldnt be punished for that imo, if they are being forced, then you address the why not the fact that they are wearing them.

Heck, banning RE and faith schools may well help address the why in part anyway, its better to do the smart thing over the longer time, than the dumb thing in the short term.