Children’s welfare is at risk if training on sexual health are taught in accordance with a religious attitude, the National Secular Society has warned.
The NSS stated that allowing Relationships, Sexual Health and Parenthood ( RSHP ) education to be taught as part of Religious and Moral Education ( RME) would undermine the promotion of health and wellbeing and jeopardize LGBT inclusion in response to a government consultation on the delivery of such education in Scotland.
Ordinance, which the NSS claimed is “incompatible” with equality, can now be used “predominantly” to deliver RSHP training, according to the new guidance.
Some religions make it clear that same-sex connections are immoral. This includes the Catholic Church, which oversees the 360 religious universities in Scotland.
The recommendation calls for schools to foster an environment where” children and young people feel safe and secure,” but also where RSHP “plays a central role in promoting the attitude of the school.”
The NSS argued that it is” not credible” to assert that children can be raised in a safe and secure environment while RSHP is delivered from the perspective of religion, which supports the notion that same-sex relationships are evil.
It suggested that only a liberal health and wellbeing curriculum be used to teachRSHP.
The NSS issued a warning against the requirement that schools “build links with local opinion group staff” in order to better understand” the concerns of people of their community.” These associates typically advocate for jobs that are significantly more regressive and hard-line than the religious communities they purport to represent.
The NSS also stated that, contrary to what the guidance suggests, “religious authorities with a role in education” should not be consulted on “additional and complementary guidance on RSHP education for denominational [Catholic ] schools.”
Sexual outside of matrimony, abortion, and contraception are all actually prohibited by the Catholic Church. Additionally, it encourages conventional gender roles, which frequently devalue girls.
The NSS issued a warning that “guidance” from religious authorities would affect standards differently and adversely affect students in religious schools compared to various Scottish children.
No need for spiritual doctrine in physical wellness lessons, according to NSS.
The NSS’s Jack Rivington, a campaigns officer, stated that “education on relationships and sexual health may be goal, complete, equitable, and medically accurate.”
All of these essential characteristics are in danger of being threatened by “facilitating the integrating of religious doctrine within RSHP by allowing it to become taught through a trust view.” The main focus should be on children’s and young adults ‘ health and wellbeing, not on the spread of spiritual philosophy.
While the British government is encouraged to place a strong emphasis on human rights, it must make sure that its new policies do not permit actions that undermine this crucial priority.