Faith-based Religious Education Has No Place in Public Schools: Wheeler Centre

The Wheeler Centre invites you to an Intelligence Squared Debate:

Faith-based Religious Education Has No Place in Public Schools

Date: Wednesday 26 February 2014  Time: 6:30PM - 8:30PM
Location: Melbourne Town Hall, 90-120 Swanston Street Melbourne Victoria
Cost: $20 and $12 concession

In the late 19th Century, the Australian government decreed that education should be compulsory, free and secular. Over time, most states have seen the ‘secular’ provisions in their education acts amended, insisting that Primary schools must allow for special religious instruction.

In this incendiary first debate of 2014, our speakers will examine what it means to move away from the secular model and towards a spiritual one; debating the merits of our current model of volunteer church run instruction, as opposed to a balanced study of comparative religions, and contesting where such religious instruction sits within the central tenet of Australian democracy – the separation of church and state.

Was the old legislation insisting on secularity out of touch with modern times, or is it more relevant than ever? Is it possible to teach children about the importance of faith without proselytising, and if so, where should the boundaries be drawn?

Speaking for the motion are Professor Marion Maddox, a leading authority on the intersection of religion and politics in Australia, award-winning author David Vann, and Professor Peter Sherlock, vice-chancellor of the University of Divinity.

The speakers against the proposition include Tim Costello AO, Baptist minister and World Vision Australia CEO, and Dr Justine Toh, senior research fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.

For more information: Ring Wheeler Centre on (03) 9094 7800 or go to www.wheelercentre.com

Intelligence Squared Debates: The Intelligence Squared debates rage on in 2014 with a whole new range of topics as compelling as they are polarising. The Wheeler Centre and St James Ethics Centre join forces once more to bring a series of contentious propositions to Melbourne Town Hall. In these highly participatory debates, once both sides have had their say, the decision as to who emerges victor lies entirely in your hands.