In New South Wales the Government is trialling a new ethics class which "would let children who did not take scripture class examine ethical issues, but without an overarching theology" - and the Christians are fuming:
THE Bishop of North Sydney has urged Anglican priests to collect information from principals of public schools to stop the spread of the secular ethics classes the Sydney Anglicans believe may threaten religious education.
Dr Jensen, Anglican Archbishop of Sydney, said ethics should not be offered as an alternative to the Bible. He said the trial had been "rushed through" and complained that it was not easy to be heard in the debate about the trial, because of "countervailing forces that may be less scrupulous in putting their case".
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bishop-enters-battle-against-secular-ethics-classes-20100413-s7pp.html (http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/bishop-enters-battle-against-secular-ethics-classes-20100413-s7pp.html)
The Christians are trying to stop the spread of ethics because it is a threat to religious education, The Anglican Archbishop of Sydney says "ethics should not be offered as an alternative to the Bible" and implies than anyone who disagrees with him is "unscrupulous". Does this attitude tell us anything about whether or not Christianity promotes ethical behavior?
Theists win
Complaints put brakes on ethics class trial
VERITY FIRTH is refusing to guarantee a 10-week trial for secular ethics classes will start next week in state primary schools as expected, after a flurry of complaints from religious leaders.
A spokeswoman for the NSW Minister for Education yesterday said getting the curriculum right was ''more important than the timing of the trial''.
http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/complaints-put-brakes-on-ethics-class-trial-20100416-skfy.html (http://www.smh.com.au/national/education/complaints-put-brakes-on-ethics-class-trial-20100416-skfy.html)