This was a good article. I did not know England did not have
separation of church and state. In the US, we let parents raise
their children not the state. I have many UK friends that have
very strong opinions against religion; now I understand why.
It is pushed on them by their government. I am religious but
I prefer the government to stay out of my religious life.

John, Placentia, OC California

Humanism taught at GCSE for the first time?! We were taught the humanist viewpoint on subjects such as abortion and euthanasia when I did my RE GCSE 14 years ago!!

Caroline, Cambridge,

This is long overdue - it has been advocated by the Religious Education Council for decades! Humanism is a coherent and positive set of beliefs, contrary to various bishops who think anyone who lacks religion must be cynical, negative and lacking any values beyond consumerism. Two out of three teenagers has no religion - that has been found by two very large surveys a decade apart, one by the DfES (Education Dept), the other by two clergymen - and Humanism is their most natural lifestance.

There is a complete spectrum from the most dogmatic belief through liberal religion and the clinging to culture and ritual and searching of those who are half way between belief and unbelief, through agnosticism and Humanism to atheism - and there are other ports of call along the way. It is right that children be introduced to the whole range of possibilities, in an objective, neutral informative way. As to Dan's request for a new name instead of RE, what about Beliefs and Values Education?

David Pollock, London,

Christian values were central to "Humanism", as it developed from the late Middle Ages and reached its most complete expression in Renaissance Europe.

Methinks the concept of humanism being proposed here is something slightly different. Why not just say that "ethics" or "moral philosophy" is being taught in schools.? (Which should, by the way, include consideration of Christian thought).

Name withheld, London,

what has humanism got do with euthanasia and abortion?

steve white, dub, Ireland

One hopes that the adulterous behaviour of the President, Ms Polly Toynbee, will be on the curriculum alongside said Ms Toynbee's moral strictures.

Malcolm McLean, Bradford, UK

Humanism is analogous to religion. For many decades it has been described as an 'alternative to religion'. Humanism does include some key beliefs: naturalism (as opposed to supernaturalism), the belief that this life is the only one we have and that we should make the most of it, the belief that we should be self-directed rather than submit to gods and gurus, and the voluntary adoption of a postive code of ethics including non-aggression, compassion and so on. Humanists meet to celebrate their tradition of thought (Greek philosophers, Enlightenment philosophy, and so on) and to express solidarity with humanity in its struggle for human rights and so on. We have ceremonies for birth, marriage, death. Humanism need not hold that all religion is 'irrational' - it's just that the reasons which religious people advance for belief do not seem, to Humanists, to be able to withstand critical scrutiny.

David Warden, Bournemouth, UK

Unfortunately, this syllabus will never be taught in my school. When the head of Religious Education is an agenda-pushing Christian, any hope of there being an objective RE curriculum with a sense of intellectual balance is, alas, slim. Far too many students live with a similarly flawed aproach to Religion from the very people who purport to educate us. In France, the separation of church and state is enshrined in law; would it were so here. To resort to a t-shirt slogan, "don't pray in my school and I won't think in your church"!

Mel, Coventry,

As RE is compulsory it is vital that we acknowledge and respect the beliefs that all students bring to the classroom. And this is what many good RE teachers have been doing for a number of years. There are many answers to the big questions, not all of them are religious. Many of the non-religious responses are plausible, as is the case with humanist answers, and therefore should be considered within RE. This is definitely a move in the right direction.

Jo, London,

Is Humanism a religion? Do all Humanists hold the same philosophy?

It is interesting to note that the call to reason against religion. It is as if Reason and Faith do not go together, when they very much do. There are those who are irrational of course but that goes in all walks of life.

So it is interesting that Humanism, whatever it really is, is too be taught as an objection to relgion and trying to work what to do then morally.

I think all views points within religions hould be taught Liberal and non-liberal. So Children are opened up to the idea that religon is not just for fundemetalists. A balanced view needs to be taken, which at the moment it is not.

Steven, Buckhurst Hill,

We are living in the 21st century, and it clear that a religious education GCSE that contains something on humanism is a good step forward. I would prefer, however, to see the subject title of the GCSE changed to something more apposite: something that takes account of this new course.

Des, Edinburgh,