Letter to the Courier - 20th January

Dear Sir,

I note with alarm Mr Edmiston's proposals to build yet more schools or academies for our children, where the emphasis is on a faith based education, (Courier January 20th). It should never be up to the rich mouthpieces of religion to brainwash our children into thinking that they can only have the option of abstinence rather than contraception; this is just nonsense as decades past have shown. Nor should it be if you are gay and vulnerable, maybe experiencing bullying that you hear from role models in your school that you have a disease or God is punishing you. Our children are our future and should not walk around thinking that the world was created in six days like 125 million Americans do. However, I detest political correctness and profess to be a Christian, but education like our government should remain secular. It is up to the individual to decide what religion if any they want to belong. Otherwise the highly held beliefs of some can become the persecution of others.

Paul Bell