DAWKINS - Religious School Are Wicked

Faith Schools And Children's Rights - Richard Dawkins - The Big Debate - BBC

Jonathan Dimbleby and a panel of experts come together to debate the controversial subject of religion in Britain's schools.

The role of religion in education is a subject rarely out of the headlines. Despite Britain's multi-faith society, schools are still required to include a collective act of worship of a Christian nature, while faith schools and religious academies have raised fears about community cohesion and covert selection.

Claims by some religious educationalists that faith is the best way to teach moral values is challenged by others in schools who believe religious morality to be outdated and dangerous.

Dimbleby is joined by Professor Richard Dawkins, Schools Select Committee chairman Barry Sheerman MP, and a multi-faith studio audience.

Richard Dawkins is the Charles Simonyi Professor of the Public Understanding of Science at Oxford University. He was voted Britains leading public intellectual by readers of Prospect magazine and was named one of Time Magazines "100 Most Influential People" for 2007. Among his books are "The Selfish Gene", "The Blind Watchmaker", "Climbing Mount Improbable", "Unweaving the Rainbow", "A Devils Chaplain", "The Ancestors Tale", and the New York Times best seller "The God Delusion".