Bibles in Schools - part two

The last few months have seen a vigorous and very effective media campaign launched against the Bibles in Schools programmes. The Secular Education Network and their Facebook group Keep Religion Out of Schools say that while religious groups claim to be teaching the eight core values of the New Zealand Schools Curriculum, their real agenda is something different. And that their presence in our otherwise State-run and secular primary schools is a breach of the Human Rights of both the children and their parents.

Not so, say the Bible groups and their supporters. While they are unapologetic about filtering those values through a Christian viewpoint, they insist that they are not there to recruit new members. And that it is appropriate for children growing up in New Zealand to know about a religion that played a formative part in the history of their nation.

In the final episode of a two-part series, Simon Greening of the Churches Education Commission (CEC) and others connected with teaching the Bibles in Schools programme respond to the arguments of the Secular Education Network.

Listen to part one of this series.

Produced by Justin Gregory For Radio New Zealand National.