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British School's Handling of Child's Religious Remarks Brings National Attention

By Howard M. Friedman

An incident in a British school between two young children is turning into a national controversy. As reported by Ekklesia and by Church Times, last week 5-year old Jasmine Cain, a student at Landscore Primary School in Crediton, upset a classmate by telling her that she would "go to hell" if she did not believe in God and Jesus. Head teacher Gary Read told Jasmine that her remark was inappropriate in the school with children from diverse backgrounds. Jasmine's mother, Jennie Cain, works as the receptionist at the school. Read asked her to make sure that her daughter did not repeat the remark that left her classmate in tears. Now Jennie Cain is challenging the head teacher's actions, saying that her daughter's religious beliefs are not being respected. She sent out e-mails to ten friends asking them for support. When Jennie was asked to stay home while the matter was being investigated, supporters around the country began to speak out. The Archbishop of York said that the school's treatment of Jennie Cain is an affront to the sensibility of Christians. (London Telegraph, Feb. 13.) Now the Governors of the school have set up a special committee to investigate the incident.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).