Festivals at school

Most religious festivals in Britain are not known or celebrated outside the relevant community, but many schools now try to celebrate the festivals of all the religions represented in Britain.

Take the Soho Parish School, a Church of England school in the heart of London: festivals of other major religions are given equal importance to Christmas. To celebrate Eid ul-Fitr, for example, Muslim mothers come into the school to cook traditional food and paint patterns on the children's hands.

You do not have to attend any religious festival, but normally everybody joins in. So, in the nativity play at Christmas, the Virgin Mary could be played by a Muslim girl and Joseph by a Buddhist Chinese boy.

a  Do you have an official religion in your country?

b  Do you have to study Religion at school?

c  Which religions exist in your country?

d  Compare your country to Britain.

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain. 21st Century Edition, Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 29