WHY THEY CELEBRATE DIWALI
It is a sad fact that religious education has become a means of indoctrinating pupils with pluralism. By looking at similar beliefs and practices in different religions, children are encouraged to accept the proposition that all religions are similar, and that they present equal paths to God. The claims of Christ Jesus to be the only way to God are downplayed.
Diwali is especially useful in this way. It is a festival where lamps are lit, so it is presented as a ‘festival of lights’ and compared with Christmas, and other festivals in other religions where light figures. Hinduism is an eastern blend of paganism and mysticism, popularised by the Beatles, and very New Age. Many teachers have an affinity with its philosophies, its astrology and its paganism, or can blend them easily into their world-view. Hindu worship is also very colourful, and children enjoy making multi-coloured ‘Rangoli’ designs and elaborate floral decorations, and lighting their tea-lights. They also enjoy painting their hands, putting the ‘tika’ mark on each other’s foreheads and constructing shrines to so- called Hindu ‘gods’ which can stay in the classroom for the rest of the term. We believe that the powers behind the Hindu ‘gods’ are real and dangerous, and that celebrating Diwali can expose children to the demonic. This paper is the product of an investigation into Diwali in particular and Hinduism in general.
PARTICIPATION
It is the element of participation that is most disturbing, although we do not believe that teaching about different faiths is either the function of the state, or appropriate before children are solidly rooted in their own faith. If any faith is to be taught in school in our constitutionally Christian country, it should be Christianity.
However, Christianity only figures for just over 50% of the time in many schools, and even at Key Stage 1, primary school children are expected to learn about Hinduism. Not only are children just to learn about other faiths. The agreed syllabus for RE in Liverpool, for example, states that children must not merely learn about religions, but learn from them. That is dangerous and offensive territory.
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