Sounds like positive moves in parliament to propose ending collective worship in school assemblies in favour of inclusive assemblies.
Incredible to think that change hasn’t already happened, but it looks like amendments to prevent new religious schools selecting 100% of students on a selective basis haven’t been taken forward. Not a good thing to be segregating children based on the purported beliefs of their parents.
As education is a devolved issue along with education sport transport and a few other. Parliament in Westminster can only speak for England with regards to this matter.
A shame, but still positive!
As are the steps being taken to remove morning prayers from parliament, which basically grant seats for the day to those willing to take part in Christian worship.
With not enough seats for all, and a lack of seat meaning you can’t be called upon to speak in the house, this is another cracking example of the engrained religious privilege putting entire swathes of the population at a disadvantage.
A touch hyperbolic as parliament is at least half empty on most sitting days
Not really.
For really important stuff, the chamber is full. That means that for the stuff everyone considers very important, those willing to attend morning prayers get a seat first.
And in either case, the principle there is clear. Attending a religious event at the start of the day shouldn’t give you a seating advantage in the house, which then disadvantages an entire community of voters.
Ah, but have you surveyed the voting participation? Are the religious ones better than the non-religious types? 
on the topic of prayer before an event, what is your position @OC.1324 on saying grace at a Dining in night?
I know some will be holding such events this weekend for ATC Sunday etc and it is not unusual (in my experience) for someone to say “grace”.
I predict/guess the answer will be “thanks” can be offered without directing that thanks at a religious deity, (eg to the catering staff and venue hosts) and so is inclusive of all?
Sounds good to me…
Correct.
In the case of my last dinner night, I simply finished my welcome speech with “Bon a petit”.
I have previously done (and known many to do) a rhyme to the effect of reflecting on what we’re grateful for, while clearly missing religious references.
I then often chime in with “hear hear!” to break the auto default to “amen”. I like to be thorough 
I’m reminded of a time I was at a dinner with @OC.1324 and at the end of the traditional grace, which ended on words to the effect of ‘we give thanks’ and he chipped in with “to the chef!”
That could’ve been anyone. We were a rowdy bunch in those days 
My defence is that I was probably too busy concocting Mr Vice shenanigans.
Between the two of us I think we drove the pippage rate up considerably that night, by polishing off all the drinks. It ended up being three figures from what I remember.
Ooooohhhh. That was a very specific night.
You may be bang on. I can literally neither confirm nor deny
In my defence, some of that could be that it was counts fingers 12-13 years ago? Honestly, we’ll be old men arguing about politics before you know it…
Gosh, not going well for the Church of England…
The General Synod’s decision making has led bishops to call for the disestablishment of the church.
And considering it’s all about refusing to submit to better checks and balances for safeguarding, it’s no wonder they’re angry…
According to the article [in the Sun], the mood within the Church of England is seen as one of ‘breaking point’ following a vote by the Church of England’s General Synod not to approve independent safeguarding – meaning the Church will continue to privately handle allegations of child sexual abuse without external oversight, which was seen as a major cause of the Church’s failings under Welby.
Bishop of Newcastle Helen-Ann Hartley said the vote means the Church has ‘lost credibility in safeguarding… we have just collectively signed our institutional death warrant’ and ‘demonstrated a fundamental lack of understanding of the depth of this crisis’.
The Church of England’s safeguarding lead, Bishop of Birkenhead, Julie Conalty, said the scandal ‘exemplified the arrogance’ of the Church’s approach and refusal to ‘listen to criticism from experts [and] survivors.’
Conalty said: ‘Part of our inherent arrogance comes with our status as the established Church… I personally would favour the Church of England being disestablished.’
Journalist Cathy Newman summarised Hartley as saying the Church had ‘forfeited its right to its special status as the established church in England, the official religion of the nation with the monarch as its supreme governor.’
The bishop of Newcastle has been on political manoeuvres for a fair while in an attempt to become the arch bishop. She’s been on the radio several times criticising various church leaders, sometimes legitimately, sometimes unfairly.
We don’t have independent safeguarding in the air cadets or in the vast majority of institutions so it makes sense that the c of E would likewise not have an independent body particularly for the day to day.
Not to make things political but with the likes of Elon musk wanting the world to worship his ego I kinda like having the mystical - at least for the next 4 - 6 years until the world calms down again.
Sadly there’s too many who would rather the world burn than things succeed without/despite them.
I completely agree - some hymn are fab & you can really sing along to, others are proper dirges without any really musical art -“ make me a channel of your peace” is one that always grates for me.
But if you have an organ why not take inspiration from else where ? 
I think you’re missing the really important part.
If the RAFAC were shown to have critical and consistent failings regarding safeguarding and had made the errors (or deliberate choices) that the CofE has made, we would also be rightly expecting that level of oversight.
It also goes to the heart of the point some bishops are making regarding their position as an established church. The CofE is a very different beast to the RAFAC with a very different culture and sense of transparency.
Edit:
It’s also really important to consider that we, as an organisation, don’t claim to have a handle on “absolute morality”. We’re fundamentally open to the fact we could get things wrong and work to protect against that.
When you have an organisation that has in the past decried the idea of “moral relativism” and been quite firm that morals are absolute as per the will of an ultimate designer of the universe, it perhaps signals that they might not be best placed to mark their own homework.
Probably lies then
I mean my need for logical consistency leaves me unable to refuse that suggestion haha
When any organisation puts its reputation above the safeguarding of its members, especially the vulnerable and child members of that organisation it’s time for it to disband. Both the C of E and the Catholics appear to have historically failed to root out abuse, corruption and wrongdoings for decades whilst claiming to hold high morals and standards.
It’s hypocrisy of the highest level.