Faith schools get a bashing even from committed multiculturalists. Supporters argue that faith schools acknowledge the importance of the child’s cultural identity, something they feel is missing from mainstream education; detractors say they are bastions of bigotry. As one young blogger put it: ‘In a free society you cannot protect your children from ideas. Those who would isolate their children to protect their religious beliefs are demonstrating an extreme lack of faith in those very religious beliefs. Political freedom, economic freedom – these are nothing compared to the power of intellectual freedom.’1
We decided to put some of the main criticisms to Laura McAllister, a recent graduate from Chairo Christian School in Drouin, Australia. Laura has just started on a career as an English teacher in a secular school.
