Opposition to Religious Instruction in Victorian Schools Grows

A growing number of principals in Victoria are examining the teaching going on in "Chrisitan Religious Education" classes offered in their schools. In February The Age reported that Joe Kelly, a principal with decades of experience in primary education, chose to investigate the Religious Instruction classes offered by an ACCESS Ministries volunteer. He found that "It has no value whatsoever. It is rubbish - hollow and empty rhetoric … My school teachers are committed to teaching children, not indoctrinating them."

Recently, after parents raised concerns about Religious Instruction (RI) classes in Murrumbeena Primary the school decided to suspend RI for a term to let parents make an informed decision about their child's participation.

Recently it has surfaced that an RI teacher in a Victorian school, Karen Dobby, ran as a candidate for the "Australian Christians" party in last year's federal election. Dobby received 0.86% of the primary vote, with 743 votes, less than the 4375 informal votes. Christian parents in the electorate of Issacs have the right to vote against Karen Dobby at the polls if they believe she doesn't share their values, but have no say over the standards of religious instruction that their children receive in schools. Many parents don't want their children to be told that dinosaur bones don't exist by a zealous volunteer from a Pentecostal megachurch if they go to a small Anglican church.

Dobby describes her reason for running in the election saying "[Australian Christians] will uphold Godly values in this nation." She outlines her political philosophy as a person who is "concerned about what’s happening within this nation":

-  Freedom of speech is under threat;- Pressure to have Extreme discrimination laws put in place is underway;
- Constant pressure to allow Same Sex Marriage which will have a huge negative impact on the family unit as we know it now;
- A constant push for ‘diversity’ actually encourages young people into homosexuality by making it sound ‘normal’ rather than encouraging them to fight against early thoughts of same sex attractions that they might be dealing with in their teenage minds;
- The Christian culture in this nation is under threat – ‘Christmas’ to be known as the ‘holiday season’… no singing Christmas carols because it may offend other nationalities…when entering banks other religions can wear full head/face garments, but we MUST remove bike helmets,…. no crucifix jewellery permitted in schools with strict jewellery policies, but muslim students can still wear their full religious attire.  What’s happening??
- Political madness is rampant;
- Abortion rates are outrageous because women are not given accurate information about the health/emotional risks;  It’s constantly being encouraged as acceptable which makes it available like a contraceptive method.  A MCG full of babies (100,000) were aborted in Australia in 2011.
- ONLY in Victoria, abortions can take place up to 40 weeks…yes the day before giving birth!  Over 200 cases in Victoria last year of full term abortions.  I’m sorry, but why are we allowing the killing of innocent little babies?  Like it or not, abortion is another word for killing.  At 4 weeks or 40 weeks it IS a life.
-Muslims aren’t having abortions…they’re multiplying dramatically!
-Employed medical staff (including nurses) can be charged for breaching the law if they refuse to conduct/assist with an abortion;
-Sex education in schools now talks openly and explicitly about the many different ways of having sex with the same or opposite gender….and at any age that suits because ‘they know best!’
‘Australian Christians’ is a political party that is trying to infiltrate the federal government.  It is not affiliated with any religious movement.  We have a variety of candidates and supporters, including ‘muslim born’ people (who are now Catholic/Christians) standing up and fighting against the infiltration of the Islamic culture.  They don’t want it in this great nation…which is why they left countries like Egypt in the first place!
We need to get people into the political realm in this nation that will stand up/speak up for what should be ‘the majority’ but unfortunately the minority are having their say way too loudly.
You don’t have to be a Christian to share the views above.  I know many non-Christians who are alarmed and frustrated about what’s going on.
Get informed….get involved….speak up!
I refuse to believe the lie that you can’t make a difference, because the truth is we CAN!

Dobby has every right to publish her views and run on a platform that represents her values. But she shouldn't be getting access to children without the parents understanding her perspective, or that the organisation sees schools as a “mission field” in which to “make disciples.”

Dobby has resigned from her position on the board of the Foster Care Association of Victoria over her provocative expression of her views. She continues to work for ACCESS ministries in Victoria because unlike many other organisations, it has hardly any oversight of its volunteers.

The Victorian Department of Education tells parents that "Christian Religious Education" classes give students "some understanding of stories, festivals, worship and symbols of the Christian faith in the community." They don't explain honestly how volunteers from megachurches are teaching creationism and how everyone who doesn't go to Christian churches will go to hell.

We encourage parents in NSW to look at how Religious Instruction teachers have been claiming to "cure" homosexuals and teaching racist and sexist ideas, and to let your school's principal know of your concerns.

Parents from Fairness in Religion in Schools