The open secret of religious instruction in state schools

This is how Christians talk to God. If you would like to pray with me please join me. If you don't then please lower your head so we don't get distracted while praying this short prayer.

And the prayer follows:

Dear God, thank you that Jesus dies on the cross so I could be part of your family. I am sorry for wanting to live my own way, but now I want to live your way. Please forgive me and help me to learn more about you. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer in your head, welcome to God's family! You're a Kingdom Kid.

Another example:

The Bible tells us there are two kinds of people; the people who have faith and will live forever with God, and those who say no to Jesus.

We need to decide which type of person we want to be. Will we follow Jesus?

It hardly matters whether you regard these as proselytising or evangelising. Such muscular, coercive entreaties to join the faith, are plainly inappropriate for primary age children. Why are such brazen and explicit attempts to induct children into "God's family" even necessary if they are already observant Christians?

Parents who think they've signed their child up to a harmless introduction to the bible, should think again.

Breaking the Gordian knot involves removing evangelical SRE classes from state schools altogether. Replace them with comparative classes run by state school teachers, or remove them entirely.

No need or reason demands them given the multitude of churches and faith based schools in our country. But for now, it's up to parents and principals to navigate contradictory and deceptive policies surrounding special religious instruction.

We're left to wonder when State governments will honestly deal with the uncomfortable truth about proselytising, and whether Minister Piccoli will ever release the $300,000 taxpayer funded report.