God a 'big help' in SA schools

Children perform better in their studies at schools where religion is practised.

In fact, they prefer having a Christian ethos at school to none at all.

This is one of the arguments made by Johan du Toit SC in the Johannesburg High Court in a case on how religion should be observed at state schools.

Du Toit was quoting Tanya Robinson, a self-described expert on human behaviour, who surveyed and held focus groups with about 808 children at religious Afrikaans schools.

She asked the children what they thought about having religious readings and prayer in assembly.

• Christian schools don't break the lawNGOs Afriforum and Cause for Justice have asked what law schools that hold Christian assemblies have broken.

Her research was commissioned by the Federation of Governing Bodies of SA Schools, which is defending the right of six Afrikaans state schools to have Christian assemblies, hold prayers during school time and advertise themselves as having a "Christian ethos".

Hans Pietersen, a father of triplets, brought the court case, asking that the schools be interdicted from having Christian assemblies or voluntary Christian meetings at break.

He has argued that single-religion schools are unconstitutional and discriminatory.

Robinson's findings were that children would feel "devastated and defeated" if Christian teaching at school was banned.

She argued that religious teachings played a role in the psycho-social development of children.

• Crusade to end Christian bias at schools marches onThe man behind the court bid to stop six schools praying, singing hymns, displaying Bible verses and promoting themselves as Christian says he does not want to eliminate religion from society.

"The [Christian] ethos of school helps them cope with circumstances at home," read Du Toit from her report.

Robinson said religion made schoolchildren feel "empowered and uplifted" and that they preferred having a Christian "ethos".

Pietersen's organisation, OGOD, countered with testimony from Cornelia Roux, from the North West University School of Education.

In a written affidavit, Roux critiqued Robinson's questionnaire.

She argued that the questions needed to take into account the development and understanding of the child, which the one survey on its own did not.

• Court case puts religion in schools under scrutinyIf one majority religion is practised in school assemblies‚ then any pupil who asks to miss the assembly is forced to say they are different.

NGOs AfriForum and Cause for Justice have said that OGOD failed to show the schools broke a law by holding Christian assemblies.

Correction

This article has been amended. Timeslive originally reported that the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities agreed and argued the High Court had no jurisdiction in the matter.

The commission is not party to this case.

The above argument was raised by the SA Council for the Protection and Promotion of Religious Rights and Freedoms.

Cause for Justice senior counsel Greta Engelbrecht argued that one cannot "socially engineer" a school if the children come from a heterogeneous population.