Northumberland Councillor Sparks Controversy Over Religious Education Comments

Local TV

A county councillor in Northumberland has come under fire after claiming that teaching children about non-Christian religions in schools could lead to “brainwashing.”

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00:00Councillor David Fitzgerald, a member of Reform UK, who represents the Chopin Inn and Hepscott ward,

00:07made the controversial comments during a Northumberland County Council meeting.

00:11Councillor Fitzgerald, who sits on the local authorities' Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education, or SACRA,

00:18said he was totally against schools teaching religions rather than Christianity,

00:23arguing that the UK is a Christian country and must remain so.

00:27I have two grandchildren. They're going to school and they could be forced to attend religious education that is not Christian, he said.

00:34I am totally against it. We are a Christian country and have been for centuries.

00:39My concern is these children could be brainwashed into other things.

00:43The comments were made during a debate on an unrelated Labour motion

00:47to tighten safeguarding and DBS checks for those working with children and vulnerable adults.

00:52While Councillor Fitzgerald expressed support for the motion,

00:55he used the opportunity to raise concerns about the religious education curriculum.

01:00His intervention has sparked a wave of criticism from fellow councillors and local MPs who have called for his removal from SACRA,

01:08a statutory body that advises the Council on collective worship and religious education in local authority-maintained schools.

01:15All four Labour MPs representing Northumberland have written a joint letter to the Council urging Councillor Fitzgerald's removal from SACRA.

01:24They expressed concerns that his views are incompatible with a role that requires a commitment to inclusion and religious literacy.

01:31David Smith, MP for North Northumberland stated,

01:34It is my job to serve the people of North Northumberland and that means speaking up for every family and child in my constituency

01:42to make sure their faith and beliefs are respected and protected.

01:47Anyone appointed to an advisory body like SACRA must be held to the highest standards of inclusion.

01:53Sharing statements like this on social media is taking us away from decent conversations about rebuilding solidarity in our communities

02:00and stirring up a kind of knee-jerk hatred that causes real harm.

02:05The letter also raises concerns over posts allegedly made by Councillor Fitzgerald on social media,

02:11though these posts have not yet been publicly detailed.

02:14But what do you think? Should schools be educating children on just Christianity

02:19or should they be teaching children about other religions too?

02:23I mean all the religions should be taught in school.

02:26So Islam depends on what you believe in, so make sure you get the good part of it, not the extremists,

02:33like going the extremists, how to kill people or no, no, no, no, no.

02:36Learn the proper thing about all the religions, not just Christianity, but all the religions, yeah.

02:41Because I think it's alright. It's not just going to be Christians in school.

02:45There will be people who are Hindu, Christian, Jewish.

02:50You can't just, basically, if you want to exclude all the other religions,

02:54then you do exactly what happened to the Jews back in World War II, which is not right.

02:59Thanks.

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