London, England - Teachers yesterday voted overwhelmingly to ban further government funding for faith schools, but rejected proposals for new legislation to prevent the growing influence of religious organisations in state education, including the teaching of creationism in schools.
Delegates attending the annual conference of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers backed a resolution stating that "the government's policy of increasing numbers of faith schools will hinder integration, foster religious divisions and provide fertile ground for religious and ethnic conflicts."
But after a heated debate, during which some delegates complained that the motion itself was intolerant, they watered down the motion by rejecting the call for legislation to prevent the teaching of creationism.
Proposing the motion, Hank Roberts, from the union's national executive, questioned the government's policy of increasing faith schools while doing nothing to stop the influence of religious fundamentalists, such as the Christian millionaire businessman Sir Peter Vardy through the three schools run by his Emmanuel Schools Foundation.
"No government action has been taken to prevent Sir Peter Vardy from teaching creationism in schools - actually ours, we pay for them," he told the conference.
"Instead of government action to stop this, which this motion calls for, what's happening? Vardy is putting up a further £2m to gain control of yet another school."
Mr Roberts, from the north London borough of Brent, said the government's plan for trust schools further "opened the bag" for religious organisations and individuals to take control of state-funded education.
He went on: "If Christians and Jews have state funding for their schools, Muslims and Hindus follow and other religions will not be far behind. Do we want such a proliferation of state-funded religious schools? Will it... hinder integration, foster religious divisions and provide fertile ground for religious and ethnic conflict? I believe it would."
A secular education system would give the opportunity for all faiths to be discussed. "If we are to have a truly united society that understands its many cultural facets then people need to mix with their peers from all races and religions from an early age. Increasing faith schools stand in the way of that."
But Hilary Jones, a teacher from Thameside, said the resolution was "simply expressing a prejudice" against religion, while Liz Butler, from Northumberland, said it was like "a dictatorship".
The Rev Chris Wilson, a college lecturer from Cambridge and a Unitarian minister, said it was important to maintain the "post-war settlement" of secular and faith schools coexisting. Wearing his clerical collar, he added: "We want a culture that breeds diversity and which nurtures respect for all faiths and traditions. Indeed this is the agenda from the government itself. Yet the government is now also, at the same time and unaware of the contradiction in policy, opening the book to single faith schools outside of the mainstream - narrow, judgmental, often fundamentalist in character - which will not promote diversity, but the dominance of one tradition over another.
"We need to call a halt to further schools. Not to shut down faith schools. We need to evolve our existing settlement and not one that seeks to return education to pre-enlightenment times."
A spokesman for the Department for Education and Skills said: "Faith schools are popular with parents and play a valuable role in local communities, promoting inclusion and developing partnerships with schools of other faiths.
"The major faith leaders only recently reaffirmed their commitment to ensure that faith schools teach pupils about all major religions."
He added: "Neither creationism nor intelligent design are taught as a subject in schools, and are not specified in the science curriculum. The national curriculum for science clearly sets down that pupils should be taught that the fossil record is evidence for evolution, and how variation and selection may lead to evolution or extinction."