Losing my religion

What is the place of religion in schools, and is there room for such beliefs in a seemingly secular context?

In Queensland, Australia there was a call to remove all reference to religion from the schooling environment for fear that some children were evangelising - or attempting to convert other children to Christianity. See the article here. 

This raised a lot of concerns and questions for people as to what is the place of religion in schools, and whether there is actually room for such beliefs in a seemingly secular context. The attention this issue raised was bought about by both the concept of children "coverting" others as well as how they were doing it - through Christmas cards and bracelets. The government responded in saying was that it was protecting the interests of students so that all young people could feel safe and included. Many public responses have suggested that it does the opposite, effectively, making students feel they cannot and should not talk about their beliefs and values, and that such discussions are quashing freedom of speech for our young people. 

Let's look at this from a different perspective. There is a very large difference between the idea of exposing your children to religious education at school (of which all parents should have choice and autonomy), and children expressing theirs views and beliefs in whatever context they are in. Spiritual beliefs and meaning making are as important to children as much as they are to adults, whether spiritual beliefs are religious in nature or not is another question. Allowing a conversation to occur about what different views and opinions look like should be the bedrock of our education system. The school should not be a place where ones beliefs are shunned or avoided, but rather where they are celebrated and learned about.  The key issue here seems to be the misguided notion that exposure to religion may inadvertently convert children without the consent of their parents. 

Let's start putting our children's beliefs and values at the centre of this discussion rather than at the periphery. 

-Ranga