I usually grit my teeth and put up with it, and for the last 15 years of listening to Today, have struggled to understand why we still have to put up with such tosh.

To my suprise, Giles Fraser, the Vicar of Putney, tackled the current debate on Creationism head on. Putting his faith to one side, he astutely described the ongoing debate of creationsm vs evolution as "a proxy argument for a deeper set of anxieties".

Fraser is obviously a thoughtful and pragmatic individual, and I have to give respect to his thought processes - I still struggle to see why he needs the foundation of a god to prop up his life and intellect, but put that to one side and he did make a number of very valid observations.

The creation debate has for a long time been hijacked by political elements seeking to further their own cause. Be it the "wedge" being sharpened by the Intelligent Design lobby, or simple Old Testament bible thumpers. They seek to influence the way our world is run through belief based politics. On the other side, those threatened by irrationality of religion (and I include myself here), wield the hammer of science to attack and undermine the other side.

Just as Mr. Fraser will argue for his freedom to believe in a god, I will argue that a god is unnecessary in the supposedly enlightened 21st century.

Frasers final and main point was that the creation/evolution debate is sterile and that the world will not be moved forward by it. If we wish to pull the ignorant and superstitious proponents of creationsism and fundamentalists in general into the 21st century, we need to help them.

Education here is the key. We need to help people understand the difference between facts and faith, scientific method and beliefs, philosophy and theology. This is not about intellectual snobbery. But we do need to make sure people understand the differences, and then think for themselves.

Education is the key.

As a society, we british seek to prevent our children from smoking until they are 16, and drinking until they are 18. Sex under the age of 16 is considered as rape. They can't drive until they are 17. They can't vote until 18.

Why do we allow vicars, priests, rabbis, imams, monks and nuns unrestricted access to our children and youth to promote their particular brand of religion? Whether it be in a state school, at church, in a maddrassar, or in their own homes, we currently have no rules against self appointed religious leaders teaching children.

They are allowed to preach beliefs and shape the thoughts and philosophy of our youngest children. They are given priviledged access when kids are by definition too young to decide for themselves and unable to object or argue - even if they do feel that what they are being told doesn't make sense. Belief doesn't need to be logical or aligned with a state curriculum - the kids are just told to believe it - or in more sophisticated churches, arguments are spun to confuse, confound and convince the kids to believe.

So next time you collect your kids at the school gate, ask them what they learned today. Find out about their "RE" lessons - you'll find that today's state approved classes in "comparitive religion" expose your kids to the menu of different religions and make sure they understand things like "WHAT do people believe?. The state doesn't know what goes on in other religious teaching establishments - particularly if the "teaching" is not part of a the formal education system.

I suspect that it's not a requirement for your children to ask the question "WHY do people believe?". You should make sure they are able to ask it for themselves.

Religion doesn't belong on the interactive whiteboard. It should be listed alongside drinking, smoking and sex - bad for the kids, but open to those that can make their own informed decisions in later.

And if you think I should worry about more important things in life than religion in schools, take a look at the creationists main web site and decide for yourself where they are targetting their efforts - education is top of their list.

http://www.creationism.org/