If your child is not Catholic

You are obviously not Catholic so makes sense! Catholic schools are usually attended by catholics or at least Christians

My parents did not attend mass that I remember in the whole 5 years I was at high school. And we were supposedly RC. I say I was brought up lapsed.

My ds did, by the time he left to go to secondary school he knew everything in mass, what all the bells were for etc. Exh & I went to whole school masses where parents were invited.

In reality if you can find a non religion based primary it is your best bet, I found that it was very much a closed shop, we were treated like outsiders particularly after my marriage broke down.

I’m Catholic. If you don’t have any interest in becoming Catholic, don’t go.

Why wouldn't you? I doubt there's a sinister secret plan to kidnap you and make you so the stations of the cross at knifepoint - it's just an event like any other school event, surely? Go if you want, don't if you don't.

Not really.. I went to a c of e primary, and I think the basics of Christianity was quite an interesting and useful thing to learn.
It exposes children to different viewpoints and people having different opinions, and also has a historical value considering during recent history the UK population was primarily religious.

First thing I’d do is not send my kids to a catholic school.

It was the same at my high church Anglican church, it was the blood of Christ.

Agree you probably don't need formal 'punishments'.
The problem with making up your own religion is that it's completely self-centred. People are often overly kind in judging themselves , though not always. They can be blind to their own faults. We actually do need authority outside of ourselves to help us become better people and have the courage sometimes to say that what we are doing is wrong.
It's the contemporary denial of this which lies behind some social problems, like children, where parents can't say 'no'.

No, what's that got to do with it?

Hahaha I was thinking that.

im a practising Catholic but my children are at a non dom school.

You are not obliged to attend mass everyone will be welcome regardless of their religion. It just seems strange to choose a faith school if you are not Catholic.

No just ask for your child to sit out.

Do you live in Ireland?

Yes I was thinking about bringing it up at the next parent/ teacher meeting face to face. The reason I don’t see any reason to bring it up asap as I know a couple of the other kids have opted out but they still seem to be picking up a lot of the prayers etc anyway. They say prayers at the start and the end of the day and there are crucifixes and statues all over the school so they are aware of it regardless. There are about seven or eight of them in the class that aren’t christened and won’t be making their communion but still do the religion classes so it’s not uncommon in the school.
At the moment what they are learning is very basic. God created the world, god loves his children etc. It’s not specifically catholic as yet, just Christian. I don’t believe what they’ve learned personally as an adult (although I’ve put a lot of thought into it over the years) but I’m fairly open minded and obviously I don’t know for certain that it’s not true, plus I think a lot of people really benefit from having religious beliefs so I wouldn’t tell my dc that it’s categorically untrue because I don’t know that. Maybe they will be religious when they get older and if they are and they get comfort from that that would be great for them.

DD ended up.in a Catholic school (not my first choice) and it was exceptional, the pastoral care was 100% (and made all the difference to DD).

Things like a carol service - love them, and can take part as a shared cultural experience. Mass for the sake of mass, no didn't attend and although all parents were invited there was no expectation to attend - not only faith reasons but also the practicalities of work.

DD didn't get brainwashed, we had a lot of interesting conversations and there were times we didn't agree on some things, but that is part of raising a child to think for themselves. She was exposed to different opinions and thought them through for herself, making her stronger in dealing with working it out for herself.

@Ponderingwindow I honestly think that’s unusual nowadays. DD (20) went to a school where there were openly gay students, it wasn’t a big deal at all. Our married gay neighbors (late 50’s) attend a local Catholic Church.

Like most religions, I imagine that there are some people with extreme, outdated beliefs and others who think differently.

Do you live in the Uk?
It's a mainstream thing in the churches I know.

I don’t need religious rules and punishments to be a good person.

I haven’t been to a CofE service but the difference is that RCs believe in transubstantiation so it’s not just a representation or memorial of Christ but his actual body and blood.

Personally, I struggle to see how a person can make up their own system of morality. It's a lot more complicated than that. I'm sure many people who consider themselves atheists are relying on religious beliefs without realising it. After all, in our culture most rules of social morality do originate in Christianity.

People do say holy communion. But not holy mass.

That would not be in lessons in a RC school - all the RE schemes are available for parents to see.

Have you heard that preaching in a Catholic Church?

In a Catholic primary school it's like attending a class assembly. Not every parent will attend, but it's nice for your child if they do have someone there. Secondary school is different, more working parents etc, and I'd say no need to attend.

The old time I've ever heard it called "Holy Mass' is in an old Irish tv programme from the 1960s called 'The School Around The Corner' where they interviewed very young children to basically laugh at how the kids misinterpreted things. The very young children called it 'Holy Mass' and that would have caused the audience to laugh.

There is a feast day called Holy Thursday though?