To think people complaining about a school church visit are silly?

[MarioandLuigi]

The school have a trip every year which the year 2's walk down to our local church - its not for a service but they have a look around, see whats in a church etc. It toes in with the R.E topic that year.

Some of the parents of this years year 2 are complaining and have started a petition they asked people to sign against the trip - there are three Mums who have organised it and they are all atheists.

Now I could understand if they were going for a service, to pray etc - but its just a look round type of visit (I know because I volunteer at the school and have been on a few of the previous trips. Also, The years 3's attend a synagogue and year 5 pupils attend a mosque. Its more of a learning experience because it ties in with what they are doing in school.

At the very least, if you dont like it, dont go - but a petition seems a step too far to me.

I'm an atheist and more than happy for my kids to do church/mosque/temple/etc visits. Now, collective worship in schools, that gets my back up!

(that said, I don't pull mine out of that either)

But I have taken brownies to a Sikh temple, a synagogue and a mosque. Of course it is about learning. Going into a church will not miraculously make them believers. It is an over-reaction.

I think that avoiding anything to do with another religion is actually quite dangerous. IME bigotry is fed by ignorance so learning what happens in places of worship is healthy in the sense they learn 'oh that's what happens' and will be at less risk of fearing it and therefore at less risk of being biased against followers of that religion. The OP said that over the years the school took the children to other places of worship so they are not solely promoting one religion. To me is sounds like the school has very good religious education.

what do these women do when someone dies i wonder???

boycott funerals?? i'm guessing their wider family wont all hold their views,so will have funerals in church/crem......

YABU to call these people silly

And those of you who have called them ridiculous, twats, frightened etc should be ashamed of yourselves. Not everyone wants their children's religious education to be handled by the school.

Its a fun day out. Dd is y2 and visiting some church next week. Theyve been to a mosque and a sikh temple already.

then gnome, they should take their child out of the R.E classes. not try and prevent the entire school going on a trip that other parents may be happy for them to go on

IMO you can't pick and choose which parts of an education your child receives. If someone doesn't want a school to be in charge of their child's mathematical education would you also think it ok for them to petition to ban trigonometry?

But gnome its not about teaching them a religion in the sense of how to follow that religion. It is teaching them about different groups you find in society and about the understanding of others, about the realisation that not everybody believes the same as you. Part of schools job is to provide knowledge that facilitates integration into society as a whole. Religious tolerance is just one of the factors.

Like it or not churches and other religious buildings have historical significance and play part of the picture of how Britain came to be the way it is today. some towns grew up around a religious settlement, Churches of different denominations help paint the background of historical civil unrest and temples, synagogues and mosques help paint the picture of immigration to Britain which has been going on a lot longer than many people think. All these are part of ehat Britain is today and the abundance of different religions is indicative of religious freedom we have today which includes the freedom to be atheist which has not always been the case. I think it is a valuable lesson.

thisisyesterday as I said up thread, I believe that education should be secular.

I would be happy to see all forms of religious education and display removed from schools. I wouldnt equate mathematics with religion.

"There is a difference between education and indoctrination."

Absolute nail on the head spottyfrock

I think it's a bit silly and OTT but I would actually be (in fact, AM) pissed off that they never seem to manage to walk or bus to any other places of worship except the local Christian Faith hang out.

xstitch I believe that education should be secular. Tolerance can be taught without the need to visit particular churches etc.

I can see the interest in showing how towns and villages have frequently developed around churches or castles. TBH though that is often more easily seen from aerial views than from inside a building.

Teach local history, visit the church if it contains interesting historical reference but dont visit it because it is a church.

yes, but right now it is NOT secular and schools are allowed to teach children about religion.

as a parent you CAN opt-out of this. which the parents the OP is talking about could do.
they don't have to try and prevent a trip that other people may want to go on do they?

or, they could find a school that doesn't teach amnything about religion. or they could home educate

you can't use a school and then just pick and choose the bits of the curriculum that you like

TheSecondComing - please explain yourself

That's not the case with the OP's school though hobbgoblin she said in her OP that the school had run trips to the mosque and synagogue.

thisisyesterday as I said up thread, the parents are starting a petition. If lots of people sign the petition then I think the school should have a rethink. If nobody signs the petition then the parents will know that their views arent shared.

I just dont see why the parents shouldnt question this.

Standard practice for RE I think. The RE teacher may well be an atheist his/herself. What an odd thing to start a petition about when there's so much else to be bothered about in education. Hope the school ignores it.

Standard practice for RE I think. The RE teacher may well be an atheist his/herself. What an odd thing to start a petition about when there's so much else to be bothered about in education. Hope the school ignores it.

YANBU. Totally refuckingdiculous. I'm an ardent atheist but I love going to churches and other religious buildings like Hindu temples. It is important to understand the features of the major religions. Ignorance breeds intolerance.

I find them very spiritual, and calming, even though I don't 'believe in anything'. They are also fascinating from an arts point of view, if you don't visit them you might miss out on all sorts of things - tombs, stained glass windows etc... Really sad to insist that your child misses out just because you don't believe.

TheSecondComing Fri 17-Jun-11 13:54:40

"i think you sound really intolerant Gnome"

I agree with this (again, as an atheist)