To refuse the offer of a bible from local church for dd to commemorate starting school?

[Norfolkbumpkin]

I have just received a round robin email from the school where dd has just started in reception. It says that as per the last few years the local church will be giving each child a bible to commemorate starting school, and to advise the office if for any reason you do not wish for your child to have one. I have replied saying no thanks as feel rather uncomfortable with this, but is this normal practice? I know that the school follows the standard guidelines for R.E. etc, but I am aware that the deputy head (who teaches one of the reception classes) is very active in the local church. She runs bible lessons after school one afternoon a week, and the church have an active presence at the school by doing the gardening in the flower beds and odd maintenance jobs. Am I reading too much into the bible thing or is it a tad pushy?

clemetteattle Yes and clearly there is no difference between Shakespeare and The Bible (apart from people believing the Bible in the inspired word of a gawd that we should praise and worship)

Or that some people can read it as a historical document like many others. You seem to think everyone who reads it becomes brainwashed.
The book itself has no inherent power - your issue, I imagine, is about how the book has been used. But that is your issue and not for you to impose on your children who may well interpret it in a different way.

We don't tend to give 5 year olds history books about rape and plague as a lovely gift to commemorate starting school, do we?

I am an atheist.

DS1 got given a lovely children's bible at school.

He reads it for pleasure, he wants to know all the stories, he wants to read all about Jesus.

I think it is great for his education, and I will give him the freedom to choose his own faith (DH is Christian, I am not).

I would also accept an Qu'ran (sp.?) if it was handed out, I am quite curious to read it myself actually and see how much overlap there is exactly with the old testament.

But I do not believe any of these religious works is "evil" despite being an atheist.

I was raised to be curious, and would like to raise my children with the same ideas. Reading something does not mean you become brainwashed.

but yanbu for refusing if you don't want one, I am sure you are not the only one!

By denying children knowledge of the stories at the root of our culture, whether they be Biblical, pre-Christian, medieval myths, stories from other world religions and cultures, or recent history, you deny them part of themselves. It is up to them how they choose to act on those stories.
I see my job as to gently challenge my children's current religious zeal. They understand that not everyone believes what they do (including me) and they are OK with that. That way tolerance lies...

Or that some people can read it as a historical document like many others.

A historical document that is historically inaccurate.

You seem to think everyone who reads it becomes brainwashed.

No, I think it's an inappropriate book to give to children and if people actually bothered to read it they'd realize that.

But that is your issue and not for you to impose on your children who may well interpret it in a different way.

I never said my children wouldn't be allowed to interpret in a different way, did I? No, I said that they wouldn't be reading it when they are children since it's an inappropriate book for them to read. They can read it and think what they like about it when I deem them to be mature enough.

Noble have you not read Horrible Histories? Our school sell them at their book fair... To five year olds if they want them!

Perhaps, clement, the parents should police their children's reading habits a bit more carefully if they are reading about rape and plague at 5 years old.

An "inappropriate book" which you will deny. I wonder how that will turn out...

I will out myself as having a PhD in history - which historical documents from 2000 years ago do you imagine ARE accurate? Or from 1000 years ago for that matter? Four hundred years ago people believed that Shakespeare was writing history when he actually made most of it up!

Or maybe the idea of "policing" is where we fundamentally disagree. My children choose their books and then we talk about the issues they raise.

My son is four and doing the Black Death at school. Shall I police his school?

Good lord! (sorry, it was too good to miss) I'm a rampant atheist, raised to be a thinking atheist and am the proud owner of three bibles, one of which was a school prize. They're nice to have. Accept it. Book banning is an atrocious crime in my view, possibly even worse than teaching children there's a big sky fairy watching their every move. Print on paper can't hurt you. Dogma can, whichever way it goes.

Applauds garlicbutty

Do you let your kids watch whatever films and TV they like too, clemet?

And actually, studying the Black Death aged 4 sounds fucking dreadful.

My children choose their books and then we talk about the issues they raise.

If you want to sit down and discuss with your four year old why gawd decided to drown an entire planet full of people, animals, fish, plants etc or why a rape victim must be forced to marry their rapist and never be allowed to divorce them, that's your business. I don't care what you do and I don't care what you think about my parenting choices, either.

its useful for lots of things, its part of our history, when I did A level Art History we were warned that if we didn't know much about the bible or the history of the church we would seriously struggle with the subject and should reconsider the subject choice as it would be too much to catch up on

*drown should be kill

"My son is four and doing the Black Death at school. Shall I police his school?"

What a seriously bizarre thing for a 4 year old to be doing! Why, in dawkins' name- why?

Garlicbutty -

Telling an outside organisation that the school does not want to distribute their publicity materials is not the same thing as 'banning books'.

Ooh, thanks, clemett :)

And I do so hope all the Christian parents on mumsnet make sure that they don't take their children to church, or practice their faith with them, and give them lots of information about other faiths and atheism-otherwise they would be -assuming that their children are Christians too, and not giving them opportunity to decide for themselves.

I would have taken it but not sure when I would have given it to DD... I liked having a bible when I was small and although I have not read it in its entirity, I liked dipping in and out of it although I am not a Christian. I am a very philosophical person interested in religion in general, and am interested in the religious texts of all religions

Sigh, yes because I don't believe in banning books my children are watching Slasher movies...
I wonder if you have ever seen a Lion's Children's Bible (the ones that Churches and some schools give out for free.) Cartoons and stories of love and kindness are hardly the stuff of nightmares. We have the Old and New Testaments as well of course but, unsurprisingly, my school-age children prefer the stories about Jesus healing the sick to "on the first day..."
As previous posters have said such strength of feeling on either side is damaging to children.

Seeker, why not. You can hardly do the Great Fire of London without doing the Plague... There aren't many periods of history that are free from death so what else could they do in reception??

By the by, last week I had seven pieces of publicity for private after-school clubs or magazines full of adverts that come through the school. Our school can't be the only one that sends all sorts of stuff home?

So you police their viewing but not their reading? Why not? A book can be just as inappropriate as a slasher flick for a young child.

And bloody hell, some of the stories in the OT definitely are.