Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

About Bibles being given out at school.

203 replies

BlingBang · 03/12/2013 22:12

Son has just told me that they have to line up and take a bible and say thank you - seems like some group is coming to the school to distribute them. AIBU to be surprised and think this is strange? My son doesn't believe in God and doesn't particularly want a bible or have to thank someone for it. Is this common practice then?

OP posts:
littlebillie · 03/12/2013 23:04

Christianity is part of our culture if you have faith or not, I believe children should have the opportunity to investigate them selves. I am the hypocrite who goes high days and holidays but I have let my children find out for them selves. One is genuinely interested the other not.

Christianity will probably be over in a generation as the churches are dying away. There will not be bibles handed out in the future.

defineme · 03/12/2013 23:06

My ds has just been given one by the Gideons in his non faith school.
I'm an absolute atheist and I don't give a stuff tbh- just a book to me and we have lots of them in our house including the Koran and the Bible anyway. He's already done a study of 5 religions last term and he's found it quite interesting. I can be quite cross about a lot of stuff done in the name of religion, but handing out religious texts doesn't concern me.

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:08

I just don't think the kids should be expected or coached to accept them - even if their religious views are totally different.

OP posts:
shil0846 · 03/12/2013 23:08

I wouldnt have a problem with this. They are only handing out copies; they are not forcing the children to read or believe it. As mentioned in other posts, the Bible is a seminal book (whether you believe in it or not) and should not be dismissed out of hand.

You don't say how old your son is, but if he is at school I wonder whether he has had access to the Bible / texts of other religions to make an informed decision that he doesn't believe in God?

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:11

Hs is yr 7 and no, we don't have religious books in the house.

OP posts:
curlew · 03/12/2013 23:12

Both of my children got them. I think it's outrageous.

defineme · 03/12/2013 23:16

I think we do many things in life simply to observe polite convention- I think 'accept' is a loaded term - taking whatever is handed to you with a 'thank you' is simply manners and then you can do what you like with your gift.

As for the Easter and Christmas stuff-we had eggs/bunnies/trees and so on in our winter and spring celebrations a long time before Jesus appeared and just because the festival has a Christian name doesn't mean it's exclusively for Christians. The vicar at my local church welcomes non believers at these times explicitly.

Caitlin17 · 03/12/2013 23:16

I'm as athiest as you can get and this doesn't bother me. I think I may have got one many, many years ago.

OH and I used to be cryptic crossword fanatics and a bible can be really useful for them. There are some lovely passages in the Bible.See below but has to be. King James version.

www.bartleby.com/108/46/13.html

I suppose schools couldn't hand out copies of the Koran to all pupils as there would probably be a fuss if copies were found in the bin.

To be honest it's a bit of a shame to take one and then just bin it, if you don't want one don't take one.

I have been an atheist for about as long as I've been able to think. I did try reading the bible just as a book. I didn't get very far and it made no difference to what I don't believe.

nightbird80 · 03/12/2013 23:22

Personally I can't see the problem. The child can decide whether they want to read it.

clarinsgirl · 03/12/2013 23:22

littlebillie we have celebrated a mid winter festival since long before Christianity was invented. Most Christmas traditions are Pagan, Roman or Norse in origin.

I completely agree with you about the importance of informed choice though. I'm not a Christian but am very happy for DS to hear bible stories and attend the odd church service so he can make his own mind up.

Caitlin17 · 03/12/2013 23:23

Oh and I can't spell atheist. How embarrassing.

ItsIgginningToLookALotLikeXmas · 03/12/2013 23:23

If you can still celebrate Christmas as a cultural festival, then you could take a copy of the Bible as a cultural book.
When people offer you tracts in the street, or adverts, or flyers, do you take them, say thanks, and then bin round the corner? Or tell them what they are doing is outrageous?

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:23

He did say that he could just rip it up which I think is a waste but he is not asking or appreciating this gift bt it seems is expected to accept it gratefully. I think it shoud still be made clear that it is totally optional. I will have the conversation though that it might be useful to have a bible in the house thugh would prefer one with the old and new testaments.

OP posts:
ravenAK · 03/12/2013 23:27

The Gideon NT is a literary abomination. KJ or nowt!

Having said that, I wouldn't object to them being given one, or a Quran. Giving kids books is a good thing.

(& I say that as an atheist who is implacably opposed to faith schools & to religious observance in schools)

NeverKnowinglyUnderstood · 03/12/2013 23:28

I would be delighted that my child was given a reference book. It is about someone else's culture/religion but it isn't innately offensive. If nothing else it can give him an insight to what he doesn't choose to believe.
We have a Quran and various bible versions at home they are really interesting.

defineme · 03/12/2013 23:34

I'd be mortified if my kids just didn't accept it politely. It's not magic or anything - yes it's a symbol of faith, but if they were looking at a vicar's collar or Jewish prayer things would that be offensive because they are atheists?
My kids can say what they like about religion in my house, but woe betide them if they're anything but polite and respectful to all people regardless of their beliefs out of it unless someone explicitly asks them to justify their personal beliefs.
I really think you're aiming your ire at something that doesn't matter.
There's so much hideous stuff happening in the name of God around the world that is worth being outraged about.

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:45

Well maybe the churches or the people who do this should open their churches or groups up to atheists and other religions to come along one Sunday and have a talk or give out their own religious books if it is acceptable for one religious group to go Into a school and have the children told to politely queue up and accept the book of their form of religion. If they can go into schools, surely they should be accepting of others touting their ideas and wares to them and their children.

OP posts:
wonderstuff · 03/12/2013 23:45

I remember being given a Gideon's bible and them telling us to read a bit every night.
I'm atheist, our village school is Coe, we have conversations like "how idid god make everything?" "I don't think he did" "isn't it great that Jesus was born because there wasn't Christmas before that!" "There was, we just called it something else" Christianity is part of our cultural history, Jesus was pretty cool. I see no harm in children learning about religion.

curlew · 03/12/2013 23:48

I'd expect my children to take it politely too. What has that got to do with whether it should be being given out at all? Or about whether children should learn about different religions?

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:50

"My kids can say what they like about religion in my house, but woe betide them if they're anything but polite and respectful to all people regardless of their beliefs out of it unless someone explicitly asks them to justify their personal beliefs."

Really - even if it is brought to them without them asking and they are told to be polite and accept something that might totally against what they believe and that they should be grateful for this? Shouldn't the children have a choice in the matter? What if it were the Moonies or Scientologists?

OP posts:
fifi669 · 03/12/2013 23:51

What a load of fuss over nothing.

LoveAndDeath · 03/12/2013 23:52

Trying to convert them young? So they give them a Bible? I would imagine if they were trying to convert them they'd give them chocolate!

Original poster
BlingBang · 03/12/2013 23:57

Do people really not think that children should have a choice in this? That they should queue up as practiced and instructed and receive something that they don't want and be grateful? Shouldn't it be a choice?

OP posts:
ItsIgginningToLookALotLikeXmas · 03/12/2013 23:58

It is not, however, the Moonies. As to opening up the doors of churches to atheists - er, wouldn't ministers/priests love atheists to come along? It is not a private members club, open to anyone who wishes to spend their time that way! Not many atheists who want to waste their time in church though. The Gideons do not, I believe, have their own churches, they are a group set up to provide bibles (tells you all this in the bible iirc, so I must have read one once!)

Original poster
BlingBang · 04/12/2013 00:13

So these bible proofing Gideon folk - would they be happy to have atheists or other religions in their midst touting their ideas and wares to their children? Really?

OP posts: