to feel uncomfortable about my son praying at school?

[KirjavaTheCat]

DS is four and has just started reception. A couple of days ago, we were playing and he said something like "...and then we put our hands together without clapping like this, and shut our eyes and say, 'dear God' and then we say things"

I asked where he learned that and apparently they pray every morning. I find this odd because his class is made up of children from all different religious backgrounds, and it isn't a faith school. Why are they learning to worship?

We're not religious. I don't think I'm comfortable with him praying to 'God' every day. Should I say something? AIBU?

Yes as long as you are there to undo the damage. But why should we be required to undo it? Surely better not to do it to them in the first place.

I'm pretty sure that if you told primary school pupils that 2+2 =5 then their parents could put that right in no time. Shall we do that?

And there's something else. If you are religious then presumably the act of worship is a significant thing? Surely Christians are not saying that worshipping god is a trivial matter?

I would be very, very uncomfortable with this, because our family is not religious and I do not want my child to be brought up in a religious manner. I would expect the schools to respect this in the same way they would not make a Hindu child pray to Jesus. If my child later in life decides to be religious, then that is fine, but I would not want it pushed from school.

Yes, exactly what backonlybriefly said. Exactly that.

I wouldn't be comfortable at all. It seems bizarre to me that there should have to be a daily act of worship in a secular school. Why???

There aren't any secular state schools though - some are all non-denominational but that just means that they aren't affiliated to a particular church. My dc's school tend to pray to 'my God' rather than a specific deity, and they never sing hymns about Jesus (except at Christmas) only God, so I guess that many people other religions would find it harder to object to as it is only very broadly Christian in nature.

I personally don't feel the need for religion in schools. We choose to practice a religion outside of school and I feel that there is a place for tollerance and education, even for individual prayer (e.g. during the day if Muslim) but no need for collective worship.