To get annoyed when dd(6) learns about Christianity?

[MooPointCowsOpinion]

She is at a non-religious, normal state primary. She is the type of kid who remembers everything she's told and parrots it back, so I hear about her entire day every day at school. Almost every day she tells me they sang this song about Jesus, learnt that story about Jesus, learnt this lesson about Christianity. Every assembly they sing a Christian song.

I am an atheist. I don't want her to learn just about Christianity, all religions are important in a 'this is what some people believe' kind of way but I feel like they're indoctrinating her into Christianity by pushing it so much. I try to counter it by teaching her other religious beliefs and telling her my beliefs, but I know the steady drip drip of information could plant a seed that could lead to what I would consider radicalisation.

I've brought it up with her teacher, she's sympathetic and has given us the option to opt-out but I'd hate for her to feel singled out and to miss important things in assemblies.

Does/did it bother you? AIBU to be annoyed?

Why would a school have assemblies on things they dont believe in? Depends if other schools had assemblies on Thor being God...

Really? Substitute Allah for Thor and think, 'do Christian schools have assemblies on the non-existence of Allah? I am not aware that they do, I have never heard of a school teaching what they don't believe and an atheist school would be no different.

There is more written evidence for the existence of Jesus as a person than there is for Julius Caesar. And yet few people have issues believing Caeser existed. is that acceptable evidence that Jesus existed?

Seriously? and next you will be saying our flat earth is only 6,000 years old and man existed peacefully alongside dinosaurs. But seriously, that is just nonsense, 'there are millions of copies of the movie “Star Wars” on video tape and DVD, but that doesn’t mean that the story itself is a true story'.

Just because it's called Christmas, doesn't mean it needs to be celebrated in religious terms. Non-christians can appropriate festivals just as well as those believe. Jesus doesn't have a monopoly on spending time as a family, giving gifts and reflecting on the year passed before welcoming in a new one. Though I for one I'm quite happy to see it renamed Winterval or 'The Day Of Drinking From 9am And Arguing With Family'.

As for Easter, I would love to know why non-Christians eating chocolate eggs irritate some believers so much. I don't remember chocolate eggs being part of the resurrection.

'And lo, on the third day Jesus rose, and he was displeased. As he had been gifted a Snickers Egg, when they knew he wanted the Creme Egg one with the free cup. I mean, come on, he had just died for our sins, all for subpar chocolate. So Jesus doth returned to his tomb to sulk, and hope he'd at least get something decent for birthday in spring December'.

I know God exists because I talk to him every day
The real question is, does he literally talk back to you and have you seen a doctor about it?

Compulsory RE for GCSE is ridiculous Its not compulsory, my DCs school doesn't even offer it as an option.
you could easily cover the essentials in a term... Some do, my DCs school covered it during during PSHE over a few classes in Y7-8. In Y9-11 it gets mentioned once a term usually in respect to FGM, forced marriage, radicalization, citizenship etc.

As part of their education they will learn about all faiths Only they don't, they only learn about the 'positive side' of a select few, and who decides what those select few are, the establishment by any chance?

Why has Christianity survived so long? What makes a religion survive and others fade away?
As pp mentioned, war + state enforcement! But also the more specific a religion is the more likely it will be disproved. So religions evolve over time to find the fine balance between being as unspecific as possible whilst still insinuating a 'system' for people to believe in. The surviving religions are close to this balance.

I think Hinduism is over 5000 years old, so by the logic of, 'the older a religion is the more believable it is' then Christianity can't have much truth in it.

Just zombie jesus
how disrespectful

Yeah so much I could say but anon and edmund totally have it...

Some extraordinary claims made here, like Jesus is still alive and talks to people, dont see any actual evidence for that provided other than 'oh I just know it' which is not evidence.

fritz why disrespectful? And to who? A character in a story book? Religious beliefs do not deserve automatic respect.

fritz
Oh apologies your smilies didn't load on my phone I see you were being ironic!

ollie Joke....although I'm sure some of our good Christians posting on here might find the idea of a zombie jesus disrespectful....

Ha, x post

the UK (if that's where you are) is predominatenly Christian

Factually incorrect, at the time of the last UK census, only 28% of the 59% who ticked the box 'Christian', said the reason is that they believe in the teachings of Christianity.

So that means less than 16% of the UK believe in teachings of Christ. Suggesting the rest are at best 'culturally' Christian.

Don't really see why debating about religion has much to do with the op.

If I was an atheist and was concerned about them somehow being indoctrinated by singing one Christian hymn a day, I would tell her that God is interchangeable with Mother Nature. Job done

And it doesn't mean I think I'm somehow more blessed than the non-Christian next door. But my comforter, my guide, my friend is always, always right here with me.

The use of the word 'comforter' is very telling here...

i said it's part of our culture so culturally Christian just makes my point more valid, not incorrect.

i said it's part of our culture so culturally Christian just makes my point more valid, not incorrect

Not really. Christianity stole it.

You are weird

In no particular order and not naming everyone as on phone so it's hard to type and scroll up at the same time

1. No, I'm not a young earth believer; I don't see belief in God in any way incompatible with a truly ancient world having developed very slowly over countless millennia. Dinosaurs are cool, and one day I'd love to know the reason why they came first.

1. I'm sorry, I'm not refusing to explain, it is the same to me to be talking to Jesus or to be talking to someone else. Except that one I tend to do mostly internally and the other on the phone. The conversations are frequently very similar. Can I prove to you that I'm not just making up both sides of the conversation? No, probably not, because I don't know what evidence you'd need in order to prove that. I can say I have seen miracles happen. I have witnessed blind people being able to see, deaf people regaining hearing, and funnily, a woman standing near me in a meeting where we were praying for healing straighten up suddenly and say "oh! My back doesn't hurt any more. But that's not what I was praying healing for!" I've experienced strangers coming up to me and telling me things about my life they have absolutely no way of knowing, and I have just once been given information about a couple unknown to me, which I passed onto them. Is that evidence? It is to me. But it could all be dismissed as mass hysteria if you chose, I suppose.

1. Yes I hear Jesus. No, I don't feel the need to speak to a Dr about that thank you.

1. Nope, I'm with you. Don't think eggs are a religious requirement at Easter at all, doesn't bother me who eats what then or at any other time. I personally prefer to hold off on Hot Cross Buns until Good Friday but that's because I like to save them for after our church service then. Tradition, not a ruling.

Do Christmas or don't, Santa, Easter bunnies, whatever. I personally choose to remember the gift God gave me/us when he chose to be born into a fairly ordinary family at troubled times, and I celebrate this by going to church, decorating the house, and giving presents to my family. I know Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, but it is a fairly traditional (though not universal even amongst Christians) date to choose to mark it.

And I choose to look to myself at this time of year, reflect on what it cost Jesus to stay on that cross, and think about what I can do in response to that. I choose to follow the events of Holy Week and think about triumph and despair and my own failings and hopes and fears. And on resurrection Sunday, I choose to celebrate Jesus' rebirth, and my own rebirth in him.

1. Star Wars - as I understand it, no one is actually claiming the events as described in Star Wars to be true. I, and countless millions before me, do claim the gospels as literal truth. That does make them a little different, I think. We might all be wrong. But if I'm wrong, I'll stick with my wrongness knowing that life with Jesus is infinitely better for me than life without.

Don't really see why debating about religion has much to do with the op.

It has everything to do with it. It's about the basic line of teaching Christianity as fact in assemblies and teaching a broad rang of 'beliefs' in RE. Some of us are saying the former should not take place in school, as it is totally unproven that God existed and the bible teachings are real. That's where believers have come in saying 'no harm' and spouting rhetoric about Christmas and Easter. There is harm, for every happy-clappy Jesus loves you message, there's also much of the bible that's full of hatred against people in society. It's very messed up and not something I want my children to believe as any kind of 'truth'.

I think people should live by the values in Star Trek and not worry too much about having a God or a figure like Jesus or Mohammed to believe in.

Be a good person because you want to be. Not because of religion.

zombie jesus makes more sense lol, he died and came back to life.
That exactly the definition they use on 'The Walking Dead', but more believably those zombies hang around so you can confirm they are actually zombies. Unlike Jesus who immediately went into hiding so we couldn't confirm his un-dead status.

Which makes me think about the UK being a Christian country, I cant remember the last time I ever saw a TV program about Christianity, god, Jesus or ... oh wait there is loads of programs about Zombies Lucifer. Does that mean our country is a devil worshiping country, which is still technically christian given Beelzebub is part of the christian pantheon.

it was obvious this was just going to be another Religion bashing thread, I suspect it was always meant to be anyway.

I'll stick with my wrongness knowing that life with Jesus is infinitely better for me than life without.

Pascals wager

it was obvious this was just going to be another Religion bashing thread

What bashing has gone on?

People are free to believe in who and what they want. I can't see anyone saying they are not.

People have said that they don't believe in God. That's not bashing.

People have said that assemblies should not include an act of worship.

That's not bashing.