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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School and religion

316 replies

ThisLittleKitty · 28/11/2017 23:06

Is it normal for a school (not a faith school) to teach children about Jesus? My son came home today telling me he had been told about "baby Jesus" and how he was "born on Christmas Day" I'm a little surprised by this as didn't realise the school would be saying this kind of thing. It's a very diverse school in south east london so many religions and we are not a religious family. Aibu to think this is not right?

OP posts:
Originalfoogirl · 09/12/2017 22:19

a belief system that is so susceptible to manipulation that it can cause people to do bad things in its name.

Or, bad people are bad people and they will always find something to ideologically explain their actions. There is as much death and suffering caused in the name of politics or arbitrary lines on a map, as there is in magic sky fairies. But the vast majority of religious people manage not to slaughter innocents, as do the vast majority of world leaders.

grannytomine · 09/12/2017 22:20

Like that matters
when people are raping and bombing and murdering each other in the name of sects& It might not matter to you if teachers are telling children something that is wrong but I would prefer them to actually know about something before they try teaching it.

Huppopapa · 09/12/2017 22:21

There is as much death and suffering caused in the name of politics or arbitrary lines on a map, as there is in magic sky fairies.

Oh that's OK then!

I am not aware of anyone ever doing any harm to anyone because of not believing in something. People often cite Marxist regimes but there's a clue in the name. They had a system of Marxist thought.

If the only law was to care for your fellow beings, no harm could result.

grannytomine · 09/12/2017 22:25

and then I ask you about the Irish Border Religion is the badge that identifies that original Irish population and the settlers, mainly Scottish. The land was stolen from the native Irish and given to the settlers. The protestant settlers want to remain British because they identify as British, not because they are protestant. The Catholic Irish want a united Ireland because it was one independent country and they want it to be again. Simplified but you get the gist I'm sure.

Ta1kinPeace · 09/12/2017 22:26

granny
It might not matter to you if teachers are telling children something that is wrong but I would prefer them to actually know about something before they try teaching it.
um
an atheist teacher didn't understand the difference between the Miraculous Conception and Immaculate Conception but was convinced she did
They are both fairy tales
neither ever happened
therefore why should an evidence based teacher give a stuff ???

Christmascardqueen · 09/12/2017 22:29

I know my challenges in understanding is based on my core belief that the stories are exactly that stories not fact so I could not get worked up about any of it. but power hungry religious figures often misused their influence for political and financial gain which has nothing to do with the doctrine.
are the Rohingya not believed to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh, very much a political problem more so than their version of muslim practice.

grannytomine · 09/12/2017 22:36

therefore why should an evidence based teacher give a stuff ??? She wasn't teaching that they were true or not, she was teaching that it was the belief of Catholics and she got it wrong. If you are going to say Jews eat pork and Muslims drink alcohol then you have got it wrong. Doesn't matter if you don't agree with it.

Ta1kinPeace · 09/12/2017 22:39

Christmas
are the Rohingya not believed to be illegal migrants from Bangladesh, very much a political problem more so than their version of muslim practice.
Psychotic militant buddhists who murdered all incomers were a well known problem for Victorian plant hunters

it is only in recent years that this fluffy western idea of Buddhists has been created.

In Myanmar they are racist xenophobes.
The Burmans deny the existence of the other 40+ ethnic groups in the country
they deny other cultural and religious views.
They are sexist and homphobic.

The Lady (Aung Sang) is the daughter of a psychotic despot
but her house arrest by the shitty junta gave her mythic status
which sadly her own intellect seems not to deserve

Christmascardqueen · 09/12/2017 22:42

is the doctrine of Buddhist belief racist and xenophobic or is it some rogue "leaders" who are hiding behind the religion so they don't have to be accountable.

Ta1kinPeace · 09/12/2017 22:48

Christmas
I have no idea about the doctrine
but Buddhism has a long warrior / kill all others history

the warped bit is the fluffy californian "love everything" stuff
its western bilge

Mishappening · 09/12/2017 22:54

School should be saying: "Some people believe........" rather than presenting it all as fact.

Julie8008 · 09/12/2017 22:55

Do you think the atheists on here will teach their children about religion? I very much doubt it

FFS of course atheists teach their children about religion, exactly the same way as christians teach their children about Nazism (or any other ideology). Because if we dont learn about it we will be doomed to repeat it.

Christmascardqueen · 09/12/2017 23:16

So would Buddhism fall into the same religious category as some of the other martial arts?

BunsOfAnarchy · 09/12/2017 23:31

I won't disclose my religion but it's not Christian. I actually don't understand what the issue is here. This is the UK. We are a diverse community here. We learn about Christianity (the majority Faith followed in this country) very early on in school (I mean nativity play anyone?). As we get older we learn about other faiths too.
Why is this an issue? A lot of religion is factual per se...but this is just how it Is!
What's the difference in a child being taught by his parent that December 25th is celebrated because some fat dude in a red suit leaves you a gift under your tree vs a school teaching that dec 25th is about a baby being born in a stable couple thousand years ago? Neither ring true for me. But it's a 5 year old. We do it for their imagination and to kickstart an education.

BunsOfAnarchy · 09/12/2017 23:32

A lot of religion is NOT factual per se is what I was meant to say

DioneTheDiabolist · 09/12/2017 23:41

Ta1kinPeace, let me get this straight, you say that you are trying to get to grips with the differences between different sects, yet it doesn't matter if a teacher gives wrong information about religious doctrines in RE class?Confused

JustAnotherPoster00 · 10/12/2017 00:19

Do you celebrate Christmas? Give presents? Easter eggs?

If a person dies and is then reanimated its called a zombie, so where in the bible does it tell us what to do with the chocolate eggs on zombie jesus day?

Do we eat them to ward off zombie jesus like vampires and garlic? Or do we throw the chocolate eggs at zombie jesus like silver bullets and werewolves?

DioneTheDiabolist · 10/12/2017 01:48

OMG JustAnotherPoster00 LMFAO @ "Zombie Jesus"!

Christmascardqueen · 10/12/2017 02:23

Shrove Tuesday marks the day of using up all the fat stores in the house, hence pancakes. Then the next 40 or so odd days are symbolic of Jesus’s time in the desert plus other symbolic events culminating in his resurrection. The eggs are symbolic of the empty tomb.
As with Christmas, Easter incorporates the Spring traditions and Passover traditions of other groups.

iboughtsnowboots · 10/12/2017 02:36

I am a committed atheist but think to understand UK history a clear understanding of Christianity is needed, to understand other histories an understanding of other religions is needed. I have no problems with studying and understanding the impact of religions, in fact I think it is very important. I just am not prepared to believe any of the stories they tell in a literal way.

sashh · 10/12/2017 03:46

When I read threads like this it makes me so pleased that my catholic school upbringing was “Christian lite” honestly never taught any of the stories were “fact”. I’m in Canada, have lived in 3 provinces and I wonder if Christianity is taught differently in the UK.

My RC school was full on RC heavy. Prayers 3 times a day, mass once a week. Everything taught as fact,

DioneTheDiabolist · 10/12/2017 05:15

My RC schooling was about kindness, inspiration, acceptance, insurrection, history and politics.

speakout · 10/12/2017 07:30

*If you don't believe in a God what is there to be afraid of? He/she/it doesn't exist.
*

How ridiculous.

My DD attends a large state run campus based secondary school in the UK.
The building and grounds are split into two.
One is a state run non denominational school, the other is a state run Catholic school.
The children come from the same community, often neighbours but are segregated at school.
They share the same facilities - sports field, swimming pool and dining hall, but barriers are in place to stop them communicating. The dining hall has a barrier in place to prevent students sitting together.
The playground is split by a high wire fence. Bell times are staggered to prevent spilling crowds of students occupying street space at the same time.

Isn't religion lovely.

It is a devisive and disgusting force in our society.

thegreenheartofmanyroundabouts · 10/12/2017 08:17

That is a really unusual set up. At a guess I'd say NI or parts of Scotland where religion is a tribal marker. It must be really tough on the community and the children.

LoniceraJaponica · 10/12/2017 08:29

Yes. That is seriously weird. With a set up like that it is no wonder that religion can be so divisive.