To email school AGAIN re religious assemblies

[pineapplepenthouse]

I have twins in year 4 both in different classes. I have expressed my feelings about not letting them be involved in religious assemblies or having anything to do with religion. My children are in different classes. Today for the third time my DDs has come home saying he has been included in the religious assembly.
I have strong feelings on this but other mums just say 'it's not a big deal' and 'it didn't do us any harm'.

AIBU?

imagine we go to work every day and we have to worship some type of leader or sky fairy there - there would be an out cry

There are many local councils across the UK who start their committee meetings with a prayer. Anyone who objects is told to wait outside until the prayer is over. Councillors have resigned in protest but it still goes on:

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-wales-40654893

You don't do P.E at work either

@FamilyOfAliens - that's disgraceful

1. In RE lessons, children learn about world faiths, and if the teacher is good, a bit about moral philosophy and politics too.
2. In collective worship, children are statutorily expected to pray to an exclusively Christian god.
3. Parents have a right, under the Education Act 1988 (I think) to withdraw their children from either or both of these things, and a school which does not facilitate that withdrawal is in breach of its statutory duties.

This is meant to be a tolerant society. Op's 'principles' don't strike me as particularly tolerant.

@Femaleassassin - somemoeople do as they have very active jobs or work in sports - but it's not worshiping a mythical creature is it

Thanks @SaturdayNext, yes it's only the religious assemblies (about once a month with a minister) and the man that comes in with his guitar singing Jesus songs and playing religious themed games that I object to.

Not sure if I mentioned this already but my mum used to teach in a different school with the guitar man and she bumped into him at a coffee morning and he told her he left teaching to follow his 'calling' and go round schools in the area spreading the word of god/Jesus to children
It was this that prompted me to withdraw my kids! His intention was obviously not to go in with a 'some people believe' approach!

@Femaleassassin - by tolerant, I think you actually mean brainwashed

“This is meant to be a tolerant society. Op's 'principles' don't strike me as particularly tolerant.”

What’s tolerant about imposing your beliefs on other people?

@BertrandRussell - think it's called social influence

For those who think it's not indoctrination, in my DCs old school where we used to live (N Wales), the local minister was in the school on a daily basis, essentially acting as a TA.
Once a fortnight, there was an assembly involving the local Christian group, and the DCs had to pray/give thanks before lunch, plus in every assembly.
There were also many visits to and assemblies in the local church.

This was a non faith school.

@Timtims - scary! i'd move away, that's just awful and shameless indoctrination

Presumably you researched the school before putting it down as an option? If you didn’t like the fact that religious assemblies are part of the school’s daily rituals, then you should have just researched other non religious schools. You clearly feel very strongly about it so the extra work involved in registering them in a different school which might not be as convenient travel wise would be worth the effort??

@Livelovebehappy - you're COMPLETELY missing. The point - it's a non faith school - it's got no place whatsoever in the school - if you live in an area, contribute to it financially and pay taxes what and who the hell gives a non faith public state school the right to try ti enforce worship - it's WRONG!

Schools should no more be promoting a particular religion (worshipping) than promoting a political party - but it's very useful for a child to have a good understanding of a broad range of both - you'd think schools would be ideally placed to provide an impartial education in both but unfortunately the law does not allow it and not only that but teachers have religious and political beliefs and it is almost impossible to be impartial...but in my opinion that should not stop them trying.

One thing that confuses me is the frequent assertion that the quickest way to create an aversion to church is to expose a child to it at an early age - if this really is the case, how come the church is unaware - it seems foley of them to ignore what many would argue is their biggest roadblock in recruitment of devoted followers - it seems that the church are instrumental in the creation of millions of future atheists - can that really be the case? It seems their marketing department is doing a pretty shit job.

“If you didn’t like the fact that religious assemblies are part of the school’s daily rituals, then you should have just researched other non religious schools”

All state schools have a statutory duty to hold daily assemblies of “a broadly Christian nature” All state schools.

Depends what you mean by the word 'imposing'. Sitting in the same room as some old giffer wanging on about God is not my idea of being imposed upon, whatever your age.

@Livelovebehappy this is Scotland which has a completely different way of assigning schools and children. You live near a school your child goes there. That’s essentially it. This is not a faith school and the OP isn’t talking about daily assemblies with religious content.

I empathise but I think you need to think about your child. Children are remarkably resilient at shrugging off religious stuff. I am an atheist and felt as strongly as you, in my day we had little choice about Christian assemblies unless you were Jewish or another religion. In fact, my children didn't give a toss and are all without religion. What they would have minded very much was their mother making a fuss and singling them out. Please do not embarrass your children, it isn't worth it

I'm not entirely sure what you're waffling on about but then that's an everyday occurrence with people defending religion.
I know you feel obliged to defend it because it pays your wages; but I am sorry you've wasted your life becoming an RE teacher
Rofl. Feel I’m representing teachers here in a minor way so will watch my language You have no idea what my religious affiliations may be there’s as many atheist RE teachers ime as theistic ones. I think my subject is about the most important in terms of long term impact on students to be honest. Just think of that Janddoe5000 years and years of influence over the minds of your children...

There’s basically no such thing as a non faith school in Scotland. You either send your child to a catholic school or a non-denominational school that will teach Christianity as fact and be associated for Christmas, Easter, assemblies etc, with the local Church of Scotland church.

I completely endorse RE as a compulsory subject, both my kids are atheists and they took RE GCSE because it was important for them to understand other people's beliefs. The teacher said quite often kids brought up in heavy religious backgrounds struggle with the subject as they can't see religion from a critical perspective if that is the case, it seems to be that it's a vital subject for both the atheist and the theist.

The non-denom primary school that my girls previously attended now has so many removed from the religious worship elements that they now mostly teach christianity in the same way they teach other religions, which is exactly how it should be.

The head will probably get clobbered at the next hmi inspection for it though.

@Reteacher101

"I think my subject is about the most important in terms of long term impact on students to be honest."
I have no problem believing that you believe that, because you're clearly deluded. Thankfully, the majority of people (in the UK at least) don't agree with you.

"Just think of that Janddoe5000 years and years of influence over the minds of your children..."
And here you are showing our true colours; you will say you were joking, or being sarcastic, but religion has to get in early to poison the minds of children. Islam is a great example of this: children are born into it, raised as Muslim by Muslim parents and then - according to their own teachings from a book that can't be criticized - the punishment for leaving the religion they didn't choose is death. Do you teach your pupils this truth? I suspect not.

Luckily for most RE is not compulsory. Those that make it compulsory do so because they're petrified of losing their already diminishing ability to influence.

The fact remains, there isn't a single thing that religion teaches that cannot be taught without religion. Religion teaches that you are rewarded or punished in the next life based on how you live ACCORDING TO THAT RELIGION in this life and each religion has its own conditions. I have to write this because there are so many people on here lying about what religion just to try and sneak it through.

At best, those who teach religion will simply ignore the bad bits to suit, but those bad bits are still there and everybody knows it. And if you have to gloss over certain parts of religious scripture because it's unsavoury and/or doesn't fit in with modern society, maybe that religion isn't the best source of morality afterall.

This, of course, is without even mentioning the supernatural side of it: being under 24 hour surveillance from a celestial dictator which changes depending on which medieval set of rules you've been tricked into following. I don't need to go down that path right now - you're embarrassing yourselves already.

If you aren't able to teach children to be virtuous without religion to back you up, then maybe you're not as virtuous as you perhaps thought you were and you shouldn't be teaching children anything.

@Femaleassassin, if someone made me sit "in the same room as some old giffer wanging on about God" against my will I would definitely feel imposed upon.