To remove dd from RS

[MossandRoy]

The lack of balance is annoying. There is an assumption that there is a god. There is an assumption that everyone believes in that god. I can remove her. Has anyone done this successfully? I'm concerned she'll be given a hard time...

@Guylan

There is absolutely no scientific evidence that God exists

Arguments for God are not found through the scientific method.

“Though the sciences might be able to explain the chemical make-up of pages and ink, they will never be able to reveal the meaning of a book; and though they might make sense of the biology of the human body, they will never tell us why a human act is moral or immoral; and though they might disclose the cellular structure of oil and canvas, they will never determine why a painting is beautiful. And this is not because “science” is for the moment insufficiently developed, it is because the scientific method cannot, even in principle, explore such matters, which belong to a qualitatively different category of being than the proper subject matter of the sciences. The claim that “science” could ever provide a total understanding of reality as a whole overlooks the rather glaring fact that meaning, truth, beauty, morality, purpose, etc., are all ingredients in “the universe.” - Archbishop Barron.

Historically though, Scientific Method was developed in search of understanding and proving the existence and intent of God.

My kids go to a catholic school... they have made their own minds up. I believe, they don’t. Their choice

I think you'd be crazy to remove her from RS. It's not about any assumptions, it's about learning about people in the world. In my RS lessons we learnt about all faiths and had brilliant discussions around abortion, divorce, euthanasia, alcohol, racism and prejudice all sorts. It was interesting and allowed pupils to formulate opinions and realise not everyone is the same. If you remove her, you'll remove her understanding of large portions of the world unlike her. Ignorance leads to hatred sadly.

Removing her from RS will only perpetuate her already ignorant views.

Both my children went to a Church of England primary school. Daily prayers were said as well as RE lessons, the whole school life ethos was very faith based.
I must say one of my proudest days was when my daughter came home & told me questions she had asked her deputy head teacher during an RE lesson.

‘So the Bible is the story of our World from the beginning of Creation when God made it? ‘
‘Yes’
‘So why are dinosaurs not mentioned at all in the bible? ‘
Very flustered reply came back, none of what could could convince her....🤣

She is an atheist now.

You can, but I guess I don't really see much harm in exploring the idea of a god. I find all ideas interesting, including all religions. The variety of different belief systems is fascinating. She'll come to her own conclusions quickly enough.

My DD did RS GCSE, she remains an aethiest but has an overall understanding of the various religions of the world and has made her own decisions around what she believes. It is not for me to tell her what she should or should not believe around religion/gods etc

So don't take her out, challenge the teaching (qualified RE teacher no longer doing it as my job but still with issues about how it's taught in some places).

Probably you're projecting your views onto your daughter. It’s good for children to be aware of all religions, which are touched upon by most religious study classes. Let her learn and make her own mind up. Many children change their minds about religion when growing up as they learn more about different religions. She may end up not sharing your views, and you just have to accept that.

It's scary world to live in, if learning about other culture and their beliefs are considered meaningless or unnecessary.

Although I'm not religious, and neither is my husband, I'm really pleased that my children are learning about religions at school: unlike the more obscure aspects of, say, algebra which they may never apply, it's part of the curriculum which will tell them about the world and its people. I hope they grow up with respect and understanding towards other people and their beliefs and I see RS as part of a rounded education.

I remember getting sent home for the afternoon during R.E after refusing to draw a picture of God. In my religion that is not allowed. So after telling my teacher that I cannot do it. She got me kicked out of her class and my head of year sent me home. She was literally forcing me!

The thing with teaching is just that

Teaching is about learning the good the bad and the boring. Plus many things you don’t agree with. I’m sure your child doesn’t agree that hitler was a lovely person. But it’s doesn’t mean they shouldn’t learn about it.

I do like that you want her to think she has choices. I absolutely loved theology. So I’m probably the wrong person to ask. But I love the diversity of people. I think learning about god and religion has huge benefits for learning about history. About politics. Religion is a huge part of society whether you believe in it or not.

My family has always been atheist and I just cannot see the point of learning about other people's religions. It would be like learning about someone else's hobby - but never taking part in it. All the details and none of the fun.

I'm atheist also, but I do find the topic of religion and people's need for it fascinating. All sorts of questions arise. For example, it's understandable that, before we had the range of scientific knowledge we had now the concept of a supreme all-powerful being was a reasonable explanation, but why do we still need to believe? Then there are all the questions around omnipotence, does Satan exist, if there's a god why does he allow dreadful things to happen, does prayer work, why do we have to worship at all let alone in a set format at set times in designated buildings, free weill, to say nothing of all the ethical questions around freedom, abortion, crime, etc. And then there's the story of all the weird and wonderful forms different religions take.

So I certainly wouldn't discourage my child from doing RE, and I might try to encourage it for all the reasons I've given.

Don’t take her out of lessons. Balance what she is being taught in school about religion with lots of discussion at home about all the alternatives.

@MossandRoy

"By removing her from the subject you are teaching her that if she doesn't enjoy something, or doesn't agree with it, she can remove herself from it all together."

I thought I was teaching her that she has choices. And if she doesn't have to do something she disagrees with, she doesn't have to. I've worked with nurses who have refused to assist with terminations of pregnancy, that's their choice.

The other good thing will be.

The more she learns about a subject that she doesn’t agree with. The more information she has to argue the fact. Knowledge is power at the end of the day

As a pp said, teaching your dd to 'endure' R lessons she you disagrees with is a life lesson itself. Do you think she'll always be given tasks at work she 100% agrees with or there won't be dull meetings?

School is not Twitter and should never be just an echo chamber. The irony is that you and your dd are the narrow minded ones here as you seem to find it unbearable to learn about things you disagree with. How can you dd even know she disagree with religion if she knows sweet fuck all about any religions, history, culture.

I find your OP bigoted actually.

I suspect these are your views she has taken on. You don’t need to agree with something to learn. Most of the history, at and literature of the Western Hemisphere is interwoven with Christianity. If she want to understand any of these things she needs a working knowledge of Christianity. Judaism to a lesser extent. If she doesn’t learn about different religions how will she understand multiculturalism? If she isn’t given freedom (inc from your own prejudices) how will she find out what she believes?

@NinaLanita

As a pp said, teaching your dd to 'endure' R lessons she you disagrees with is a life lesson itself. Do you think she'll always be given tasks at work she 100% agrees with or there won't be dull meetings?

School is not Twitter and should never be just an echo chamber. The irony is that you and your dd are the narrow minded ones here as you seem to find it unbearable to learn about things you disagree with. How can you dd even know she disagree with religion if she knows sweet fuck all about any religions, history, culture.

I find your OP bigoted actually.

Perfect response

If you don't allow your daughter to learn about all religions, you are taking choices away from her and giving her only one choice - that of atheism. Learning about Christianity in particular explains an enormous amount about our history, literature and art. For example, Rembrandt's wonderful painting 'The Hundred Guilder Print' is a complete mystery unless you know the new testament. I could cite many examples from history where you need to know about the tension between Catholicism and Protestantism before you can have any understanding at all about the politics of the time. Etc. Etc. If you take your daughter out of RS, you will be closing the door on many things - not just on religion. I speak as a Christian who grew up in a non Christian household where no one ever went to church. My husband is a Christian as well. Faith in Jesus has to be a personal choice. Our children were exposed to anything taught in RS and were also exposed to the atheism endemic in society. They were allowed to make their own choices. All three have good degrees (my husband is an Oxford maths graduate) so they are all well educated. They all decided to become Christians, one decided in her 30s. But we gave them every opportunity to make their own decisions, just like we did. I would urge everyone to do the same.

I loved RE lessons at school, and I’m an atheist. We learned about all major religions, the concepts of morality & relationships and had good general discussions about life.
Why remove anyone from this? It should help kids understand others beliefs better.

@peanutbuttermilkshake this was me in RE lessons! Sitting through the lessons didn’t influence me or change any of my views one bit.

Our children were exposed to anything taught in RS and were also exposed to the atheism endemic in society.

🙄

Long time since I was at school but I was withdrawn from RE as I am a Catholic, well it wasn't so much withdrawn as it was accepted at the time in my city that Catholic kids only did RE if they were at a Catholic school. Jewish, Muslim, all sorts of Christians and Atheists did RE but we didn't.

Personally I didn't like it, I felt excluded. My GS, brought up in a Catholic family, did brilliantly on Islam but really badly on Christianity in his mock GCSE. I'm not sure what that tells us.

I thought I was teaching her that she has choices. And if she doesn't have to do something she disagrees with, she doesn't have to.

It's so much more powerful to learn about something you disagree with so that you can argue against it. I profoundly disagree with fascism, but that doesn't mean I want to run away from learning about it.