Too much religion at school ?

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How much does your child's school reference religion in teaching about something else? We don't identify as Christian or any religion and our child just started at our local village C of E school last week. We realised that there would be teaching about different religions, however the second day of school they have learnt Christian songs and the first term 'homework' has a big section to read out about Jesus, using it to explain respect, which in our opinion could have been done using loads of other examples in a secular way. Am I being unreasonable to expect that they shouldn't be pushing this as the first homework example? Is this common with your experiences of C of E schools?

So you're looking down on people who can't afford to move. How fucking liberating of you.

How am I looking down on people?

My choices are mine, other people make their choices based on what matters to them.

@ASCCM Many don’t have much choice. Money gives choice. Lack of money takes it away.

@ASCCM the concept of ownership over one’s life choices is a bit lost on this thread.
Apparently if you don’t like the choices and they aren’t 100% aligned with your wants, it’s everyone else’s fault.

The hypocrisy of wanting to live in a nice rural place with a tight-knit, likely Christian, community, but you know, without Christianity.

And the concept that not everyone has the same choices is way over your head.

How is not being able to afford to move a choice, and how does not being able to leave your family and support network mean you don't value education?

You can afford to live where you want. Congratulations, you're clearly superior.

You might be quite wealthy which does make a difference.

Education is even more important to the poor, but sadly they have fewer choices.

All the village schools round here are c of e.

OP look at Humanists UK. They can offer a lot of support, and perhaps one of their speakers could do an assembly. They also, among other things, campaign for faith schools to be abolished.

Our DC had to endure a bit of religion in primary school but I taught them to either ignore it or treat it like a fairy story. Children don't believe in a god unless they are brainwashed.

Ahh, how lovely it is to live in a nice little bubble where moving home is cost free and where you live is straightfoward and entirely within your control.

Here in the real world, some people don't have that choice. The result of that shouldn't be their kids having to go to a school where they are brainwashed at the taxpayer's expense.

OP I wouldn´t worry too much. Faith schools are notorious factories of atheists. I know many of this background who are super secular.

The absolute arrogance of some people.....

Religion should be removed from all schools and if a parent wants to brainwash their child they should take on that role themselves. I am in the lucky position where mine are in Educate together schools in Ireland and while they did do some learning of all religions in primary school they do none in secondary.

@Katiesaidthat Atheist and secular are not synonyms. You can be a Christian secularist.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroadsI have never seen the CofE give anything toward running a school. Every part of the budget is government funded. Mostly based on pupil numbers. The CofE simply doesn’t have the money. The Diocesan Education Boards (or their trusts) are now mats so the buildings become theirs.They have greatly upped their influence. Several of the CofE schools around here have expanded from infants to combined. Many on tiny sites and it’s difficult to see why. Again it seems predatory. I guess the numbers do stack up as they haven’t paid for the buildings!

Granted. But you know full well what I mean.

I struggle to see the issue with children being exposed to Christianity. Some PPs have used the term "brainwash" but surely parents who are atheists can simply respond to their children with "some people believe x, i believe y" etc. Given that children are only in school for 30 hours a week, their families will be by far the biggest influence so the idea that CoE schools are aiming for (or achieving) mass conversions seems completely absurd.

@Katiesaidthat "Granted. But you know full well what I mean."

Well I don't actually. You could mean that many people emerge from faith schools atheists, or many people emerge secularists.

Frankly there's not enough.

We shouldn't have to, that's the point.

Religion isn't fact. It should never be taught as such without being able to opt-out.

Are you local to the area or did you move there? If you moved there......... Im surprised you didnt pick an area where the the local school (or next nearest) isnt CofE.

Very odd to moan about the Christian faith being promoted in a Christian school.

"I struggle to see the issue with children being exposed to Christianity."

The issue is not them being exposed to Christianity. Of course they should be. The issue is them being taught Christianity as fact. This has to be said so often that I struggle to believe some posters are not being wide eyed and disingenuous. It's not a hard concept, and they would grasp it quickly enough if we were talking about any other religion!

And we are talking about state funded schools here. Tax payer funded. People of faith have 33% more state funded schools to choose from than people without faith.

YABU. It's a C of E school so therefore it will be teaching Christianity. As a family we aren't that religious and certainly don't practice anything at home, normally attend church at Christmas kind of thing. My DC have both enjoyed the stories etc when they were younger and actually it has helped my DS (who has just left primary) to form his own opinion and decide that he doesn't believe in God. Therefore I think it is a positive thing as it has enabled him to take the information on offer and form his own opinion.

In secondary school we learnt all about Islam, I found it so interesting and I think helps give an understanding of others. I doubt it will do your DC any harm, it isn't a cult.

@CurlewKate Are you able to share some examples of the ways in which Christianity is taught as fact? Long time since I was at school and my DC school (CoE) has a fairly light touch but obviously that might not be representative.

Everyone is always so quick to defend the excessive teaching of Christianity in CofE schools and blame the parent for sending the kid there. But in so many cases the parent has no choice. Where I grew up all village schools are CofE and the nearest alternative is 10 miles away. Parents may also have not got their first choice school and may have to accept a faith school.

The problem is that faith schools are allowed to exist at all.