to think that my DD has a right to a secular education

[Tinnitus]

Two years ago my DD came home to tell EXP and Me about the "true meaning of Christmas". We are both atheists and had purposely sought out a non religious school and so we were perplexed. We took every opportunity to explain that this story was just that, a story, not the literal truth.

Inevitably DD soon started on about the true meaning of Easter and so I made an appointment to see the headmistress of her school. By the time of the appointment I had learned from DD that it was a classroom helper who was feeding her this guff and not a teacher, and I felt a quiet word would suffice.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only was the helper indoctrinating DD, but the local evangelical church held monthly assemblies with the children. Indeed it turns out that every school in the country must be affiliated with a church of some type, but is not obliged to brand themselves thus. The head mistress was courteous and obliging and agreed to my request that the brainwashing of DD stop. I made no demands about her education other than She does not come home spouting twaddle.

Two years on and she is beginning to again to talk about Heaven, Hell, God and the Devil. But she has no idea who Adam and Eve were. When I "tactfully" quizzed her about this I discover a local CofE vicar has been regularly talking to the children about his faith, but without emphasizing that it is only his own opinion. Worse still, He has had my DD praying in class.

I have asked the school to live up to their earlier agreement as calmly as I could.

AIBU

"Btw, is pices/ claig the same person?"

Might as well be.

not sure who pices is. Maybe you should try and develop your spelling and manners instead of taxing your brain with concepts way above your head.
If you mean piscesmoon, yes she came back for more rounds than Frank Bruno and beat you every single round.

I get it,

Claig is Methanxiety!!!!!

no it's just you

Oh WOW -- three persons in the one poster !

Well if you can seriously think that, Tinnitus, maybe there is hope for you after all.

God, no.

Have been busy, but catching up now.

claig, you are half right with your indolent comment. I've been sitting back, letting people get on with things and not interfering. but you have made me see the error of my ways.

My open mindedness has clearly been seen as weakness, but that can be corrected.

From now on I will not hide my opinion of this disturbing, dangerous and immature obsession out of politeness as has been generally the case other than in specific threads which invite comment.

I will not hold back from pointing out the ludicrous circular reasoning (if the word can even be applied to such nonsense) which the religious use to justify themselves.

I'm glad someone thinks I won every round! I think I am just a masochist-I really don't know why I keep coming back-must be sheer stupidity!
I have reread the start, having forgotten it. Did the school agree to honour their earlier agreement?

I know there is no proof that you are all the same person, but I have faith that you are so don't any of you dare question the merit of my delusion.

The Holy Trinity.

Anyon who could namechange that quickly and often, I'd believe did have supernatural powers.

Goodnight all.

Thanks for asking but I haven't heard back yet, I only spoke to the class teacher a couple of days ago and it has to go to head before I'll find out.

To retain a religious faith after a good, broad spectrum education has to mean that there are either limits on your intelligence or you have shut down some of your reasoning skills on purpose because you're scared of losing your imaginary comfort blanket (or, of course you are one of these toxic tosspots who wants an excuse to label categories of other people as less than human and deserving of fewer rights than your fellow deluded mythlovers). Because it's just not possible to take these silly fairy tales seriously once you've done enough reading to see the contradictions, lack of logic, the basic roots of the core myths (which are simply the turning of the seasons, birth and death dressed up to fit whatever agenda the priest class pushing the new myth happened to have going on at the time) and the simple harmfulness of this crap in terms of retarding human progress and denying people their rights. Pretty much every beneficial invention of the past few hundred years has been blocked temporarily by some or other superstitous fuckwit or control freak, whether that's contraception, astronomy, mechanised travel or sanitation (Waaah, Great Pumpkin won't like it! Kill the inventor quickly!). And the superstitous have always been wrong about progress.

Again SGB, I'm going to have to point out to you the difference between opinion and evidence-based conclusions. You are saying how you think it must be - but you have no evidence for that.

In most cases I think it is the comfort aspect. Even though you still have to make most decisions yourself there must be a feeling of someone watching to see you got it right. Just like when you rode your first bike and daddy was there to catch you.

That need is understandable, but acting as though daddy was still there and insisting on others going along with it and even trying to persuade others to do the same is not healthy or reasonable.

Religions are saying how they think it must be - but they have no evidence for that.

SGB - you are forgetting, 'nothing is impossible with God'. Even though he doesn't exist - quite a trick, that faith stuff.

Yes I know its illogical, it ought to be impossible but too many of us know intelligent believers who really do seem to have read, thought and still managed not to come to your conclusion.

You missed pain relief in childbirth from your list, a development close to the heart of MN surely - God punished Eve and all women thereafter. The religious blockade on that one was fortuituously shortlived thanks to the British monarch being a fertile Queen. (I love that piece of one-upwomanship)

Of course they don't. Can't ever have evidence in fact.

But I'm not the one arguing that everything has to be rooted in evidence. I'm merely pointing out the irony...

Galileo Vs. The Vatican.

Stem cell research Vs. The Bible Belt.

Or my personal favorite

Evolution Vs. Creationism.

Are those for me Tinnitus? Because I'm reasonably well-versed both in those particular debates and in the science behind them.

Grimma: Yes, I did miss that one out, oops. And let's not forget that a lot of the women targeted in the witch hunts were midwives, who were being punished by male priests for exactly the same thing (it was against the will of Great Pumpkin that women be spared any suffering).

There is another thread I started in Feminism topic specifically wondering how intelligent women can follow any of the Abrahamic religions in particular, as they are all woman-hating bullshit. AN interesting discussion going on there with several different viewpoints.

Let us know how you get on with the school.

SGB-I don't care what you believe in yourself but I strongly object to you 'playing God' and telling us all that what you happen to believe is what we should all believe. Why do you get to be arbitrator? Why are your views superior?

I do at least assume that atheists have thought things out for themselves and come up with the reasoning that suits them. I don't want to change their minds, insult their intelligence or call them 'toxic tosspots'! Why are you so upset about it? Why does it matter to you?

It doesn't matter to me that my own DCs think differently and I certainly couldn't care less what complete strangers think. IMO religion isn't the fount of all evil; it is intolerant people who want to force their opinions on others and won't simply live and let live. Why can't atheists and Christians live happily side by side? They do in my village. I don't think anyone is in the least concerned with what their neighbours think in the privacy of their own homes!

I should try and seek some peace of mind and calm down!

"It is intolerant people who want to force their opinions on others and won't simply live and let live"

Indeed it is and that is why religion must be opposed and forced to go back to being the private concern of individuals and not something imposed by the state.

Also aomeone has made this point, but when was the last time you were visited by atheists telling you that your children were going to suffer horribly if you didn't join their cult.