Religious schools- Would you send your child if you're a non believer?

[Jzee]

I had a very strong catholic upbringing and went to an all girls catholic school which I learnot to hate and consequently I am now not a practising catholic. All of the state schools nearby are awfull and I have heard of alot of people who have suddenly started going to church just to get their kids into the better nearby Catholic/ Church of England schools. This is not for me as if I don't believe in something then I feel it's hypercritical to suddenly start attending church just to get my kids into a good school church school.

I am hovering around the fringes of the Church community as a reluctant atheist, but one who misses the sense of community I had with the church(!).

However, I live too far from the Catholic school to get the girls in (even though it is less than a mile away). I would have to live literally in an adjacent road to have any chance.

I really want the girls to have a Catholic upbringing, just in case they can get any solace from religion in their lives. Never worked for me though.

I don't object to people playing the system any more than I object to people registering grandparents addresses, bed and breakfasting or any of the other tricks.

I am a believer but I would not send my son to a church school. I want him to mix with a range of children and learn that different people have different relgious beliefs.

Some church schools are very exclusive and I feel it goes against everything that Jesus taught. I am sure that Jesus would go one of those awful state schools and mix with those common kids.

In principal, no. However I'm not sure what I would actually do in reality if I was faced with this situation.

I am an athiest, my dd goes to a non-denominational primary school, however they still say prayers before lunch (I have only just discovered this and I'm v suprised that they say daily prayers) and they have the odd religious assembly. There is still a slight Christian bias (although they do cover lts of other mjor religions and celebrate other religious holidays etc). So a non-denominational school does not necessarily equal a completely religiously unbiased education.

I am lucky enough to be in a position where we could afford to educate DD privately if we needed to, but if we didn't have that financial option and my choices were narrowed down to terrible non-d primary and good church school I think I would probably (against all my athiest principals) seriously think about doing what was necessary o get my DD into the Church school.

"I am sure that Jesus would go one of those awful state schools and mix with those common kids. "

Frances, I understand your sentiment but at the wording..

My 2 go to Catholic school as we are practising catholics. Our school, long before recent political furore, admits at least 25% non - catholics. Ds and dd seem to learn shed-loads about other world religions and festivals - Divali being current topic. Also did Yom Kippur last term. They do have school masses etc and daily prayers, but it's not exclusive. I think the individual schools matter rather than the genre.

But it is true, Jesus would be one of "them", no?

I'm a Christian and support the idea of multi-faith schools. We hope to send our dcs to a Quaker school eventually as Quakers come from many backgrounds (not only Christian) and think they will get a good spiritual grounding without the dogma. What interests me about atheists sending their children to faith schools is what they tell their children. Assuming the school believes the family to be Christian, how can you tell your child that you actually don't believe without giving them the message that it is okay to deceive others? Or do you lie to your child and pretend to go along with it? I fully understand why parents do lie to get their children into faith schools but think it must be so, so hard for them to live with.

Only if there was no choice. For instance we lived in small town/village and it was the only school in the place.

I get the impression that frances was using the types of descriptions that others use when trying to get their kids into the nice church school rather than voicing he rown opinions.

I went to a rubbish state school and had a hell of a time. I want to protect my dcs from the distress that I went through, but then maybe that just makes me a hypocrite.

I would certainly prefer not to. However if my local primary school was a church school then I would not avoid it.

My personal view is that the statutory worship part of the national curriculum is not good. NDP this is why they have prayers etc. it's the law. I feel that religion is nowadays a matter for the family and that state funded education should be secular. I also believe that if the church is supporting a school financially it should not receive any state funding.

I'm not actually against there being religion in schools. I was brought up CofE but am not now a church goer and am not bringing my children up as such. However I accept that they will come into contact with and be taught by people of all different faiths and backgrounds and that all views will be shared. I guess I am "culturally Christian" in that we do have Christmas and talk about the nativity. I just have a problem with worship being statutory in school.

I am an athiest and would not want my children to go to a religious school.

I have issues with people jumping through crazy hoops to get their children into a faith school. Ie. people getting involved with extra religous activities to give their child an edge in a school application.

There are a few (not all faith schools) which are socially selective. Some church schools insist on a good reference from a priest. Parents are pushed to attend church every sunday inorder to get the good reference and I feel the all thing become hypercitical. For exceptionally popular church schools it can almost be a competition in how "good a christian" someone is. No one should be bribed into going to church by the offer of a school place.

God sent his son to Roman Bethleham and it was under roman occupation. It must have been similar to living in Beruit or modern day Palistine. I am sure that the local secular schools arent as bad as Beruit.

Jesus mixed with outcasts, sinners, prostitutes, the disabled, slaves and foreigners. His family was not rich as his father was a carpender. Many of his disciples were working class with jobs like being a fisherman. Jesus also critised the Jewish Priests who were rich and powerful so he got commdemed to die as a common criminal. He made it clear that God loves everyone equally.

I find religous discrimination repugant.

However, Frances5, I don't think the Church schools started out with such strict admission criteria. It was really the parents that started trying harder and harder to get their children in that causes the competition.

The fact is that this then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy where the school becomes better and better the harder you have to try to get in.

Anyway, as I say, you would have to live on an adjacent road to get into ours, so we will have to go with secular education or move regions.

I have no issues with people going through any crazy hoop or lying to get their kids into a religious school except that they should know better and not send them to an institution of indoctrination where they will be told lies abotu God and the nature of the world.

Mine go to a C of E school, neither dh and I are parcticing anythings. We do value the ethos of the school very much. It is a pirvate school and you are not asked to be a christian, in fact there are many Hindu and muslim children in the school

I would do anything I could to avoid sending ds to a religious school (including moving out of the area or going for private education if I could afford it).

I have atheist friends who sent their daughters to the (only) village CofE school and one of the girls came home insisting that "baby Jesus made all the animals" - when previously she had been able to explain the theory of evolution (obviously in child friendly terms!). Sending a child to a religious school feels like indoctrination to me.

Um, WeaselMum, most private education is religious, if not all. I'm atheist, and my DS1 goes to a C of E school. One advantage with private though, I don't have to pretend to believe in all that myself. I am that he's at a religious school, but I don't see a lot of other options ...

we're atheists but sent our dd1 to a Catholic school - we moved her to a non-religious community primary after her first term due to bullying issues, and to be honest the school she's at now does far more religious stuff - praying, hymns and all that - than the Catholic school. It's rather irritating.

I know many private schools have religious affiliations, but it is possible to find ones that aren't - after the convent school, I attended two different private schools. One was CofE affiliated but the other was truly non-religious. Also, as you say NQC, at least you don't have to pretend you are a believer with private. I'm very lucky in that where I live at the moment, it should not be an issue for us anyway

I totally agree with you weaselmum. I would move if it was the only option.

There was something interesting in the Sunday Times yesterday about Professor Richard Dawkins new campaign re religion in schools. Basically he wants there to be less of it. Any of you who feel strongly about how schools should be more secular might want to do a little Googling to see if you can find his site.

I am an atheist and would much prefer ds to go to a totally secular school. It winds me up no end that the best state primary schools have religious affiliations and I feel atheists are being discriminated against in selection procedures.

Also I read something about a school yesterday in the Sunday Times where the pupils were described as 'a third hindu, a third christian and a third jewish'. This insistence on pigeon holing is ridiculous and it got my goat a lot as firstly I bet loads of the children 'allocated' to all 3 groups aren't actually from religious families.

Also my ds has orgins in all 3 of those 'camps' (a quarter Jewish but only 'ethnically' not culturally or religously, quarter 'christian' in the very loosest sense, half 'hindu' - but dh not remotely interested in religion/ culture)

So which would my ds be if the school is counting all its kids up and insists on sticking them in a religious pigeon hole?!

Sorry to rant and ramble but had to add this.

"I had a very strong catholic upbringing and went to an all girls catholic school which I learnot to hate and consequently I am now not a practising catholic."

d tn get why thats the case

You cant be a half Christian, you are either Christian or your arent. If you look at the child's parenting then it becomes a matter of race rather than relgion. Maybe the Hindu child with the really dark skin is going to grow up to be the Archbishop of Canterbury. Maybe my blond haired son will decide to convert to Hinduism when he is an adult. Our relgion is not set in stone and children have the right to choose their religon or even no religion.

boo64, I feel its wrong that your child does not a have a similar chance of going to the church school if that is what you want. I think its wrong for a school to discrimate. Children under the age of twelve are too young to have their own religous opinions, they believe exactly what their parents believe.

I hope you find a good quality secular state school.

Am almost with you weaslemum except that I do live in a village where the only school is C of E. Ds and dd have lots of friends here and I felt that disadvantages caused by the disruption of moving would more than outweigh any potential indoctrination. However, I do resent having to make the choice and wish that the state would take control of rural schools.

Well the boys will be going to the CofE primary school which is round the corner from our house. If they didn't go there not quite sure where they would go as the next nearest is a catholic primary which no doubt we wouldn't get into anyway.

The school takes some kids on proximity and some on religious affiliation. Personally I would never lie to get my kid into a well performing school. When they go to the CofE primary, I will tell them that we are aethists, other people believe and they will no doubt make up their own minds. No doubt my boys will announce this to all the teachers, which is fine