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atheists/agnostics - how do you cope with the Christian slant in primary schools?

52 replies

geekgrrl · 27/05/2004 11:41

I'm curious how other non-believers deal with this. Dh is a passionate atheist, I just don't care much either way. We have both been brought up as atheists. Dd (nearly 5) attends a state primary school. She went to a Catholic school for a term and of course there was a strong focus on Catholicism, which is fair enough! We moved her because she was being bullied, not because of the religious aspect.
However, I have been surprised and dismayed by how much focus there is on Christianity at the state school she attends. She prays daily and really believes in god now it seems. To be honest I am a bit freaked out by this - she is being indoctrinated. I don't want to upset her so I don't get into discussions with her, but dh feels strongly about it all and we had a bit of an upset before Easter when she was the only child who didn't attend the Easter service at the village church (dh didn't want her to).
I want dd to know about the different religions, she has a children's bible etc., but I really dislike the way it's being taught as 'the truth', rather than something some people choose to believe.
The Easter church visit had been stressing dd out for weeks because her teacher had said they were going to 'praise the lord' - dd was in tears saying 'I don't know how to praiselord mummy!'. Took me ages to work out what on earth she was on about! I just wish they could keep religion out of schools. I don't even want her to go to Brownies now because she'll just get another dose of it there.
I'm really happy with the school otherwise and don't want to rock the boat, but how can I provide a counterweight at home?

OP posts:
seeker · 02/04/2010 22:14

I don't care whether my children grow up to be atheists, agnostic or Christians - I just do not want school to present them with one faith as fact, and others as RE.

MaggieW · 04/04/2010 19:24

I'm atheist but have two DC's at a CofE school, and don't have a problem with it at all. I went to Catholic schools where religion was a MUCH bigger part of education than today and made up my own mind, but still appreciate the lessons I learnt on how to live a good life, kindness to others, etc etc. I know both DCs, like me, will make their own mind up whether to embrace religion or not, and again, I'll be happy as long as they are. If praying, even at their level, gives them comfort, and helps them deal with making sense of the world, then again, that's fine. They're both fully aware of my beliefs and views, and we talk about it when they have questions.

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