Atheist Mum - fed up with Christian Teaching in school

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Any other atheist Mums fed up with kids being taught about & subsequently believing in God & Jesus because they take everything teacher says as gospel (excuse the pun!).

I’d like my child to learn about religions but to be taught that Christians believe so&so & Hindus believe so&so etc. Even to have Passover & pagan goddess Eostre (or other Spring goddesses) at this time of year to give a rounded education. He did learn about Ramadan but thought it unbelievable. Christianity seems to have been taught with more credibility. He think god will drown bad people - like Noah’s ark & that we came from Adam & Eve.
I’ve tried explaining that there’s lots of inequality in the world & that I don’t think God - if he existed - would punish the poor & disabled & poorly.

And that Jesus doesn’t have much to do with eggs & lambs & the Easter is more about Spring-related rebirth - leaves on trees, flowers out, fertility & baby animals etc.

Explained that lots of stories similar to & predating Christianity like Krishna/Jesus comparisons & that major Christian religious festivals coincide with preexisting equinox traditions.

Not sure whether to complain to school?

WWYD?

My school was very high church CoE, anglo-catholic with lots and lots of instruction embedded in all sorts of places. The person who influenced me the most was the teacher who taught both 'Divinity' and 'Classics'. Perhaps I was the only person in the room who noticed how, in one lesson, she would teach that christianity is the absolute truth, and the following lesson in Classics, it would be how their gods provided an insight into their society and what we could learn about them from a study of their religion. Brilliant.

@TheVanguardSix

'I am always flummoxed by atheists who send their kids to faith school and then whine about it. Is this the case here?'

For those of us who live outside of towns the nearest state school in a village is very often a faith school, so here the nearest primary (500 metres) is C of E, the next three villages c2 - 3 miles are also C of E. So to escape faith schools I would have to drive 5 miles which simply is not feasible. That's why 'non-believers' send their children to faith schools in the majority of cases.

May I add guest that it's not just the villages either.

When I lived in central London, all the primaries, bar one were faith schools, within the 2 mile radius. And you don't want your 5yr old to walk too long when there are perfectly good schools nearby.

I am not particularly religious, but my kids are catholic baptized, at the insistence of family, made no difference to me either way. But in the end it helped them get to an outstanding school which we had to jump through hoops to get into. The local CoE opposite our house rejected us. What I could not understand was why people have to have religion when we all pay tax for state schools?

Later, if we were still at the same area, we would have struggled to get into excellent senior schools, because the best ones were religious and at that time expected the kids to be baptised at 3 months, then the parents had to be heavily involved in church activities. I remember my friend rolled her eyes at a couple who had brought the Father flowers at our local church as she said it was clear they were sucking up for a school place.

While as I said , not really bothered, it did always come across weird when my kids spoke about baby Jesus in that sort of God fearing way.

Thank you Guest and Stourton for pointing out the unrealistic viewpoint proposed by Vanguard. I too had an outstanding village primary on my doorstep. Nearest non faith school requires improvement and is 8 miles away. What would any right minded person choose for their child? We just taught kids to listen to all about all faiths. During prayer, they just bowed their head respectfully and stayed quiet. DD only told off once for not saying Amen, she pointed out that she didnt think she should if she didnt believe. No more said on the matter! Wish all schools were non faith. In our area best secondary is Code requiring church attendance for admissions. Why should my DC's be denied a chance to go to the best school just because I don't go to church. (Sorry, old chestnut, but still makes me so annoyed)

I think you just have to let it wash over you. I always say well I don't believe that...
At 4 or 5 they were really into Baby Jesus and all the rest but by juniors when they start outgrowing Santa and the Tooth Fairy god goes the same way!
As far as they are concerned now Easter Bunny and Jesus are both just things 'some people believe'.

You can withdraw your child from RE.
We did, just send a letter and state you give the child the option to opt in or out of assmblies.
Then get your child to tell other children just how easy it is.

@Stourton

What I could not understand was why people have to have religion when we all pay tax for state schools?

This! Totally agree.

Are you in England ?

If so, England has an established state religion called the Church of England.

That’s right. The country has an official religion. It is not a modern, liberal republic.

Of course, being the C of E it’s a bit wishy-washy.

Still, EVERY school is required to hold an act of worship of a broadly Christian character every week. Not just overtly C of E schools.

You can withdraw your child from this if you wish.

I remember a time my drawing was chosen to represent Christmas choir

leaflet when I was in school in US. I put the shape church on it, with cross on top of the roof. I was asked to erase the cross. I was told it's too religious. Think back about it now, how ridiculous to say cross is too religious for something related to Christmas.....

*shape of the church

You have my sympathies. I’m an atheist and do not believe religion and schooling should mix at all.

I'm an atheist. Was baptised a catholic but my parents weren't hugely religious. I went to Church of England schools in the 80s and 90s. Christianity was taught as fact but my parents taught me enough critical thinking that when I was a teenager I came to my own conclusion.

I think there are a lot of good lessons in the bible (and the bad ones are not likely to be taught at school). I don't mind if my children grow up religious, or not but I don't think learning about Jesus etc will harm them in any way

What I could not understand was why people have to have religion when we all pay tax for state schools?

CofE is our state religion. That's why the Queen is the head of it.

I had no option to send my children to anything but a faith school if I wanted them to attend a school. I previously posted that all 9 primary schools within 7 miles were faith schools but I have recently been informed its actually 12 primary schools within 7 miles are faith schools. (Mixture of Catholic, CofE and Methodist).

I wish people would stop saying that we, as athiests/other religions choose to send our children to these schools. We do not choose the school, that is very obvious reading threads about allocations and appeals. You get what you are given.

I'm an atheist, my family are all atheist even going back four generations. I don't think non-religious people should have to put up with it.

I picked the most non-religious state school I could find and DD still comes home most weeks with Jesus this and Jesus that Luckily she's too clever for the brainwashing and doesn't believe a word of it. I'm happy for her to occasionally learn about all religions as part of history, as long it's kept to the absolute minimum and it isn't mostly Christian. Religions should be studied in churches not in schools.

Why don't you speak to the school rather than slating it on mumsnet!
How are you going to react if one day, your child comes home and says I've made a commitment to Jesus and I'm going to start going to church?

I think you are missing the point all school teach about all religions just because you don't believe in anything. If we don't understand about what other humans believe how on earth to you expect you child to understand the world.

Perhaps we should all stay narrow minded and ignorant. Why even bother with book learning goodness know what your child may learn.

Happy Easter by the way 🤗

Just write to the school and say you don't want them to (a) have to take part in active worship of anything and (b) have any religious doctrine taught as factual. Job done. (Although you might then have to explain to the teachers that you don't mind your DC learning about religions, you just don't want them to act as if they are religious or believe what is taught.)

My 6yo and 10yo are at a CofE school (all state primaries in a 15 mile radius are CofE). Both are staunch atheists and while they attended the Easter service yesterday for example, neither joined in with the religious elements. 6yo DS will not sing hymns or pray. His school are supportive of this. He isn't rude or dismissive and his best friend comes from a devout Christian family. There is a way round it if you feel strongly (which I don't actually but 10yo DD is staunchly atheist and her little brother is following in her footsteps).

Schools do NOT teach about all religions in an objective manner, at least not here in NI where Christianity is taught as 100% fact, no objective or critical thinking encouraged whatsoever.

Interesting that the OP - and others on here - object to their children learning about something they as parents don't believe in.
Do you want your children to grow up narrow-minded and not learn about things you don't like? What ever happened to teaching children to be independent thinkers?
I am a non-believer but sent my children to a C of E school because it was closest and although I don't believe, I like the Christian ethos of caring etc
To the pp hi said the nearest non religious school was 5 miles away. Surely if you for that strongly about it, you would make the effort, rather than expect the faith school to change to accommodate you? My nearest school of any kind s four miles away, so it's hardly a herculean effort.

Interesting that the OP - and others on here - object to their children learning about something they as parents don't believe in.

People object to beliefs being taught as facts.

Depending on the key stage children tend to learn about Christianity and one other religion. There is a religious syllabus which should be followed in each local authority.

Some teachers may focus more on Christianity if they are more comfortable teaching it. It isn't easy to teach RE, believe me.

littlebillie you seem to be missing the point. Nobody minds, and most welcome, an objective sociological/ anthropological teaching about all major belief systems. Many non religious people object to one of those beluef systens being taught as if it were objectively "true" and all the others as interesting things some exotic "others" believe, with no space at all given to pointing out all the reasons many, many people in societies with good general levels of education are agnostic or atheist.

It's presenting something some people believe as true that is deeply problematic, as so many people have said.

As others have said Christian doctrine is given privileged status and unquestioned within the fabric of the English establishment - it's high time that was questioned properly, not perpetuated by feeding one system of belief as truth to small children within the school system.