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Original poster

The Da Vinci Code in an RE lesson?

82 replies

Martorana · 07/05/2014 09:33

I only have 13 year old ds's word for this, but he tells me that they have been talking about the Holy Grail in RE and yesterday they watched a bit of the Da Vinci Code and discussed the Blood line of Jesus, the stuff about there being women in the picture and all the rest of it. Apparantly it was discussed in a "some people think" way, rather than in a "this is a load of bollocks" way. Would you be happy with this? I can see how it would make for some interesting discussion, and the "of course it is claptrap" line might come in the next lesson............

OP posts:
EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 07/05/2014 13:13

I agree, Prh47bridge. I just wonder if the teacher was using it as a tool to open up young minds.

I do wish the curriculum would allow the Theory of Evolution into its RE teachings. That would be more useful than the Da Vinci Code - at least it's factual.

turgiday · 07/05/2014 13:18

My favourite religious joke is about a young woman going to a nunnery for the first time. She looks around in amazement at the grand old building and beautiful religious paintings on the wall and says "if this is poverty, I can't wait to see what chastity looks like."

pointythings · 07/05/2014 13:19

I don't think all belief systems are equal-and I don't think school RE should treat them as such.

I'm not sure what you mean here? I wouldn't class conspiracy theory as per the Da Vinci Code as equal to, say, Catholicism in terms of the attention it should receive in an RE class. However, I am a bit Hmm at anyone who says that Christianity is more or less worthy of discussion in RE than, say, Islam.

I quite like the idea of introducing slightly off-the-wall texts as a starter for debate - LRD did you actually do bits of Life of Brian?

LRDtheFeministDragon · 07/05/2014 13:24

Oh, yes! TBH I am fairly sure that day was one of those 'hmm, let's sit them in front of a film clip ...' lesson plans. Grin But obviously it stood out in my memory and lots of RE lessons we had were absolutely dire, so I guess it can't have been that useless.

It depends how you do it, doesn't it? If it's a clip and a 'some people believe ...' shown to get the class talking, I can really see it working. Lots of adults have difficulty with the idea anyone's ever disagreed about what's in the Bible.

noblegiraffe · 07/05/2014 13:54

I think it would be great to have an RE lesson that presented statements like:
Jesus married Mary M and had kids
Jesus was born of a virgin
Mohammed had a flying horse
Joseph Smith was told by an angel where to find golden plates that no one else ever saw

And get the class to rate them in terms of believability etc. Then a discussion about why more people believe some of them than others, and why some are dismissed as 'conspiracy theory' while others are held up statements to be respected.

TeenAndTween · 07/05/2014 15:46

I'm not too bothered what they teach in RE lessons, as long as 'Intelligent Design' doesn't get mentioned in Science. Smile

WooWooOwl · 07/05/2014 16:27

At 13 years old, I'd be more than happy with it.

I really like the way RE is taught at my ds's school and they do things like this. Everything is done in a 'some people believe' type way, from the crucifixion to abortion, and it's all about introducing concepts and providing the space for children to form their own opinions or challenge previously held beliefs.

Original poster
Martorana · 07/05/2014 17:55

"I'm not sure what you mean here? I wouldn't class conspiracy theory as per the Da Vinci Code as equal to, say, Catholicism in terms of the attention it should receive in an RE class. However, I am a bit at anyone who says that Christianity is more or less worthy of discussion in RE than, say, Islam."

Sorry. What I mean is, I think a faith with a long history, such as Islam or Christianity is more equal than some conspiracy about Jesus' bloodlines and Knights Templar. And I don't think they should be given equal consideration.

OP posts:
NigellasDealer · 07/05/2014 17:57

the thing is christianity actually has a very short history and some people think that it is a conspiracy itself.....

LRDtheFeministDragon · 07/05/2014 18:03

Mmm. Does that mean Judaism should be more thoroughly taught than Christianity, because it's older? Conspiracies about Jesus' bloodlines and so on have been knocking around for yonks. The film could just be a fun (or not so fun, if you think it's rubbish as I do) way of exposing that.

It's a neat way to get around the 'all Christians believe ...' nonsense that some children grow up believing, or the idea that 'back in the past everyone believed the same,' which is equally prevalent and equally dodgy.

noblegiraffe · 07/05/2014 18:09

Do beliefs get truer the longer people believe them? Confused

Original poster
Martorana · 07/05/2014 18:35

No. I'm not expressing myself clearly. Established world religions (is that better? Not sure....) are more "equal" than nutjob conspiracy theories.

OP posts:
Original poster
Martorana · 07/05/2014 18:36

And for clarity, I am an atheist.

OP posts:
NigellasDealer · 07/05/2014 18:38

so you believe that Jesus who was the son of God was born of a virgin, was crucified to atone for your sins and died but came back to life on the third day and rose to the kingdom of heaven to be with his dad who was also him (and then there is also the holy spirit,. three in one and one in three) and every Sunday you consume his flesh and blood?
and then you are talking about 'nutjob conspiracy theories'? Grin

Original poster
Martorana · 07/05/2014 18:40

Can I direct you to a dictionary? You might find the definition of "atheist" interesting.......

OP posts:
NigellasDealer · 07/05/2014 18:41

no need to be patronising now is there? it was a cross post

pointythings · 07/05/2014 19:15

What I mean is, I think a faith with a long history, such as Islam or Christianity is more equal than some conspiracy about Jesus' bloodlines and Knights Templar. And I don't think they should be given equal consideration.

I agree with you there. But I still think it's potentially a good way to get teenagers talking and thinking about the subject. If you're going on about Jesus and Mary Magdalene having married and had children, that could be a good point to hinge a discussion on the place of women in Christianity through time, for example.

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 07/05/2014 20:10

I still think Darwinism should appear in RE lessons (I said similar upthread ^)

Teach all points of view, all values, all beliefs (not only religious, when religion is compulsory in schools, so that pupils can make up their own minds. Stretch their minds to question it all, and come to their own conclusions.

A lot of religion is a form of brainwashing, usually. Religious education should be impartial

pointythings · 07/05/2014 20:40

The problem with your position, Evans is that Darwinism is science, not faith. As long as RE is teaching about faith, not indoctrinating anyone into a faith then I have no problem with it (though I wish it was not compulsory to take it all the way to GCSEs, waste of teaching time except for those who choose to take it as a full GCSE).

Darwinishm belongs in the science curriculum.

Original poster
Martorana · 07/05/2014 20:46

Why would Darwin be in the RE curriculum? Gravity isn't.........

OP posts:
EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 07/05/2014 20:50

I know - but RE is compulsory, and being a non-faith family, I always used to think it would be fair to throw all points of view into the pot. As an atheist, I used to get a bit cross that my children HAD to attend RE lessons. Lessons on Faith should also include the pov of non-faith, surely?

EvansOvalPiesYumYum · 07/05/2014 20:53

Martorana - Evolution is a bit different from gravity.

mumsneedwine · 07/05/2014 20:55

RE at secondary is a lot about ethics and philosophy. Mine has watched My Sisters Keeper which has led to interesting discussions. Sure this teacher was using the film to get kids thinking about how things can be interpreted.

mumsneedwine · 07/05/2014 20:56

PS it's not compulsory to GCSE at any school I've worked at. None of my kids have it

LRDtheFeministDragon · 07/05/2014 20:57

I don't think Darwinism is 'non-faith'. It's perfectly easy to hold to both science and faith, or to have a rubbish understanding of both. I think teaching that Darwin's theory rocked the boat for lots of Christians at the time makes good sense - but when people are fixated on it, IMO they tend to end up misrepresenting science.

Much better to teach scientific theories in science lessons, where you can show how they are rational and can be tested, than to treat them as a magic cure-all for religion.