Withdraw child from religious studies

[Parentofachild]

Hi!
I would like to find out about child withdrawal from religious studies in church school because I am not happy with the content they are teaching? Can you advice me if someone experienced it and are there any consequences? Thanks

I don't require them but a child can sit silently in the library i don't know.

Yes, not british. Year 7 , you are right. I will read again, i don't understand sometimes what is meant. But thank you everyone for sharing. What about home schooling? My child would be happy and me too. I knew some people they were yehova witnesses and their children studied at home. Maybe we should try but not sure how to make it.

Why send them to a religious school if you don’t want them to learn about religion?!

You can withdraw them from RE. Of course if they are doing it for GCSE, they would then have to drop the subject entirely. Even in a church school though they should be looking at RE in terms of learning about what different religions believe, not convincing your child to believe one religion. I question why you don't want your child to learn about what different groups of people believe as this seems fairly fundamental to living in the multicultural society we find ourselves in today. If the school push a religion more forcefully, you may find you need to move schools, because a church school will do things like have collective acts of worship. Obviously they shouldn't be bullying non-religous children, but being able to thread a relisgous element through the teaching is kind of the point of a church school.

This is a good explanation from the national association for RE

natre.org.uk/about-re/

So you sent your child to a Church school and yet not happy with the fact they teach religion in RE? Why ?

It seems an extreme reaction to home school to avoid rs. Especially as you have moved from a different cultural background but presumably intend for you and dc to live in UK, which is a multicultural society, long term. Did you ask questions of the secondary schools you presumably have applied to for year 7?

I was the child kept out of RE lessons- my parents were strong Catholics and the schools, both primary and secondary, had a strong Protestant bias (I was on a Scottish island, there were no other faiths represented by pupils there in the 70s).

It was just another "difference" stick to be beaten with to be honest.
I hated my parents for it. (Especially when they got divorced!)

Are you asking this question to the OP? If so, they have already answered it.

The thread has now moved on because a different poster, JukietKa, has piggy-backed. She hasn't said what type of school her child is going to.

I was not aware about schools subjects. In my country parents have choice. Here looks like you have a choice but in fact no choice. I understand that it is multicultural. But i don't see the line between those two.
It is not extreme reaction it is just my choice. It is a free country which "gives" you a choice to withdraw your child as it is mention on gov uk. Am i wrong?

I was not aware about schools subjects. In my country parents have choice. Here looks like you have a choice but in fact no choice. I understand that it is multicultural. But i don't see the line between those two.
It is not extreme reaction it is just my choice. It is a free country which "gives" you a choice to withdraw your child as it is mention on gov uk. Am i wrong?

It is not a religious school at all. That is why for me totally unclear .

I don't see where my child will be using it in her future. We respect people no matter what religion they are.
Why do children need to study RE if in this world many wars. And besides this i don't know where we will be tomorrow or in a year as it is quite dangerous.
They would better teach kerate 😅🤷‍♀️ so children can protect themselves.

I wonder if you would mind sharing your concerns? I'm an atheist but loved religious studies. It's really history and philosophy, super interesting and promotes understanding of other cultures as well as our own

@JulietKa if you share which local authority you are living in, I will find you a link to the local RE syllabus. You really do need to read it to understand more about the subject.

You are not being respectful if you refuse to let your children learn about other cultures' beliefs, you are being ignorant, and your children will be missing out on an opportunity to develop their critical thinking skills.

p.s. I am also an atheist.

Why in this country if you don't want something then you already ignorant and many other things.
I believe this is everyone's right.
How would you feel if someone offers you something "new" and you say i don't want and then they oh you are really ignorant you should try because you may like it. I see it like this.

Because religion is one of the fundamental things that motivates large groups of people to act as they do. Prompts people to make the decisions they do. Prompts people to fight or not fight, or to react to others in a certain way. If people had a better understanding of religon, we'd likely have many less wars. If people actually understood that they might believe something a different, but most people actually hold similar values even if they see God differently or don't see God as all. At some point your child's understanding of religion will very possible feed in to her choice as to who to vote for, what stand to take in the case of unrest, how to be respectful of other people. It's not about her believing, it's about her understanding a major force in the world.

Exactly this. It’s about tolerance and understanding. Of course it’s important!

Ignorant means lacking in knowledge, i.e. uninformed.

You are potentially denying your child the opportunity to participate in RE because you are lacking in knowledge of the syllabus, how it is taught, and its benefits.

Brilliant answer, so helpful :-). I only wish they'd taught me properly in school.

The problem with irony and sarcasm is that it doesn't translate well for people who have English as a second language, who are not used to British culture, and who are (wrongly) worried about what their children are being taught. So no, it wasn't helpful.

@JulietKa I suggest you look up the curriculum it is Philosophy based as well as religious so you learn facts about all the religions (which is very useful) and then discuss philosophical matters - DS did driverless cars last time and the implications of that.

it is part of the curriculum and one which will be taught and discussed even at GCSE year (DD grammar do a compulsory Half RS to cover it)

it is also a useful subject for learning how to structure and write essays, using sources and quotes to back up what your arguments are and how to write a balanced opinion utilising both sides. So intro arguments for arguments against conclusion

I would not write it off as being unnecessary academically

Forcing a child into a religious framework removes their choice. True understanding comes from personal exploration, not mandatory instruction. I want my child to have the freedom to choose what they believe, not have it assigned to them

Funnily enough, I didn't really mean it was helpful! It was funny though.

I can't share because it is dangerous to have an opinion here. For me there are three rules don't steal. Don't kill. Treat people like you wanted to be treated.
I believe we have to stiludy something better. But this is my opinion. My child is asking to be withdrawn. And i am trying to do this. Tbh even ready to go to another country but this time will explore before going.