RE and Humanities teachers help me out here please

[LadyGlencoraPalliser]

I am trying to decide whether I should speak to DD's school about what she is learning in RE - or Philosophy and Ethics as it is laughably called.
The topic they have been covering for the past half-term is called 'Does God exist'. She doesn't get much homework so it wasn't until she brought her class exercise book home at the weekend that I saw what she had actually been doing for the past few weeks.
Basically, they have been investigating 'evidence for the existence of god'. They have learned that there are different types of truth including 'scientific truth, historical truth, moral truth and religious truth.'
They have been told that the fact that there is life after death is a religious truth, rather than a belief.
They have been asked to discuss arguments for but not against intelligent design and for but not against the cosmological arguments for the existence of god.
They do not appear to have discussed in any way the question 'Does God Exist' which was supposed to be the subject of their enquiry. Rather they have focused solely on 'Why God Exists'.
Is this the normal way to teach this subject? I asked DD why she hadn't put forward any counterarguments and she said they weren't allowed to. I am very, very uncomfortable with theology masquerading as philosophy in this way but I would like to get my facts straight about how the subject is normally taught.

lol Habbibu will see if I can find something online. I am far too tired to run for the hills. Could not even manage a small mound

lol Habbibu will see if I can find something online. I am far too tired to run for the hills. Could not even manage a small mound

sorry, twinset. Bet you're glad I'm not in your class...

I do think the exploring evidence, beliefs, theories etc is good stuff, and to be welcomed, but it's the equation of all these things as truths to be ranked that just strikes an odd chord with me.

It is unfortunate, in the vastness of the English language, that there are multiple meanings of the word truth. Of all words, you would think that one would only have one definition!

I think from my Scientific perspective, I am viewing the idea of a philosophical truth to be akin to a model or paradigm. I don't have too much of a problem with words having different definitions in different contexts, as long as everyone in the discussion knows what the context is.

Habbibu I love students who are up for a debate.

I sometimes use the phrase truth claim rather than truth. I dont say that they are equal, it is something we discuss we discuss what makes something true. what kind of proof we need and whether religion can provide that proof. What do religious people mean when they claim the existence of God is true. Can something be true to one person and not the next? When we say My mum loves me, is that a truth statement?

I think I am waffling sorry, have done a 14 hour day today without a break and am practically foaming at the mouth.

I quite looking at conflicting truth claims as some RE teachers like to do all lovey dovey waffly RE, all religions love one another and teach the same things. Well they dont and you are doing religions a disservice by saying that. But that is my personal hobby horse.

What do you mean by teach us all about Revelations? When will you need me? If I am not snowed under am happy tp
o

Scienceteacher, I think my problem with "truth" is that is does have a very commonly understood general meaning, along the lines of "that which is considered/understood commonly to be factual". Now, anything defined by one community as true may not be considered by another community in the same way - fine, I get that, and it's a really interesting topic for debate. But I'm not sure that belief isn't a more useful word, esp. for 11 year olds - it would be interesting to discuss, for example, when there is so much evidence to support a belief or hypothesis that it can be generally established as a truth (accepting that that's only ever truly possible in maths).

That said, I have been musing on this, and I do think it's an interesting and valuable think to learn and think about - it seems to me that it is particularly critical that it be taught very well indeed, as it can colour a child's approach to all of her learning. From the OP, it really doesn't seem to me that she has been well served by her teacher, and that's a bit worrying.

Yes, that's more or less my problem. 'Truth' does have a single clear meaning: truth is 'what is actually the case'. Of course that has to be teased out philosophically, in ways that are much too complex for a Year 7 course in religion. But we don't start of with contested ideas of truth, in the same way as we start off with contested ideas of what god is, or what is just, etc