WHAT PLACE DOES RELIGON HAVE IN SCHOOLS????

Jodi - posted on 09/08/2009

Quoting kylie:

Quoting Jodi:

Kylie, my son attends a Catholic college, so obviously they are taught about the Catholic religion. However, their religious education also includes objective teachings about other religions. I remember one assignment he had a couple of years ago he was researching Islam. So the excuse that there is so much in the curriculum that there is no time to teach religion in schools is not really correct - my son has RE twice a week as a subject (obviously it is compulsory in a Catholic school) and this has not detracted from the general curriculum at all.

I personally believe all children should be taught about religion. I'm not talking about Christianity only, I am talking about religion in general. If you look at the world around us, many of our laws, social practices, etc, have revolved around religious practices at some time in the past, and it is important to understand this. It is also important to understand about the variety of religions in society, due to the multi-cultural nature of our society. It gives us a greater ability to have an understanding of other cultures and the nature of their society, and therefore greater tolerance.

of course in a catholic school your son would have that taught to him but like i said it was you and your husbands decision to take him to that school..you decided when and what religon your childs heart and mind was exposed too..also you say that he did an assignment some years ago which makes it ok and that makes him understand other religons??cultures and differences are not only taught in an R.E class they are taught in social studies ancient history ,english,and other classes ..Also i feel that i need to explain to you that teachers have enough of a job teaching reading ,writing ,maths science and preparing kids for tests when they have very little funding to that with and the school budgets in the public system are being stretched far enough without adding on chaplains and reverends as well..I have nothing against any religon and my children love learning lessons from the bible that they read(the kids version) I also don't think that its a teachers job to teach our kids about morals, rights ,wrongs,and tolerance towards others values like these start in the home ... 

So sorry, Kylie, I must have misinterpreted your questions.  I thought you were seeking opinions, and I gave mine, and you use terms such as "I feel I need to explain to you" when I give my honest (and educated) opinion.  You don't need to explain anything to me, I also have involvement in the public education system, I have 2 step-children in the system.  And guess what?  One of them also receives religious education within the public system.  Why do you need chaplains and reverends, etc? 

And yes, I said some years ago he did that particular assignment, because that is one I remembered he needed help with.  I was simply trying to make the point that RE studies are important, and should include ALL religions.  It's fantastic that you are helping your children at home, but there are many children who don't get that exposure and my OPINION is that religion is a part of the cultural environment in which we live, and therefore, it should be included in our education system.

Believe it or not, Catholic schools also struggle for funding and budgets are also stretched.  The biggest funding different is that they get less money from the government and we pay fees.  They still manage to teach all the things you outlined as important. 

No, it is not a teacher's job to teach our kids about morals, rights, wrongs, etc.  But that's not what we are talking about.  It is the teacher's job to teach the facts.  And the fact is, different religions have different beliefs.  Teaching that does not mean that the teacher is imposing their views on which religion the child should choose.

Helen - posted on 09/08/2009

Here in France religion is banned from state schools, to the point when i teach my primary school kids about english traditions at christmas (I teach primary english) i can't mention the angel on the tree.

I went to school in the uk and was taught the basis of all religions, added to the fact that i have a catholic mother, jewish father and muslim uncle.

Kylie - posted on 09/08/2009

Quoting Jodi:

Kylie, my son attends a Catholic college, so obviously they are taught about the Catholic religion. However, their religious education also includes objective teachings about other religions. I remember one assignment he had a couple of years ago he was researching Islam. So the excuse that there is so much in the curriculum that there is no time to teach religion in schools is not really correct - my son has RE twice a week as a subject (obviously it is compulsory in a Catholic school) and this has not detracted from the general curriculum at all.

I personally believe all children should be taught about religion. I'm not talking about Christianity only, I am talking about religion in general. If you look at the world around us, many of our laws, social practices, etc, have revolved around religious practices at some time in the past, and it is important to understand this. It is also important to understand about the variety of religions in society, due to the multi-cultural nature of our society. It gives us a greater ability to have an understanding of other cultures and the nature of their society, and therefore greater tolerance.

of course in a catholic school your son would have that taught to him but like i said it was you and your husbands decision to take him to that school..you decided when and what religon your childs heart and mind was exposed too..also you say that he did an assignment some years ago which makes it ok and that makes him understand other religons??cultures and differences are not only taught in an R.E class they are taught in social studies ancient history ,english,and other classes ..Also i feel that i need to explain to you that teachers have enough of a job teaching reading ,writing ,maths science and preparing kids for tests when they have very little funding to that with and the school budgets in the public system are being stretched far enough without adding on chaplains and reverends as well..I have nothing against any religon and my children love learning lessons from the bible that they read(the kids version) I also don't think that its a teachers job to teach our kids about morals, rights ,wrongs,and tolerance towards others values like these start in the home ... 

Jodi - posted on 09/08/2009

Also, I meant to add to this my experience with my step daughter (who lives with her mum). When she was about 12, we were discussing religion (can't remember why now), and she didn't even know the story of Noah's Ark. I was absolutely astounded. Her reasoning was that they weren't religious. Neither am I really, but how could any child not know about Noah's Ark? Because religious education has been taken OUT of schools. RE does not need to be about teaching a child toward particular religious leanings, but can be an educational tool as I outlined in my previous post. Instead, by taking it out of schools it is creating ignorance. As parents, our role is to educate our children to be able to make their own choices as they gain independence. By sheltering them from religion because we are not religious, is this really allowing them the opportunity to make their own choice? Our kids can only make choices by exposure to the information.

Jodi - posted on 09/08/2009

Kylie, my son attends a Catholic college, so obviously they are taught about the Catholic religion. However, their religious education also includes objective teachings about other religions. I remember one assignment he had a couple of years ago he was researching Islam. So the excuse that there is so much in the curriculum that there is no time to teach religion in schools is not really correct - my son has RE twice a week as a subject (obviously it is compulsory in a Catholic school) and this has not detracted from the general curriculum at all.



I personally believe all children should be taught about religion. I'm not talking about Christianity only, I am talking about religion in general. If you look at the world around us, many of our laws, social practices, etc, have revolved around religious practices at some time in the past, and it is important to understand this. It is also important to understand about the variety of religions in society, due to the multi-cultural nature of our society. It gives us a greater ability to have an understanding of other cultures and the nature of their society, and therefore greater tolerance.