Tuesday, August 21, 2012
The religious indoctrination of children. For their own good, or a form of child abuse?
I am once again going to refrain from saying anything derisive and simply open up this topic for discussion.
I do have a few questions however. What exactly is the benefit of a religious based education system? I mean besides the obvious opportunity to misrepresent the facts and proselytize to children at their most vulnerable and trusting?
And do most of you think that it is appropriate to tell children that the stories from the Bible, Torah, or Quran are factual, when the evidence does not support that point of view? Or do you feel that only ONE of these books should be taught as though its contents were factual? And if so, which one, and why?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have to agree that the opportunity for psychological abuse is alive and well in religious schools.
ReplyDeleteHowever, living in a small town with few options, I can tell you that the advantages in sending one child to a parochial school was the small class size and an awesome math teacher. My daughter, having a learning disability, wouldn't have learned math without the guidance of that teacher in high school. We dealt with the bizarre indoctrination at home. For instance, the pastor was her Bible teacher, and he gave the students extra credit if they were able to get their parents' signatures on a petition to ban gays from working in the food industry ("They spit in your food and spread AIDS."). My daughter learned to stand up for what is right and speak out against that kind of abject persecution of a group of people.
So, the "moral" aspect of the school certainly used its position of authority over children to indoctrinate them and could have been abusive if we were not vigilant at home. However, not everyone sends their kids to parochial school to receive indoctrination. We did it in spite of the indoctrination for the payoff of small class size and two awesome teachers in critical core subjects.
Your tuition money still went to support their hate.
DeleteI went the other route. Homeschooled my kids in lower grades, now public schools. and they too are special needs. While the local RCC church was/is likely as better environment for such kids, none of my money or support of any kind will ever go to that pedophile-protecting misogynist organization - I don't care if it were the Harvard of kindergarten.
Ooh, good on you! Keep giving money to the hate mongerers while pretending to care otherwise. Hypocrite.
DeleteReally? I had to work and couldnt home school. Bite me.
Delete"Or do you feel that only ONE of these books should be taught as though its contents were factual?"
ReplyDeleteAnswer #1 is: Only one book is factual and the others are then, by necessity, blasphemous screeds. I'm not sure which is which, but I promise to let you know when I figure it out. Of course, I'll probably have to kill you once I know for sure, just... because.
Answer #2 is: None of the books is 'factual' and now I probably don't have to kill anyone.
I pick answer #2!! Yay!
ROFLMAO Beldar, have you written a book? If not, you really should write a book - it would be hilarious.
Deleteanswer #2 does it for me.
DeleteLove your comments.
I never thought I'd say this but I'm a fan of Number Two!
DeleteI am always interested in hearing other people's experiences in how they were brought up concerning religion and how they come to DECIDE what they are going to believe in. (or not) I was raised "half and half", my Father being VERY religious and my Mom not so at all. (Lutheran and Southern Baptist-reformed respectively) I identify Secular Humanist. My Dad pushed it HARD, even by giving me new bibles for every birthday (could have been his mental state at that point, he forgot) bless his heart, and he was the one who took me to Sunday School (til I was asked to leave since I asked too many questions that offended the teacher) and then had to sit next to him in church and LISTEN. My Mom, she said she believed in God, but disliked "organized religion" and that most people she knew who preached it & pushed it were hypocrites. Plus, she felt I needed to study up on as much of it as possible so that I could make a RATIONAL DECISION when I was older and chose my OWN path. I actually read the bible in it's entirety by the time I was 14. And I made a decision at the time that I was agnostic. (my Dad died when I turned 14) At that point I attended different religious services with different friends to learn MORE, and studied Buddhism, Judaism, etc. By the time I turned 23-24 I pretty much KNEW. I was given a CHOICE. I appreciated that. If my Father would have lived I probably would have hidden that fact so as not to hurt his feelings.
ReplyDeleteWell, you are starting out the week pushing our comfort zones! I was taken to Sunday School by my grandma. We learned the songs, her the stories (which we presented as 'stories') and had confirmation training in 8th grade. It was an vangelical and Reformed Church at the time, but not evangelical by today's meaning at all. The pastor had a booming voice and wore robes, and we sang with an organ from the hymnal. My dad was Catholic, but never wnet to church. His folks took me to a Catholic Church sometimes when they visited. I wanted to play in the bowl of 'holy water' at the entrance. That's about all I remember from that experience! My grandma read the Bible cover to cover every year. I do recall memorizing verses, and reading from the Bible at church. But it was never this huge thing in my family. We never said 'grace' before meals, still don't. I married a man who was brought up in a Presbyterian Church (why are they all white?) but who never went after high school. Our two kids attended the Brethren Church due to a friend of ours. I still go there, still believe in the peace message of that denmination, but am seeing the hypocrisy of most of the donations going for things decided upon by 'the General Board' and not locals. Granted, they support Heifer Project and other valuable things, but they are also about planting Brethren beliefs in foreign locales, where people already have a set of beliefs. It is like a mini-US Government believing they can 'Chrisitanize" the world given enough bombs. I do think a knowledge of the Bible and world religions is helpful to understanding history, but I do worry about indoctrinating young minds before they are ready to make any critical thinking decisions.
ReplyDeleteI like your answer Sally. Very introspective.
DeleteBy the way pushing comfort zones is kind of the mission statement of this blog. I just want people to think, and to not accept things simply because it is easier than questioning them.
Thanks, Gryph. I'm pretty unsettled this AM due to reading the
DeleteJonathan Turley interview with John Cusack on Shannyn's blog. I really, really want to believe in Obama, and I can't see any good coming from another GOP Presidency, but when Turley points out Obama's flagrant abuses of the law regarding his 'right' to kill Americans deemed terrorists, it makes me wonder if this nation can survive at all.
That power would be there with any president, now unfortuantely - you certainly haven't heard Romney say he would work to repeal it, have you?
DeleteSo the question is - who would you trust with that kind of power?
My take is that Obama is killing terrorists e.g. people who are planning harm to the US. Not in a jump-up war, but by surgical elimination, thus saving countless American lives in the process. It's a violent way to take out violent people with minimum "collateral damage." Do you really want to see our American troops having even more of a presence in the Mid-East?
DeleteHow can anyone criticize Obama's method of terrorist removal with the clusterfuck that is the Iraq War.
Just wow.
DeleteYou are comfortable with someone you've never met having the right to assassinate you? You don't see a problem with that? We are supposed to be a nation of laws, and human rights. You are supposed to be arrested, accused, and tried.
Frankly, I don't care what people want to teach their children re religion. Just don't use my tax money to do it (a la school vouchers and prayer in public schools) and keep religion out of politics (a la laws affecting personal lifestyle and health choices.)
ReplyDeleteI would think it is all more equitable when the tax rules are changed and religion pays their fair share. Much more scrutiny in regards to their charity businesses. Yes, tax breaks for when it is earned. Not just across the board.
Delete7:02
DeleteI agree. That should include home schools who incorporate as a non-profit for just that family and deduct all expenses.
I live in the South, am a follower of Christ, and I know a lot of people who send their kids to private Christian school. It is not my choice for the reasons you stated. In my house (and church) we present the Bible as the story of man's experience with God. We present it as part historical, part allegorical, part metaphorical. For instance, I don't believe there was an actual garden, Adam and Eve. The point of the story was to emphasize that there is only ONE God (as opposed to many) and that we had a direct relationship at one time that was broken. I do believe in evolution and the discoveries of science as a small glimpse into how God actually created the world. It wasn't in 7 days. But these were stories for primitive people and they simply couldn't have understood it any other way. So I am greatly opposed to Christian schools who (among other things) refuse to teach evolution because it conflicts with the Biblical version. I truly don't like that one-sided thinking. I want my children to analyze and question. The other reason I don't send my kids to private Christian school is because I think that it is better for them to have exposure to people from all races, religions, and creeds. DS has a friend who is an atheist (although not from school). As for other people and why they send their kids to Christian school, I think it is because they are truly afraid that not taking the Bible literally is going against God and dangerous. I was asked by a relative "Well if you don't think the Bible is true, how do you know what is true?" I guess that is a fair question in a world of misinformation. I think we live in a time where people have been taught not to trust their own feelings or even people they care about who think differently, and this causes feelings of fear, so they glom onto the one thing they are told is completely true - the Bible. The other reason people send their kids to Christian school is because they think it is a more wholesome environment.
ReplyDeleteWhy not reply "Logic." Critical thinking? Or are you a postmodern relativist who questions even empirical facts?
DeleteI homeschool my son and include religious studies in the curriculum. We read selections from the old and new Testaments, the Koran, the Bhagavad Gita and the Buddhavacana. Additionally, we read selections from Homer, Plato, Aristotle and Confucius and Greek and Norse mythology. My aim is teach my son about the various means different human cultures try to both make sense of the world and thus choose one's course in life wisely.
ReplyDeleteI no more expect my son to believe that Moses parted the Red Sea a la Charlton Heston or that Theseus killed the Minotaur than I expect him to believe George Washington chopped down a cherry tree and would not lie thereabout. Our perspective in discussions lies in asking why such stories were told, what cultural contexts made them worth repeating and what lessons are meant to be conveyed.
I'll close with the wise words of Augustine of Hippo....beware the man of one book.
You sir, are doing it right.
DeleteI imagine your son with be a well rounded young man with a respect for all cultures and a lifelong desire to further his education.
Can I come to your school? I am nearly 60, but you could teach me an awful lot!
DeleteGryphen, I certainly hope your forecast proves correct....but all I can do is plant the seeds and nourish them for a while. Whether the seeds bear fruit is up to him
DeleteSally, a wise old teacher once said, I teach nothing, I merely suggest posible paths for those already seeking- you can teach yourself (yet I appreciate the kind words from both of you).
How fortunate your son is to have you educating him. I stand with Sally in MI when She asks if she can come to your school. You could teach me an awful lot too.
DeleteIronically my son doesn't feel so fortunate (which isn't so surprising). He often complains about his lack of free time to watch TV and play video games like his public school friends do.
DeleteReading, (as this great BBC program [ http://vimeo.com/38442002 ] argues) is hard work.
I'd like to enroll myself, my children, and grandchildren in your school. Is there a particular anthology you recommend as foundational for religious studies?
DeleteCampbell's The Masks of God and Boorstin's The Seekers seem good resources to get a sense of comparative religion and contain suggestions for further reading.
DeleteDavid, you're doing it right. We raised our kids in a similar way. We both worked outside the home, We sent them to public schools and let them explore for themselves after learning many religions and spiritual paths from us. We consider ourselves Atheist/Secular Humanists.
DeleteI don't think it's fair to "mold" kids into a rigid religious indoctrination, whatever they choose for themselves is fine with me.
Christ Gryph, we get it. Enough w/the religion posts and can we get back to mission statement.?
ReplyDeleteThis blog is dedicated to finding the truth, exposing the lies, and holding our politicians and leaders accountable when they fall far short of the promises that they have made to both my fellow Alaskans and the American people.
If you don't think that religious indoctrination has anything to do with our current political state, or holding politicians accountable for their actions, then YOU have not been paying attention.
DeleteIndoctrination rather than education is, in my view, a serious problem be it religious or secular. As Descartes argued, if you would be a real seeker after truth, you must, at least once in your life, doubt all things. Alas, so long as our best and brightest flock to Wall St. rather than the classroom crude indoctrination is the most likely result.
Delete@Anonymous 6:03 AM,
DeleteYou sound like someone that needs to find a new blog to read. This is Gryphen's blog and if you don't like what he writes about, then leave, for Christ's sake.
Yeh Gryphen, you're right. However, it isn't that religion is BAD and atheism is GOOD. People are good and bad in all walks of life. It is PERVERTED, OPPRESSIVE, and often CRUEL religion rather than loving, compassionate religion that is the problem. I don't think any of us disagree that forcing religion on anyone or beating it into them (literally) is beyond abusive.
Delete@2:10
DeleteThe really nice thing about Gryphen is that he invites differing opinions. Don't you think he would block dissenting commentors if he didn't like it or was offended by it? You are right that it is Gryphen's blog. You don't have any right to tell people to leave just because you disagree with them. That's what they do at the urinal.
WAM, I totally agree. I'm grateful that Griffin doesn't censor the blog heavily. (I'm sure he has to filter the troll comments) But allowing everyone to express their opinions an d views on Religion is a healthy thing.
DeleteLook. Religious instruction is just like abortion: if you don't like it, don't have it. Otherwise, you just have to trust to nature or god or science or whatever you trust that good people will turn out good and bad people will turn out bad. Millions of people for thousands of years have survived their parents' and families' immersion in fundamentalist religion. Call it what it is, religious fundamentalism. It has nothing to do with child abuse.
ReplyDeleteWell said.
DeleteWhen a child is punished for asking legitimate, logical questions as many of these cults (ad almost all religions are cults, IMO) then that is child abuse - Brain binding = foot binding - only worse.
DeleteOmama, you could NOT be further from the truth! My grandfather was an Episcopal Bishop. My father (and his brothers and sisters) were raised according to the olds ways - fire and brimstone.
DeleteHe/they beat me every time I asked a question! And I mean BEAT! That isn't a euphemism or a code word. And it isn't a word that brings happy thoughts to my brain. At one point, my wrists were tied together and I was hung from the leg of my bunk bed. My father then took a 2 inch belt and beat me until I passed out!
Religious fundamentalism is possibly the most dangerous form of religious thinking around. It brooks NO argument and believers will do almost anything to expel disbelief. Do NOT try to tell me otherwise!
YOU may have other experiences, but I have met far too many people in counseling who went through MY type of fundamentalist "indoctrination" (AKA brainwashing) to believe that myself.
PS Omama: Do you even KNOW what child abuse IS? In all it's manifestations? Mine was physical for which I am slightly grateful. Mental abuse is far worse in my book. And there are more than those two types, too.
DeletePLEASE study up on what is child abuse. It may open your eyes.
You were a beaten child because your father was a beaten child. Religion was the excuse, not the cause.
DeleteHOG SHIT!
DeleteI know for a FACT my father was never beaten! I also know for a fact that the ONLY time I was beaten was when I questioned anything religious I was told!
Do NOT try to tell me what the reasons were for my beatings!
Yes, GENERALLY, what you said is true. But EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THE PEOPLE in our counseling group - EVERY SINGLE ONE - were beaten BY religious zealots FOR religious zealot reasons!
Take your dime store psychiatry and shove it! It is NOT always true!
Two days in a row!!!! Can they keep it up?
ReplyDeleteHuffpost does not a Sarah, Bristol or Todd story on front page or political page.
There may be a God after all ...
What is the silence? Prepping for the big circus show at the mall out side the Romney temple? Will she go quietly away and attend church or teach Sunday school with Tripp?
DeleteMy X daughter-in-law is sending my youngest granddaughter who's 19, immature and controlled by her mother,, to a $40,000 a years Christian university this fall as a freshman, yep $40,000..all I know is she's not sure what she wants in a career but she's going to play tennis, she wears a purity ring and she will not party like her sister did when she went to a $16,00 state university, who has graduated on the deans list at 21 and is now going back for her Masters degree at that university..very mature and independent young lady.
ReplyDeleteMommy asked my son to pay half and he said no, it's your choice to send her to this high priced Christian university, you made the decision without me so you pay the cost.
Forgot to add..daughter-in-law is a very controlling, religious Republican nutcase!
ReplyDeleteThe major issue is that these kids will get to adulthood with NO basic education. That is going to doom them in what is increasingly an economic system in which the young are going to have to fight for every crumb. That poor stupid kid is going to be competing with my kids. My kids read real books. One of the things that is striking if you are in higher ed is how unprepared a lot of kids-- and these are the ones who make it to college-- are for what is actually out there in the real world. My spouse has taught the last eight years at a large public university, and the naivete about what they face after graduation is scary. Multiply that by 1,000 for these poor dumb slobs who are getting nothing but indoctrination.
ReplyDeleteProblem: a coming storm of very angry, disaffected, unemployable, ignorant religious fanatics. Yay religious education.
Gryphen, I sent my kids to an Episcopalian school. They went to chapel every day. Not one minute of it was child abuse. Rather, they experienced chapel services from a variety of faiths (Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and more). The time was spent focusing on their inner life - one's responsibility towards society (most of these kids were very privileged), learning good emotional health, reflecting on how one wished to live their lives, dealing with tragedy. To graduate, the kids had to actively participate in community service - most of it centered on tutoring underprivileged kids. That community service had zero religious component - not one bit. It was simply about helping those who needed help, as taught across many faiths. The focus was on helping kids become conscientious adults who understand that their actions and words have consequences, not just on others, but also on themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe religious right is a voice of hatred. But the religious right no more represents Christians than does the Taliban represent Muslims. You would find it unacceptable if you, as an Atheist, were smeared with Ayn Rand's selfish ideology. Please stop smearing all people who choose to pursue a spiritual life with the sick thinking of a political faction simply because they hide behind a veil of religion.
(Worth noting that I agree 100% that no tax dollars should go to funding religious schools - including vouchers. Nor should any entity receive tax dollars to provide service that imposes religious doctrine on those who receive the service. Apparently, the god of the religious right is pretty feeble, as he can't get by without government assistance!)
Awesome! Well sort of. The views you expressed in your second paragraph got just a bit hateful for me, but they are your views. I would agree with the following summary: 1) Religious eduation should cover all religions and focus on helping those less fortunate. 2) Zero tax dollars should go to funding
DeleteSorry about the second para 8:30 - I didn't mean to insult the Taliban (I joke, I joke, really!). More seriously, what I mean by the religious right is the hateful faction, not people of faith that also hold conservative views, but don't insist on imposing them on other people. I struggle to find the right catch-all phrase for the hateful faction - the other option is "those struggling to climb out of the primordial ooze", but that is awfully long.
DeleteHappy to hear other ideas, as it isn't the beliefs I object to (they have as much right to theirs as I have to mine) - it is their hatred and divisiveness.
One last thought on taxes ... I'm pretty sure that a higher entity capable of creating the earth can keep a school system up and running without public subsidies. And if it is sinful to want to help people without religious preconditions (education, health care, food, shelter), then I'm keen for hell, as I don't want to hang out for eternity with the types that would end up in heaven. That's a view I came to hold through many discussions with other people of faith, and I am proud to say my children's school conveyed the same to them.
There is religion. Then their is faith. The two, sadly, have little to do with each other.
Why can't we all just get along?
Buddhists, Sikhs, Hindus, and the core teachings of Christ are not about submission. They are about humility. If we reject everyone who expresses faith as fools, then aren't we becoming the same judgmental bigots to which we are objecting?
DeleteReligions come in many forms. Just because someone pursues a faith, a belief system that accepts the potential of a higher power, that does not mean they are the same as the awful extremists we reject. Shall we look at actions, not labels?
sorry but all of that can be done without sending your kids to a religious school and i went to a catholic school that rarely actually preached anything religious... but i had no choice, did I...but having said that, at the end of the day, all religions tell you how to behave and what the punishment is for not behaving or believing, even the most peaceful 'religions'... and honestly if you couldn't teach your kids how to be a responsible adult and how their actions affect others, you're not really a very effective parent... I for one, am able to press upon my child those lessons and I don't need a religious school to do so.
DeleteTHE single purpose of organized religion - ALL organized religion - is to indoctrinate believers into knowing that there are those more powerful than you -- and that you must succumb to The Supreme authority.
ReplyDeleteThese "religious" Rethug zealots are reason enough to avoid organized churches. Add to that the molestation by the priests, funding of this war on women by the catholic bishops and not sure how it could possibly happen but the "stepford wives" in our legislative bodies that are voting for/promoting the acts of "war on women" and we clearly have a disaster forming if something doesn't halt it.
ReplyDeleteVOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE and keep our vaginas private!!!!
Like!
DeleteOh god, where to start with these people?!
ReplyDeletePoint of fact: the "Big Bang" Theory (perhaps ill-named?) does not in actuality postulate any "giant explosion." These lunkheads don't even know what they're arguing against, and it's funnier yet because the theory affirms the idea of a day without a yesterday--a notion with which they should find accord!
It's a terribly ill named theory! But that works all the more in the rationalist's favour, because those that know nothing about it are immediately identifiable as those misled by the naming. It speaks volumes, that they haven't even bothered with a ten second google and wiki check on it!!
DeleteInteresting comments. I was raised in a religious family - primarily in the Presbyterian Church, but has attended a variety of churches. My personal believe is not that religion was created to CONTROL people although it is used for that purpose, but that all religions were created to explain a world beyond the poor human's ability to understand. If you start with the creation myths, all are designed to explain the unknown...how we got here, why the sun rises, why the tides come and go....the world is a big scary place if you don't know how or why it works.
ReplyDeleteThe concept of one supreme being was not invented by the Christians or the Jews or the Muslims...I have no doubt that there is someone out there that is an expert on this subject....but if I recall ancient history the Egyptians. The focus on one supreme being certainly hints at control issues. It also hints at a basic intolerance for those who hold different believes then you.
Over centuries, the Bible, the Torah, and the Quaran became how to books on living from the bans on eating shellfish to loving they neighbor as yourself as well as the basic creation myths that explain how the earth began and humans got here. Don't forget that of these texts overlap and are a history of the people that wrote them.
I am sure that I touched some nerves with my generalities. Let the barrage begin. :)
Unfortunately, while I have to agree with what you have said: that religion was basically a system to guide people and explain things without science.
DeleteHaving said that, I have to inject this one problem: Try getting the current fanatics to understand that!
What's happening you see is that funding for public schools have been cut and cut and cut and the result is inevitable; public schooling becomes inferior or at least considered inferior when you go to get a job and career, and perform worse for getting their students into higher education. So what happens is that secular parents like my own then feel pressured to send me to a private school where my chances of both further education and a good career are better. THAT is the aim of the conservatives of the world.
ReplyDeleteSo people feel pressured to send their kids to private (religious run) schools. My own school had a lesson on the bible we even had to take up to our final year! And in biology we were treated to a disclaimer that evolution doesn't need to be agreed with, but they have to teach it because it's curriculum! I was also treated to being told that carbon dating is inaccurate. In my history class! Unbelievable. They want us all as stupid as they are, conservatives and the religious whack jobs.
I have looked into private schools in my area, and all of the Christian schools (which are the only ones that are under $10K a year) state on their websites that they do not teach the false science of evolution. So I am surprised that you are being taught evolution at all, because apparently private schools can teach whatever the hell they want with no oversight!
DeleteIn Australia we have statewide curriculum that must be taught. Evolution is the main part of the biology curriculum. It boggles my mind as to how these American nutty schools manage to teach any science and particularly bio! How do they do it and meet the curriculum? It's pretty much impossible unless they avoid any sort of standard and the answer to every question is 'it doesn't matter, god is in charge of that'! I feel such pity for Americans particularly young ones. What sort of parent brings up a child like that fat woman does in the video, where that obviously naturally bright boy will never have a good career because of her own stupidity and utter selfishness! Most careers are simply off limits to that child now. He's about 17 now, and the brainwashing is complete now btw. Very sad.
DeleteBtw, you shouldn't have to avoid being 'derisive' just because some people hurl that at you. It's your blog, and those idiots should have a better defense for their beliefs than to attack you, right? Well, they would if they genuinely had good reason and logic for their beliefs and their beliefs were the result of much thought, but because their belief is shaky and based on not much thought at all, when you hit on a sore spot they respond by attacking you. You shouldn't have to alter making good points because some readers can't handle it! There ARE reasonable defenses for holding beliefs, I've seen catholic nuns with them, but none so far on this blog. People with sound reason for their beliefs don't need to launch attacks at their challengers or cry and play the victim. They need to harden up!
ReplyDeleteProjection much? Hard to believe that you are working on a masters in the field of psychology.
DeleteThat's not projection; you need to look at yourself if you think so. What a rotten person you are insulting a stranger over their career. How fake Christian of you!
DeleteIt's an entirely legitimate criticism to simply POINT OUT that responding to Gryphen's criticisms of religion with complaining that he dared say such a thing is dumb and pointless. It just points out that his points are valid. If his points were not valid, the complainers would put forward valid arguments that refute his. They never do, but simply whine that Gryphen made the point.
In addition, you fail at understanding the concept of projection. It just makes you look even more foolish. You don't know me, and I'm pleased to keep it that way.
I find sanctimonious anti-religion parents just as annoying as sanctimonious pro-religion parents.
ReplyDeleteSend your kids to the best school you can afford. That may be public school, private school, or your dining room table -- stay active in their education, and don't lazily assume the teachers and the schools have it all covered. Be aware of the peer groups your child is associating with in school, know their friends as well as their friends' parents.
Enhance your child's education at home (if not homeschooling). Turn off the TV, the computer and video games -- get out of the house -- take your child to the museum, the zoo, the arboretum, the opera -- enroll them in community groups, like soccer or girl scouts & volunteer your own time with those groups. I could go on, but those are my main points.
Don't assume that after your child reaches school age, that you now "get a break"... oh no... your work is just beginning. You "get a break" when they graduate college.
As far as "religious indoctrination" is concerned: If you're actively involved in your child's education, that won't be a problem.
Where's the "Like" button?
DeleteVery well stated. I totally agree.
ReplyDeleteI don't have a problem with a "religious" education provided that "religious" education isn't necessary because you don't want your kids learning the "wrong stuff," like real science and history. I have the same problem with people who "homeschool" their kids for the same reason.
ReplyDeleteNot all religious schools exist for that reason. Some exist to add religious lessons as a part of the curriculum, something that cannot (and should not!) happen in a public school. I don't have a problem that. It's their money.
I was raised by well meaning parents who sent us to Catholic Schools. We were told that kids should be seen and not heard, If a priest, nun or lay teacher says something, it's true. I'm talking about old school corporal punishment order of Saint Joseph's Nuns. College was a bit easier, the Jesuit's were much more humane and respectful.
ReplyDeleteI think everyone's heard my tale of woe, but suffice it to say, I owe a great deal of gratitude to the Church for excommunicating me.
I've been "attacked" more because of my non beliefe than when I was an avid Church goer. There's good and bad in everyone. I don't think the people in this clip represent all Christians. If people do the right thing, are good for goodness sake and don't expect others to bend to their will, does it matter what label people put on them?
The Golden Rule isn't more or less golden if atheists or believers abide by it.
MITT ROMNEY: The Separation Of Church And State Has Gone Too Far
ReplyDeletehttp://www.businessinsider.com/mitt-romney-the-separation-of-church-and-state-has-gone-too-far-2012-8
It hasn't gone nearly far enough.
Delete