Church school education for child of atheist parents?

[garycat]

We are in the process of moving house and the only schools with places available for my 6yo boy are a Catholic and a CofE school.

Both my wife and I are *very* atheist/humanist and don't want my boy to be taught fairy stories from the bible and all that praying to god crap by people who he should respect i.e. teachers.

I can foresee what he gets taught there coming into conflict with our own views, so I want to know if anyone else is in the same position as me and if it is possible for atheist parents to have a child at a church school without being hypocrite.

[Yugguy]

It sounds as if you have already made your mind up about what kind of teaching will happen.

Perhaps you could try actually visiting the schools concerned and finding out what really happens?

[bull996]

If you dont like what they teach, go somewhere else.

Too many people put their kids in a school because its good or its convieient and then moan and bh about how its run. Next thing the minority are having rules changed to suit them and screwing it up for the majority.

So my advice is either lump it, drive them to a school you do like everyday, or move somewhere else.

Edited by bull996 on Tuesday 12th August 15:45

[MentalSarcasm]

CofE schools are probably better than Catholic schools (no offence to the catholics here). My parents are both atheists and all my schools, primary, middle and secondary, were CofE.

If I recall correctly, other than singing hymns and having a twice a year visit from the local vicar there wasn't much religion. Oh, I say that, in primary school we had to recite a lunchtime prayer to say thank you for our food, and an afternoon prayer where we asked God to guard us while we slept.

In fact the main religion discussions came from RE lessons which I think are part of the curriculum and so difficult to avoid.

You'll find that most CofE schools are also chosen by Muslim/Hindu/Sikh families in your area who can't get to one of the few schools for their faith in the country. My secondary school had a Jewish boy and three Hindus.

Edited by MentalSarcasm on Tuesday 12th August 15:47

[marsred]

garycat said:

We are in the process of moving house and the only schools with places available for my 6yo boy are a Catholic and a CofE school.

Both my wife and I are *very* atheist/humanist and don't want my boy to be taught fairy stories from the bible and all that praying to god crap by people who he should respect i.e. teachers.

I can foresee what he gets taught there coming into conflict with our own views, so I want to know if anyone else is in the same position as me and if it is possible for atheist parents to have a child at a church school without being hypocrite.

A slightly more level headed response here as I know what you are getting at. We haven't had said child yet (four weeks and counting) but when we move schools will, of course, be a big consideration and many cofe etc schools are very good. Obviously you want your kids to go to a good school. If you think back to the good old days (i'm thinking the 80's back) we used to pray and sing hyms but ours wasn't a church school at all. Did us no harm though, instills some much needed values i think. if you're not religious then a school isn't going to turn your kids into an extremist or anything. in many cases the teachers aren't religious either.

Like the yugguy said, check the schools out, then decide.

[Jinx]

Yugguy said:

It sounds as if you have already made your mind up about what kind of teaching will happen.

Perhaps you could try actually visiting the schools concerned and finding out what really happens?

Faith schools (well CofE ones anyway) do not indoctrinate their pupils (except about anthropogenic Climate change ) . If you have any concerns speak to the school itself.

[lunarscope]

What you need is a 'Dawkins' school.
Contact the Local Education Authority who will tell you where your nearest one is.

[BMWBen]

Jinx said:

Yugguy said:

It sounds as if you have already made your mind up about what kind of teaching will happen.

Perhaps you could try actually visiting the schools concerned and finding out what really happens?

Faith schools (well CofE ones anyway) do not indoctrinate their pupils (except about anthropogenic Climate change ) . If you have any concerns speak to the school itself.

Some do, however. Mine did (and failed mind). So why not ask them like m'learned friend suggests.

[SS HSV]

If it is 'all that crap' you would be a hypocrite joining it. These schools are decent schools and teach morals which most people these days don't seem to care about. Having a sense of religion is no bad thing it teaches you above all that you are not the most important part of the jigsaw and it promotes and encourages community spirit. It gives the children something to believe in and religion hasn't been proven either way so its not a blatent lie. It gives people faith.

I didn't necessarily agree with everything we were told to believe in school but I also didn't have a choice as my father is a minister. I have no doubt that I would have been a very different charactor to whom I am now if I had been to a lesser school without the same religious background. There again I am somewhat biased..

edited for typos

Edited by SS HSV on Tuesday 12th August 15:54

[jamesgrrr]

i went to a c of e school, no bible bashing (as they have to teach what the gov't say) just singing hymns in the morning.. didn't make me a christian, very much the opposite.

[Yugguy]

Aye, I really don't think that singing the odd hymn once a term "forces" any child to become religious.

[Fantic SuperT]

garycat said:

We are in the process of moving house and the only schools with places available for my 6yo boy are a Catholic and a CofE school.

Both my wife and I are *very* atheist/humanist and don't want my boy to be taught fairy stories from the bible and all that praying to god crap by people who he should respect i.e. teachers.

I can foresee what he gets taught there coming into conflict with our own views, so I want to know if anyone else is in the same position as me and if it is possible for atheist parents to have a child at a church school without being hypocrite.

Likewise Garycat. I'm struggling to understand how religions have so much control of our school system when I pay taxes to the local and national government to fund education. Perhaps there are a lot more people praying to their gods and fairies than show up in a temple on Sunday?

[GingerNinja]

Fantic SuperT said:

garycat said:

We are in the process of moving house and the only schools with places available for my 6yo boy are a Catholic and a CofE school.

Both my wife and I are *very* atheist/humanist and don't want my boy to be taught fairy stories from the bible and all that praying to god crap by people who he should respect i.e. teachers.

I can foresee what he gets taught there coming into conflict with our own views, so I want to know if anyone else is in the same position as me and if it is possible for atheist parents to have a child at a church school without being hypocrite.

Likewise Garycat. I'm struggling to understand how religions have so much control of our school system when I pay taxes to the local and national government to fund education. Perhaps there are a lot more people praying to their gods and fairies than show up in a temple on Sunday?

Some friends of mine live in an area where the only decent school for miles around is Catholic. As neither parent is religous and theryhad no affiliation with the church, there was no chance of them securing a decent education for thir child.

As a result, they've had to pretend to be religious and start attending the local church.

F**king ridiculous situation.

[Risotto]

I'm an atheist too but I would credit my kids with enough intelligence to listen to both sides of the argument and make up their own minds. I don't advocate indoctrinating them with religious views, but drilling atheism into them doesn't sound much better.

I can't see a problem with sending a child to a nominally religious school as long as you point out that there are other belief systems (including non-religious ones). The child can then use their own reasoning to decide what they want to believe.

Edited by Risotto on Tuesday 12th August 16:09

Edited by Risotto on Wednesday 1st October 22:28

[anonymous-user]

Do all schools do some kind of religious education still? How much of it do these faith schools do?

Presumably if they are state run they still have to follow the national curriculum.

[DWP]

Don't worry both mine went the Religious school route. Like you little choice. Neither believes now. Their choice not to believe. RI was to be fair, across the board and included views of many beliefs, in a way that never happened in my education. Overall very good school.

[plasticpig]

Fantic SuperT said:

garycat said:

We are in the process of moving house and the only schools with places available for my 6yo boy are a Catholic and a CofE school.

Both my wife and I are *very* atheist/humanist and don't want my boy to be taught fairy stories from the bible and all that praying to god crap by people who he should respect i.e. teachers.

I can foresee what he gets taught there coming into conflict with our own views, so I want to know if anyone else is in the same position as me and if it is possible for atheist parents to have a child at a church school without being hypocrite.

Likewise Garycat. I'm struggling to understand how religions have so much control of our school system when I pay taxes to the local and national government to fund education. Perhaps there are a lot more people praying to their gods and fairies than show up in a temple on Sunday?

Well if you double your tax bill the government and councils might be able to afford to buy the school buildings and grounds off the church who currently own them.

[marsred]

Risotto said:

I'm an atheist too but I would credit my kids with enough intelligence to listen to both sides of the argument and make up their own minds.

Plus, and its a big plus, sending them to a CofE school means you still get to see a nativity play at Chrimbo, which you wouldn't get at a non-religious school. How else are you going to embarrass them with vidoe footage when they bring girls / boys home?

[HundredthIdiot]

Look at this dispassionately.

If the schools receive state funding, you are morally entitled to use them, regardless of your beliefs. It's your tax money.

If the school had a useless Maths teacher, you would supplement your child's maths reaching outside of school. Same with religious fairy stories. As parents, you are the primary source of truth for your children. No amount of religious brainwashing in school can counter that.

[speedy_thrills]

Risotto said:

I'm an atheist too but I would credit my kids with enough intelligence to listen to both sides of the argument and make up their own minds. I don't advocate indoctrinating them with religions views, but drilling atheism into them doesn't sound much better.

I have to agree here, I do wish schools where secular but it will not be a problem if your child has an adaquet grounding in why people feel they need "faith" or to worship. In many regards the most important part is not the conclusion you reach but the journey you take and questions you have to ask of yourself to get there. I have met some people who really have asked these questions and still descided that regardless of how logically irrational it seemed they did still believe in a god (In many regards I do not think we even get to choose). It should be be a crime to force your children either towards or away from religion, it has to be a conclusion reached from within one's self.

Church of England, it's far more progressive.

Edit: In many regards exposure to differing ideologies can be a healthy thing, not just in children.

Edited by speedy_thrills on Tuesday 12th August 16:43