Religion and Engaging with the Teacher

That reference came from the Irish Time but recent data from this years oecd report states that we’re now the highest.

Ive clearly ‘sucked it up’. I sent my child to a religious school - the only one we could send her to. And I’m on a forum asking how best to engage with the teacher on how to do this best.

But instead of helping me with the issue - I’m being attacked for my views after being initially insulted for not believing in a god I don’t believe in.

I don’t expect the school to change its ethos for me. I expect the state to ensure that ALL its citizens rights are respected - which includes not being forced to attend religious instruction.

Which constitutional right do you enjoy right not that you’re happy for a religious institution can take away from you. We either abide by our constitution and laws or we don’t.

Well obviously I omit the fundamentalists in the sweeping comment about the ‘whole country’. I don’t pay much heed to people who didn’t criticise the church for their role in child abuse in this country and abroad. Happy to send you on some reading about the topic.

Maybe you haven’t asked many people about what part of your religion they don’t believe.

It’s not exactly ‘hardline’ that I think the earth will end when the sun explodes rather than when the son of your god comes down from a celestial plane that no one can prove exists and bring death and destruction to whoever is living and all those ever buried

it’s not ‘hardline’ that I think that a human can’t ride into this celestial plan on the back of a fiery winged chariot.

It’s not ‘hardline’ to think that a virgin can give birth to a child.

it’s not ‘hardline’ to think that the first two people in the world were not called Adam and Eve

it’s not ‘hardline’ to think that I don’t accept that human mother of your god appeared to schoolgirls in the back end of Portugal (Fatima)

Whats actually happening is that you’ve never had someone ridicule your beliefs. And, as many religious people do, start with the ‘belief’ (if you’ll pardon the pun) that you are right (there is a god); and that since you’re right that some form of deference should be given to your ‘beliefs’ which strangely always seem to be a function of where you’re born and what your parents ‘believe’ - so much so that a law had to be created to protect this omniscient and omnipotent being (blasphemy).

But I’m hardline.

Thanks for that.

Sitting outside the room. How sad that a child has to be punished by not teaching them maths, English and Irish so that the school can use that time to inculcate children. It really is sad.

A read of that oecd report suggests we don’t spend nearly enough time teaching the basics as other countries.

Thanks for that.

Good suggestion on getting class times for religion.

Thank you.

I already have an appropriate educational setting. The issue is one of religion and forced faith formation about the religious school monopoly

Not sure which bit of the description of your religion you disagree with. But don’t worry - people typically disengage when they see it all written down. It’s hard to square the circle so it’s best not think about it.

Very interesting. Thank you.

Im taking some solace in that listening to this stuff is not detrimental to her in the long run. Perhaps I need to figure out better ways on how to engage her on processing what she’s hearing in school and at home. I’ll do some research on that - thanks for that point.

I take the point about different ‘truths’ and no doubt some poster will say all I’m trying to do is that. I’m not commenting here on what people teach their child - I just think that religious education or the absence of it should be done at home. And of course all topics are open to ridicule.

thanks again

Haha - very good.

The age old way to not engage in a discussion is to question a persons mental capacity but to do it in a ‘genuine’ way. Haha - if this was another forum on boards, the word ‘gaslighting’ would be used.

Of course - I’d have the weight of the world on my shoulders if I ‘believed’ that there was a celestial eye in the sky looking down on my every waking / sleeping moment; already knowing what I’m thinking and gonna do - and knowing that if I slip (or indeed for an omniscient god he’ll know if I do slip up) that I’ll be sent to hell for all eternity. What a thing to teach children, eh. If I believed that I reckon I would need to ‘genuinely….talk to someone’.

I think that an infant is brought into a church, water poured on its head and its ‘spiritual DNA’ bound forever by a church before its had any ability to think about and consent to it.

I think that as a child in primary school children are seeing religious iconography (albeit in defiance of commandment 2) daily, being made to pray daily, being brought to mass regularly, spend over 2.5 hours of their school week (more than any other oecd country) on religious formation; take even more time off school to prepare for sacraments.

so yeah; inculcate - instill an idea by persistent instruction - is a very fair description. Brainwashing would be too far but inculcate is exactly what it is.

I always find it funny that posters on an opinion forum judge people for putting their opinions on an opinion forum. I told you in the first post that I will be having with the teachers - I first wanted to get some insights. I thanked those who did. I told other posters that I defended myself when personally attacked. It wasn’t me who brought the thread off point.

So I don’t really care that you think im aggressive. As much as I’m sure you don’t care that I think you’re being defensive and making personal attacks on me.