Religions

[pratty]

Children always like going on trips, it's the parents that forbid them. I'm sure the school has plenty of proof that the reason why parents don't allow their children to go on trips is because they're openly bigoted. I heard it daily where I taught.

 

It's in the National Curriculum to learn about other cultures. If you take your child to a school that isn't private, they have to learn about it.

 

They don't have to go on a school trip though, isn't that why the school has to ask permission to take them?

 

Hypothetically a parent may oppose a school trip because they wish to know that when their child is out of their supervision at school, their child's whereabouts is at least confined within the school grounds, a perfectly reasonable stance to me.

 

Sure there maybe be some openly bigoted parents, but my issue is the letter blankets all parents with the same presumption, a strongly implied presumption of bigotry which I as a non-bigoted parent of a child at that school would take great offence to. According to their letter you're basically guilty until proven innocent. Isn't prejudging a person's character and tarring everyone with the same brush what makes racism and bigotry so abhorrent in the first place?

 

And even then they are still punishing the child for the action of the parent. If they have so much evidence of the parents' bigotry report them to the police and leave the child out of it.

[Emma]

@pratty I agree that the school definitely went about the letter in the wrong way, and it's unfair to punish the child and that parents should decide whether their child can be taken out of school or not, because hypothetically yes, a parent might not want their child to go on any school trip due to it being out of school and dangerous. This in my experience has never been the case. I get 100% attendance for all visits except religious/cultural ones (around 80%), unless it's a church.

 

At my previous school we had Wonder Weeks which involved focusing on one religion for a week. Some parents would keep their kids out of school for the entire week. Crazy and wrong.

[pratty]

@pratty I agree that the school definitely went about the letter in the wrong way, and it's unfair to punish the child and that parents should decide whether their child can be taken out of school or not, because hypothetically yes, a parent might not want their child to go on any school trip due to it being out of school and dangerous. This in my experience has never been the case. I get 100% attendance for all visits except religious/cultural ones (around 80%), unless it's a church.

 

At my previous school we had Wonder Weeks which involved focusing on one religion for a week. Some parents would keep their kids out of school for the entire week. Crazy and wrong.

 

I appreciate we both agree the school went the wrong way about what they were trying to do.

 

And I appreciate it's not going to do any harm to a child for them to learn about other cultures, and that a parent probably shouldn't have anything to fear from that.

 

But I don't feel we can just geralise and say that parents are wrong and bigoted, seems more fair to only label parents as such based on the specific individual cirumstances. Hearing first hand of a specific parent's bigoted reason is one thing, but to generalise and punish parents without learning their specific reasoning is unfair.

 

Another reason why somebody might not wish to let their child go on a religious trip could be that they just simply don't see the value in it, especially if the trip may cause some cost or inconvenience to the parent, that the parent feels the value trip can't justify. You might well argue that's short sighted, and perhaps it is, but it's not necesarily based on bigotry.

 

The unwillingness to learn about other cultures isn't bigotry. They can be related but it's by no means necessarily the same thing, and the school seems to insist it is. I can't tell you much about Shinto or Hinduism for example because I've never cared to explore them much, does that make me a bigot, or a racist? No, I don't hate Hindus or think Shinto should be banned, I just don't care enough to go out of my way to learn about it, and that's my and anyone else's right.

[Mokong]

*Bump of Biblical Proportions*

 

Sorry this is a fair bit of a bump but wanted to share this vid and figured it would be more appropriately placed in this thread rather than in my holiday thread

 

[sumo73]

I remember once someone asking me what I did on Sunday and I just told them 'I went to church' and then I got from them 'Oh I don't believe in all that.....blah blah......' Hey I told you what I did because you asked me. I don't need to know what you believe in because I wasn't asking.

 

Despite replying here, for me religion or beliefs are personal and largely private. It can be an emotive subject and think it's difficult to discuss something here without others of stronger views drowning out everyone else. I believe in god (at least I think I do) but I don't feel the need to go to church every Sunday. I go when I want to and no one is forcing me nor am I forcing anyone to join me. In the past I had a few opportunities both in the UK and Japan to teach English but talk about the bible/god at the same time and I turned them down because it's not me.

 

I do fear however we are moving into a culture where if you say that you are religious (of any faith) then you are deemed a nutter or worse by default. I respect other faiths and have no problem if someone isn't religious at all however I do dislike very strong minded atheists or anyone who is overtly religious who thinks you are not as good as them because you do or don't do this or that.

 

On a side point, I wonder what people think of religion being used a little in video games?

 

 

Ultimately, we are all here on Earth trying to survive on this roller-coaster called life, some follow or turn to religion and some don't, fair enough.

Edited April 1, 2015 by sumo73

[Iun]

Well said @sumo73

 

A good friend invited me to church the other day just to "see what's happening" and I politely declined. Another friend went ballistic: "How can he invite you to that? How can he dare impose his religion on you?!"

 

I just replied that it was obviously important to him and he wanted to share it with a friend, that's all. There was no imposition. Respect is very much a two way street, but nobody ever said it ran in an exactly straight line.

[Beast]

I don't mind people who are religious and have beliefs, we all do, but it's when they impose it on you, that's when it gets me. If you ask me "Would you let Jesus into your life?", I don't mind it (even though I think everybody could decide for themselves if they want to or not) but it's when they ask you it and they follow you.

 

I had that about a month or two ago. The dude asked me and I said "Sorry, dude, not a believer but thanks anyway" and he actually followed me! I kept on saying no and that it never interested me but he was really insistent. I think that's what he does, he bugs people until they stand there and they just let him talk but I personally thought it was a little invasive in a way.

 

My friend is a proper devoted Catholic and I'm an absolute Athiest/Agnostic and we both have proper conversations about religions, beliefs and stuff and not once has it turned into a debate where we scream "YOU'RE WRONG!" or anything. We both have this thing in common where we find each other's viewpoints interesting because we both don't really know what the other thinks or feels because we've never been through that before.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I do fear however we are moving into a culture where if you say that you are religious (of any faith) then you are deemed a nutter or worse by default. I respect other faiths and have no problem if someone isn't religious at all however I do dislike very strong minded atheists or anyone who is overtly religious who thinks you are not as good as them because you do or don't do this or this.

 

I come into contact more often with the overtly atheist ones as you called it. I find them very annoying and either change the subject or try and avoid them altogether as I know the topic will crop up.