Religion classes in school - Megathread

Got two kids, and honestly, I’m pretty stoked that religious education is an option in our schools.
Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, the whole point of schooling is to foster "moral and spiritual growth based on a child's abilities and inclinations." As a Catholic, I’m just glad I can pick an elective that aligns with the values we actually live by at home. It keeps things consistent.

It’s also great that subjects—including religious ed—touch on national identity and heritage, which is another key goal under Article 4 of the Act.

So yeah, I’m signing up for Catholic religious ed.

Living in a secular country that actually respects constitutional freedom of religion is a win; it means practicing faith is totally public.

I’m not signing my kid up for stuff involving Halloween or drawing pumpkins in art class—since that's basically just some old Celtic ritual—and they won't be doing any pumpkin-themed school projects either. I'll tolerate seeing other customs, though; they learn about them in religion class anyway.
Still, I'll make sure my kids know it doesn't line up with Catholic doctrine.

There are plenty of other examples, but I won't nitpick. Even Saint Nicholas didn't get stingy when handing out $167 gifts to school staff, nor did he care who was religious and who wasn't. 😁
He was a legendary bishop from Asia Minor who outlasted every wave of secularism—even the pragmatic kind. The holidays are coming up, and news outlets are already predicting people won't be able to gather much next year. Plus, since the school strikers have already burned through all their energy, there's probably nothing left in their 2015/16 calendar for any more protests.

Honestly, some parents and kids end up pretty miserable because of those mandatory religious studies classes. Your kid isn't actually losing out on anything if we just cut religion from the public school curriculum. As for spiritual or moral growth, that’s really on us as parents; we all have our own paths and don't necessarily share the same values, whereas a school can only hammer home one specific set of beliefs. Plus, being an American isn't tied to what you believe in your heart of hearts.

Chloe Roberts2 said:Honestly, some parents and kids end up pretty miserable because of those mandatory religious studies classes. Your kid isn't actually losing out on anything if we just cut religion from the public school curriculum. As for spiritual or moral growth, that’s really on us as parents; we all have our own paths and don't necessarily share the same values, whereas a school can only hammer home one specific set of beliefs. Plus, being an American isn't tied to what you believe in your heart of hearts.

Look, family is where a kid's moral compass starts, which is actually backed up by the Every Student Succeeds Act.
We don't live in a dictatorship where everyone has to think the same way; we live in a democracy that respects diversity and protects freedom of religion under the Constitution.

A lot of what's considered "universal values" overlaps with what religious classes teach anyway. For the stuff that doesn't match, parents have to give consent for their kids to take those classes.
So, there's no forced indoctrination happening.

I think it's actually good to be exposed to different belief systems. Even without specific religion classes, kids learn about various traditions through other subjects—things like Halloween, decorating Christmas trees, or even old customs like Santa Claus or harvest festivals.

If parents don't want that, they just don't sign off on it. Religious studies are elective; if you don't want it, you don't take it. It's all about choice.

Chloe Roberts2 said:Honestly, some parents and kids end up pretty miserable because of those mandatory religious studies classes. Your kid isn't actually losing out on anything if we just cut religion from the public school curriculum. As for spiritual or moral growth, that’s really on us as parents; we all have our own paths and don't necessarily share the same values, whereas a school can only hammer home one specific set of beliefs. Plus, being an American isn't tied to what you believe in your heart of hearts.

That sounds great in theory, but when you look at American history, it’s just not happening.
Our national identity is baked right into Christianity—that's just a fact (think back through the centuries... the early foundations... etc.). Pretty much all our culture, both the stuff you can touch and the traditions we carry, grew out of that Christian heritage.

Anyone trying to rip those two things apart is biting off way more than they can chew. You can't just erase what's shared by everyone.
Neither extreme is the answer. We need to give credit where it's due to both sides and move forward by integrating them in a realistic, balanced way—respecting modern values like pluralism, dialogue, diversity, and mutual respect among all faiths in the US.

brisknomad13 said:Look, family is where a kid's moral compass starts, which is actually backed up by the Every Student Succeeds Act.
We don't live in a dictatorship where everyone has to think the same way; we live in a democracy that respects diversity and protects freedom of religion under the Constitution.

A lot of what's considered "universal values" overlaps with what religious classes teach anyway. For the stuff that doesn't match, parents have to give consent for their kids to take those classes.
So, there's no forced indoctrination happening.

I think it's actually good to be exposed to different belief systems. Even without specific religion classes, kids learn about various traditions through other subjects—things like Halloween, decorating Christmas trees, or even old customs like Santa Claus or harvest festivals.

If parents don't want that, they just don't sign off on it. Religious studies are elective; if you don't want it, you don't take it. It's all about choice.

Since 2005, this thread has been an attempt to explain that religious studies isn't just another elective—it's a privileged subject. People aren't choosing it out of "free will" so much as they are yielding to social pressure and other external factors.
And yet, some people here continue to insist on their own ignorance with endless, shameless persistence...

Chloe Roberts2 said:This doesn't bother me at all. It's just basic folklore at this point. It would only be an issue if the teachers were actually trying to teach the kids to say grace before meals.

We dealt with something similar last year at our local elementary school. A teacher, basically being bullied by one pushy parent, started leading prayer before lunch—without even giving the other parents a heads-up.👎
I went straight to her the next day. She tried to play it off, apologizing and claiming she just assumed everyone was religious.
Well, my younger daughter is starting at that same school this year, and guess what? At the parent meeting, that same parent is back at it, asking for prayers again. I made it crystal clear: my kid is not praying, period. The counselor and the teacher just rolled their eyes at me.☕

On the bright side, I'm pretty happy with how they handled religious studies for my older girl in first grade; they just put it in the last period of the day. I'm really hoping when my youngest starts next year, there won't be any awkward gaps in the schedule like this.👍

brisknomad13 said:Look, family is where a kid's moral compass starts, which is actually backed up by the Every Student Succeeds Act.
We don't live in a dictatorship where everyone has to think the same way; we live in a democracy that respects diversity and protects freedom of religion under the Constitution.

A lot of what's considered "universal values" overlaps with what religious classes teach anyway. For the stuff that doesn't match, parents have to give consent for their kids to take those classes.
So, there's no forced indoctrination happening.

I think it's actually good to be exposed to different belief systems. Even without specific religion classes, kids learn about various traditions through other subjects—things like Halloween, decorating Christmas trees, or even old customs like Santa Claus or harvest festivals.

If parents don't want that, they just don't sign off on it. Religious studies are elective; if you don't want it, you don't take it. It's all about choice.

Placing religious education right in the middle of the standard school schedule isn't really respecting the free will of those who don't want their kids wandering the halls while others follow a path imposed by parents who, let's be honest, probably can't even recite the Lord's Prayer.

Since I believe the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child carries more weight than the constitutional freedom of religion—because children's needs should come first—I think we either need to organize religious education as a true elective or strip it back to its core essence.

Free will is a tricky thing. Everyone has it, just like everyone has a backside, and we don't shove our backsides in everyone else's faces; we keep them exactly where they belong—in our underwear, right? We get pretty outraged when someone's backside shows up in the news because that's immoral and ruins a child's sense of privacy and boundaries.

As Wittgenstein said: "The world is independent of my will."

Rachel Gray24 said:We dealt with something similar last year at our local elementary school. A teacher, basically being bullied by one pushy parent, started leading prayer before lunch—without even giving the other parents a heads-up.👎
I went straight to her the next day. She tried to play it off, apologizing and claiming she just assumed everyone was religious.
Well, my younger daughter is starting at that same school this year, and guess what? At the parent meeting, that same parent is back at it, asking for prayers again. I made it crystal clear: my kid is not praying, period. The counselor and the teacher just rolled their eyes at me.☕

On the bright side, I'm pretty happy with how they handled religious studies for my older girl in first grade; they just put it in the last period of the day. I'm really hoping when my youngest starts next year, there won't be any awkward gaps in the schedule like this.👍

In the upper grades, they have religion classes twice a week, which feels like overkill. Honestly, the simplest solution would be to just pull religious instruction out of the public school curriculum entirely.

Not really, though. 😁

Chloe Roberts2 said:In the upper grades, they have religion classes twice a week, which feels like overkill. Honestly, the simplest solution would be to just pull religious instruction out of the public school curriculum entirely.

The easiest move would be to just shut down all the schools. 👍

What if we made religion class mandatory for every single kid in school? Honestly, think about it. We’d stop all that aimless wandering through the hallways, and parents wouldn't have to deal with the headache of kids just drifting around without any direction. Plus, imagine how nice it would be if everyone could just sit down together and say grace before lunch. It wouldn't just be a few people praying; it would be everyone. Kids would grow up with the same foundation, learning where we actually came from. They'd pick up on things like good manners, being respectful, and those core values that really hold a community together. It’s about teaching them how to be decent people through real communication.
Wouldn't that be a total game-changer? 🎉

Yeah, I completely agree with you... and then the little guy wrapped up the chocolate

silentraven6 said:Placing religious education right in the middle of the standard school schedule isn't really respecting the free will of those who don't want their kids wandering the halls while others follow a path imposed by parents who, let's be honest, probably can't even recite the Lord's Prayer.

Since I believe the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child carries more weight than the constitutional freedom of religion—because children's needs should come first—I think we either need to organize religious education as a true elective or strip it back to its core essence.

Free will is a tricky thing. Everyone has it, just like everyone has a backside, and we don't shove our backsides in everyone else's faces; we keep them exactly where they belong—in our underwear, right? We get pretty outraged when someone's backside shows up in the news because that's immoral and ruins a child's sense of privacy and boundaries.

As Wittgenstein said: "The world is independent of my will."

Mid-class breaks are a different story, but my point is that religious education is a parent's choice, which they make on those enrollment forms when their kid starts first grade.

No other student should be stuck waiting around during religion class. Schools need to organize things better so everyone actually gets a decent lesson.

Look, some kid has to celebrate Halloween or dress up for a party, but nobody is forced to pray or sit through a religion class. It’s called freedom of choice.

Same thing here—my kid takes religious studies, but because of that one hour, they're forced to join in on local town traditions outside the school where they just end up getting insulted and blamed for stuff. It's honestly hard to tell where one person's freedom ends and another's begins.

I'm not even going to touch the rest of your post since it's just trashy and out of line.

p.s. Religious studies is an elective, obviously.

The only thing that feels totally out of line and inappropriate is having religious studies baked right into the public school curriculum.

As a believer, I think this is great news. Honestly, tons of parents are still signing their kids up for religion classes.
And it’s not just that—we’re seeing more Catholic elementary schools, prestigious Salesian high schools, even preschools popping up everywhere. Plus, the Catholic University of America is already right here.

With the new curriculum reforms, religious education isn't being touched; they aren't forcing those hours into some big shared bucket.

So yeah, religion is thriving. It would only actually die out in schools if parents stopped enrolling their kids.

People who find any kind of religious instruction vulgar are just going to have to deal with it, since they're in the minority.
If they ever become the majority, hey, I’ll respect whatever laws society decides to pass.

I feel like someone already tore apart that whole "majority vs. minority" argument. Just to be clear, I wasn't saying religious studies is inherently crude—it’s more about how they force it into public schools, which are funded by everyone and attended by everyone.
Besides, the church has made it pretty obvious before: no matter how much they clash with non-believers, they sure do love the smell of taxpayer money.

Catholic religious education is back in American public schools after decades away, and it happened through perfectly legal, democratic channels. It wasn't forced on anyone.

Regarding the funding, sure, they could make things more transparent, but look at it this way:
As a believer, I’m happy to donate to the Church, while some atheist might rather give their money to "Provo" or whatever group fits their vibe.

My cash definitely isn't going to Provo... or any of those feminist nonprofits...😁

When it comes to religious education in schools, it really boils down to a matter of principle. I can say with total sincerity that kids aren't actually gaining any real substance from these classes. For instance, they were claiming today that the first thing you do on Easter morning is attend Mass—and this was a seventh grader in middle school. 😬 It’s just how they approach all the other topics in the curriculum, too, whether the information is useful or completely off base.

The core issue here is purely one of fairness: it simply isn't right for one subject to be granted such privileged status and special treatment over everything else.

brisknomad13 said:Catholic religious education is back in American public schools after decades away, and it happened through perfectly legal, democratic channels. It wasn't forced on anyone.

Regarding the funding, sure, they could make things more transparent, but look at it this way:
As a believer, I’m happy to donate to the Church, while some atheist might rather give their money to "Provo" or whatever group fits their vibe.

My cash definitely isn't going to Provo... or any of those feminist nonprofits...😁

Legal? Sure. But unfortunately, our laws can be pretty flexible sometimes. Democratic? I’m not so sure about that.

Look, my money goes to the church, but not by choice. If I decide to chip in to any other charity or club, that's my call and my money. The Church gets its funds through mandate. Very democratic, right? 😛

wanderingbadger44 said:When it comes to religious education in schools, it really boils down to a matter of principle. I can say with total sincerity that kids aren't actually gaining any real substance from these classes. For instance, they were claiming today that the first thing you do on Easter morning is attend Mass—and this was a seventh grader in middle school. 😬 It’s just how they approach all the other topics in the curriculum, too, whether the information is useful or completely off base.

The core issue here is purely one of fairness: it simply isn't right for one subject to be granted such privileged status and special treatment over everything else.

Just because someone messed up doesn't really prove anything. It's an elective, so people don't hold them to the same standard.
Personally, I'm way more bothered when kids can't even write a basic essay in English class or struggle with simple math after years of studying the core subjects.
Not to mention some teachers who show up to their certification exams and struggle to write a decent essay themselves...😁
And then they're out here logging notes in the digital gradebook...🤣

wanderingbadger44 said:When it comes to religious education in schools, it really boils down to a matter of principle. I can say with total sincerity that kids aren't actually gaining any real substance from these classes. For instance, they were claiming today that the first thing you do on Easter morning is attend Mass—and this was a seventh grader in middle school. 😬 It’s just how they approach all the other topics in the curriculum, too, whether the information is useful or completely off base.

The core issue here is purely one of fairness: it simply isn't right for one subject to be granted such privileged status and special treatment over everything else.

Look, it's legal and it's fine. As long as the majority wants it this way, it stays.