Religion classes in school - Megathread

wanderingbadger44 said:Of course not. It’s just like trying to measure how much someone loves their hometown; you can't really put a number on it, which is why everyone ends up getting an A. 👏

They all get a 5 just so the teacher can keep their headcount and save their damn job.

Honestly, once word gets around the neighborhood that a teacher is actually trying to raise the bar instead of just letting kids slide, I bet the enrollment for those electives would absolutely crater...

unless the local priest starts refusing communion or withholding blessings from kids who skip religious studies class 😉

but honestly, I totally get being frustrated with those strict grading policies where they kick you out if you score below an A—that’s basically my life every single day.

I don't have anything against religion classes in school.
Honestly, I'm just glad it's an elective.
My kid isn't taking it, and since hardly anyone does, they scheduled it for the very last period.
That way, the kids can just head straight home...

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Lucky me, getting stuck with just one hour of religion class in high school per week.

Larry Walker24 said:Is it even right to judge someone's faith?

Man, where on earth did you even dig this question up? 😁

Sarah Hall53 said:unless the local priest starts refusing communion or withholding blessings from kids who skip religious studies class 😉

but honestly, I totally get being frustrated with those strict grading policies where they kick you out if you score below an A—that’s basically my life every single day.

I really hope I don't live to see that happen... though, to be honest, I am seriously considering writing a formal letter to resign from the church.

Dear parents—if you’re looking for advice, just go ahead and enroll your kids in religious education classes. I can promise you, they certainly won't walk away learning anything bad...

Nicole James said:Dear parents—if you’re looking for advice, just go ahead and enroll your kids in religious education classes. I can promise you, they certainly won't walk away learning anything bad...

Who knows? Maybe pretty soon, religious studies will be taught entirely in English, or German, or maybe even through some high-tech computer program...

Nicole James said:Dear parents—if you’re looking for advice, just go ahead and enroll your kids in religious education classes. I can promise you, they certainly won't walk away learning anything bad...

Honestly, I think trying to force this stuff on kids just backfires. It makes them want to rebel even more.

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I’ve got another issue on my hands. See, I studied philosophy and religious studies, which involved diving deep into the Bible from a pretty broad perspective. I won't get bogged down in the weeds here, so I'll try to keep this brief. I consider myself a theist—I believe in God as some kind of Higher Power. But I'm not "religious" in that sense; I don't subscribe to a specific cult, a set of morals, or a doctrine forced on me by some organized community.

The Bible is all about interpretation. It feels pretty hypocritical when Christians use that logic to defend scenes where Yahweh rains down sulfur on people, yet they refuse to let anyone else interpret things their own way.
When I was digging through the Bible from a phenomenological perspective, the whole dynamic between God and Satan was what really grabbed me. Once I moved past that, I found myself just as hooked on the tension between Jesus and Satan.
I'm not saying this is my personal belief system or anything. I’m just reporting what I read straight out of the Bible.
I don't buy the whole "Satan as some evil entity" thing. Personally, I think evil lives inside people. Honestly, I wouldn't even call it evil—it’s just human weakness or, in some cases, mental health struggles. Because of that, I reject the idea of Hell, too. The God I believe in is on a much higher level of consciousness than our tiny brains can even process, so the concept of eternal suffering just doesn't track with me. I believe that when we die, we finally face the truth about our mistakes. Most of the time, we mess up simply because we don't know better. It makes sense to me—it's basically what Socrates argued.

I’m stuck in this weird tug-of-war. On one hand, I really don't want to force my faith on my kid or indoctrinate them. But then, I can't exactly stand there and be a hypocrite by nodding along to everything their teacher says in class, because frankly, I don't agree with half of it. Every time they come to me with a question, I just end up saying, "Well, that's what Christians believe." It's a total mess. They know we identify as Christians—at least on paper—so I'm basically just leaving them confused.

Ever since we started talking about Lucifer, he’s become obsessed. He wants to hear that story every single day.

After years of digging through the Bible, I’ve come to a realization: Lucifer isn't some villain in this story. He’s basically just Prometheus from Greek mythology—punished simply because he showed humanity what Yahweh actually gave us. He handed us free will and the capacity to learn. I started looking at it through a psychological lens and realized it’s a classic father-son dynamic. It’s like that cliché where a dad refuses to let his son go to Juilliard because he’s dead set on him becoming a surgeon. The son goes to drama school anyway, and the dad just spends the rest of his life being disappointed and constantly getting in his head about it.
The Old Testament makes it pretty obvious how low Satan will sink just to catch a glimpse of his father's mercy. He’s basically doing Yahweh's dirty work, hoping that if he plays the part, his dad might finally accept him for who he is. Then you get to the New Testament and the arrival of Jesus Christ—the new son. And this new kid follows "all the Father's will" to a T. Suddenly, Satan transforms from that pathetic little loser we saw in the Old Testament into this massive, powerhouse personality. He’s actually bold enough to approach Jesus and offer him the kingdoms of the world. That whole dynamic between Jesus and Satan really hooked me. It feels like Jesus is actually Satan's younger brother, except unlike Satan, he carries both a divine nature and a human one. It makes me wonder: is Satan just jealous of his little brother? Is his whole goal just to hurt him? Honestly, I don't think so. From the very beginning, Satan hasn't really harmed humanity; he just gave us the realization of what we actually possess and showed us that we don't have to be Yahweh's slaves. Yahweh, though? He’s such an egotist. He loses himself in this neurotic loop over the fact that he wanted humans to be made in his image—free, sure, but not *too* free. Like he wanted a porcelain doll with a soul.
Look, here’s my take on Jesus. Basically, Satan decided he was done dealing with his daddy issues and started building his own identity. He ended up with a younger brother, Jesus, whom he’s dying to bring onto his side. He wants to play the mentor, sharing his insights so they can eventually team up as brothers and fix the massive mess made by Yahweh’s scattered personality. Ever since Yahweh created Adam and Eve, the guy’s been all over the place—constantly losing his cool, punishing everyone, showing mercy, then pivoting back to punishment. It’s exhausting. Of course, Satan hasn't a clue what the hell the old man is actually playing at, but now that Jesus has arrived, he’s ready to brush off the old man who can't make up his mind and try to pull this new potential into his circle.

This is just how I’ve interpreted everything from the Bible.

Personally, I refuse to let some outside force take the fall for human error. I don't want to raise my kid thinking they can dodge responsibility by saying, "Oh, someone else made me do it." That's nonsense. Use your brain. You make your own choices.

The other day, my little guy starts telling me about what they covered in Sunday school. He's going on about this dark, twisted, dangerous, evil devil, and I’m sitting there tripping over my words trying to explain that life isn't just black and white—and that Satan isn't some literal personification of evil. But how do you explain that to a seven-year-old?

I’m honestly considering pulling him out of those classes.

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I honestly don't get what you're expecting from an American Catholic religion class. Freedom of thought? Open debate? Not really. You're expected to learn the prescribed doctrines with the same level of unquestioning certainty you'd apply to basic math. Have you actually looked at the textbook or the curriculum? One of the main reasons I decided not to enroll my child in those classes was because I didn't want to spend my evenings listening to a bunch of nonsense and misinformation at home, let alone having to help her memorize it. For instance, she once sat in on a single session and came home asking this "deep" question about why Jesus has five wounds but only four thorns. I just told her, "I have no idea, and frankly, you don't need to know either since you aren't officially in the class."

Now, she’s actually having a blast during that period. At least once a week they get to borrow something from the library, draw, or just play around. Yesterday, she told me that during their library hour, she was pretending to be Hermione and casting spells—apparently, they had the best time ever.

Michelle Nelson4 said:I honestly don't get what you're expecting from an American Catholic religion class. Freedom of thought? Open debate? Not really. You're expected to learn the prescribed doctrines with the same level of unquestioning certainty you'd apply to basic math. Have you actually looked at the textbook or the curriculum? One of the main reasons I decided not to enroll my child in those classes was because I didn't want to spend my evenings listening to a bunch of nonsense and misinformation at home, let alone having to help her memorize it. For instance, she once sat in on a single session and came home asking this "deep" question about why Jesus has five wounds but only four thorns. I just told her, "I have no idea, and frankly, you don't need to know either since you aren't officially in the class."

Now, she’s actually having a blast during that period. At least once a week they get to borrow something from the library, draw, or just play around. Yesterday, she told me that during their library hour, she was pretending to be Hermione and casting spells—apparently, they had the best time ever.

😍

Totally agree!

Our kids were actually out on recess during religion class this week 🙏
and I’ve noticed the number of kids skipping that class is starting to creep up. 👏

While my kid is stuck in the library during religion class, they’re busy coloring 🙂
Only three kids from the whole class skip out on religion class. Given how much this neighborhood has changed lately, I was honestly bracing myself for even fewer than that.

I hear things are a bit different downtown, though apparently, over at Lincoln Elementary, they’ve got double the amount of first graders signing up for religion this year.🤷

I feel like I’m just dropping in out of nowhere here... but I’ve run into a bit of a situation; my first grader is the only kid in the whole class who isn't attending religious education classes (there were two others initially, but they changed their minds right at the start and joined the group, so now he's the odd one out)... so he just sits out in the hallway during those periods drawing or whatever he feels like doing... I mentioned to the teacher that it really bothers me having him out in the hall without any real supervision while class is in session, and she just brushed it off, saying she checks on him a few times and that since he's right by the teachers' lounge, the principal and all the other faculty are basically right there... I tried pointing out that if something were to actually happen to him... well, we all know how quickly things can go sideways, right?... So, what can I actually do about this... the library hours don't line up with the religious ed schedule at all... who am I supposed to talk to, and is there even any way to change how this is being handled?

Ethan Scott2 said:I feel like I’m just dropping in out of nowhere here... but I’ve run into a bit of a situation; my first grader is the only kid in the whole class who isn't attending religious education classes (there were two others initially, but they changed their minds right at the start and joined the group, so now he's the odd one out)... so he just sits out in the hallway during those periods drawing or whatever he feels like doing... I mentioned to the teacher that it really bothers me having him out in the hall without any real supervision while class is in session, and she just brushed it off, saying she checks on him a few times and that since he's right by the teachers' lounge, the principal and all the other faculty are basically right there... I tried pointing out that if something were to actually happen to him... well, we all know how quickly things can go sideways, right?... So, what can I actually do about this... the library hours don't line up with the religious ed schedule at all... who am I supposed to talk to, and is there even any way to change how this is being handled?

We actually worried about this exact thing when we enrolled him and the religion class question came up. We asked if there was an alternative subject if he didn't take religion. They said no. But they didn't mention anything else, like what our teacher told us at the back-to-school night. In our case, maybe five kids don't take religion, and they're all looked after in the library doing crafts or something. It's basically a creative workshop. They even bragged about what they made; when my kid heard that, he said he'd much rather do that than religion. Now I'm wondering if it's too late to switch him over.
If things stay like this... I’m going to keep making noise about it. He’s going to keep bringing it up to the teacher. Eventually, it’ll just mess with his grades and cause more headaches.

I don't know what we were thinking during enrollment. My husband is an atheist, so he thinks I'm overreacting.
But I'm stressed because my kid keeps questioning my actual beliefs, and I hate feeling like I'm forcing something on him that I don't even believe in myself.

I feel like an idiot.

Ethan Scott2 said:I feel like I’m just dropping in out of nowhere here... but I’ve run into a bit of a situation; my first grader is the only kid in the whole class who isn't attending religious education classes (there were two others initially, but they changed their minds right at the start and joined the group, so now he's the odd one out)... so he just sits out in the hallway during those periods drawing or whatever he feels like doing... I mentioned to the teacher that it really bothers me having him out in the hall without any real supervision while class is in session, and she just brushed it off, saying she checks on him a few times and that since he's right by the teachers' lounge, the principal and all the other faculty are basically right there... I tried pointing out that if something were to actually happen to him... well, we all know how quickly things can go sideways, right?... So, what can I actually do about this... the library hours don't line up with the religious ed schedule at all... who am I supposed to talk to, and is there even any way to change how this is being handled?

As a parent, I would find this situation absolutely unacceptable.
My own child was also the only one in first grade not attending religion class. Nowadays there are more, but the teacher arranged the schedule so that religion class always falls during either the first or the last period.
Seriously, leaving a child in a hallway? No, that is simply not normal, nor is it permissible. If I were in your shoes, I would be breathing down their necks until they fixed this. Contact the principal, put it in writing, reach out to the Department of Education, call Protagoras, write to the Children's Ombudsman, even contact the media (do everything in writing, signed, with return receipts). Keep pushing until your child is properly accommodated within that school. That child, just like every other student, has a right to an education. And sitting in a hallway is not an education!

My kids basically live at either the local library or the study hall. My oldest (who's 5) usually flies solo while knocking out his homework, but when he's with my youngest, they've got their teacher right there with them.

Ethan Scott2 said:I feel like I’m just dropping in out of nowhere here... but I’ve run into a bit of a situation; my first grader is the only kid in the whole class who isn't attending religious education classes (there were two others initially, but they changed their minds right at the start and joined the group, so now he's the odd one out)... so he just sits out in the hallway during those periods drawing or whatever he feels like doing... I mentioned to the teacher that it really bothers me having him out in the hall without any real supervision while class is in session, and she just brushed it off, saying she checks on him a few times and that since he's right by the teachers' lounge, the principal and all the other faculty are basically right there... I tried pointing out that if something were to actually happen to him... well, we all know how quickly things can go sideways, right?... So, what can I actually do about this... the library hours don't line up with the religious ed schedule at all... who am I supposed to talk to, and is there even any way to change how this is being handled?

🙂
This honestly sounds so heartbreaking.
I wouldn't even focus on the "what if something happens" part—I truly believe they'll be fine—but it just makes me sad to think of a child who’s supposed to be in school sitting out in the hallway like they're being punished. Just sitting there alone.
That's awful.
Right at the very beginning of their schooling, too.😢
Basically kicked out of the classroom.😢

We knew from the jump that there would be at least two other kids joining her, and I figured those parents wouldn't change their minds halfway through the term. Personally, I wouldn't agree to them sitting in the hall either, even if the teacher is checking in, just because you want them to be under someone's eye.

You should definitely reach out to the Child Advocate—they actually posted something about religious education recently—and maybe look into some advocacy groups or even contact the Department of Education.
Before that, try talking to someone else at the school again (maybe a counselor or the principal). Instead of framing it as "what if something happens," maybe approach it by saying you don't want your child to feel singled out by sitting in the hallway, which doesn't seem appropriate for a kid just starting school. Maybe they could move the class to an earlier period or find a dedicated space where the child can do something productive without being interrupted.
🙂
(The emoji I'd use isn't quite right for this, but still)

Is this happening in other grades too?

That sounds like a total disaster. Honestly, I think you need to file a formal withdrawal request. You might want to see if the Vatican has specific regulations on this—maybe they only allow withdrawals right before the new school year starts? It's worth a quick search online to be sure.

Maybe try asking the teacher if there's any wiggle room. Since the school year just kicked off and they're only in first grade, there might be an out. My kid went to one session and came home with his textbook; I didn't even have him write anything down. I told them beforehand that I wasn't sure about it and that we’d give the subject a fair shot first.

Kika, what they're doing to your child is completely unacceptable. If I were you, I’d take the advice from the other folks on this forum.

Here’s a sample text you could use. And frankly, here is some cold, hard evidence for everyone posting here about religious studies being an "elective." People clearly don't grasp the actual issues at hand because they keep hiding behind the excuse that it's an optional course.

I am getting closer and closer to just giving up on my kids receiving any more sacraments and formally leaving the Catholic Church. I just can't do it anymore. No amount of excuses from their moronic policies works for me, whether I'm praying or talking it out with theologians. It is honestly disgusting how these bureaucrats push their own agendas just to serve themselves.