Religion classes in school - Megathread

silentraven6 said: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.

Lately, I’ve been hearing quite a few religious educators venting about where their classes actually fit into the school schedule. It seems like in certain districts, religion classes are constantly being pushed to the sidelines or tucked away at awkward times. Whether it’s during those early zero or seventh periods, or even when you're working the opposite shift alongside other electives and extracurricular activities, there's always a way to make it work. They’re trying to justify it by pointing out that religion classes are elective, but I have to wonder—do the people in charge of school scheduling and organization actually have the right to set things up that way?

Honestly, I feel like there are just so many people out there doing absolutely nothing of value, yet they still act like they're essential to the world. It’s kind of frustrating to see! 😠

I’d love to know which school they’re talking about—who on earth is the lucky person getting the opposite shift?
The best part about those zero-period classes—especially when they're scheduled first thing in the morning—is that they mostly just inconvenience people who already cruised through college and landed solid jobs without breaking a sweat. Now, they’re stuck dragging themselves out of bed way too early. But hey, I guess if you're one of those kids sitting alone in the hallway, you probably don't care at all. It likely fits right in with their whole "holier-than-thou" moral compass.

Hey Kika, it might be a good idea to send an inquiry to this address as well. It would be worth seeing what they have to say about having the first graders sitting right there in the hallway by themselves. Also, I'd love to hear their take on whether or not teachers should be paid extra to supervise them, especially now that elective religious studies has been added to the official schedule alongside all the mandatory subjects.

By the way, if my kid is spending about two hours a week at school just sitting around doing absolutely nothing—she’s around 10 months old in terms of her grade level—does she actually have the right to take two days off? I'm wondering if I can just keep her home without it counting as an unexcused absence, or better yet, if there's a way to make sure those hours don't even show up on her attendance record at all.
I’m currently stockpiling my vacation days so I can actually travel without having to deal with those endless, soul-crushing faculty meetings.

They scheduled Sreca for the very last hour here, so she’s heading home now..
She's also the only one skipping religious studies..
Same goes for the first graders..

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Jeremy Fowler45 said:They scheduled Sreca for the very last hour here, so she’s heading home now..
She's also the only one skipping religious studies..
Same goes for the first graders..

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It's the same at our place—once a week during the last period (well, technically one week it's the very last hour, and another it's the second to last; their schedule shows an extra makeup session, so she mentioned they'll be outside during that time).
But honestly, what does that even matter when she's in after-school care and refuses to come home? And since she isn't ready to walk home alone yet, I'd have to drag my grandma into the mix to help out. I actually feel for the other two parents here, too—it's a real dilemma. I'd either have to pick up all the kids and watch them at my place, or leave this one child by themselves during that hour. I chatted with some other parents, and while some can just take their kids home, others absolutely can't...

Yeah, if they're in after-school care...
Mine isn't in the program...
But I doubt the next semester or even next year will have them stuck in that last period; it could just as easily be first or third...
The school is still gonna be buzzing for an hour regardless...
They’ve got the study hall set up in the hallway with chairs, armchairs, and books...
It's basically meant for the kids skipping class...
I think a teacher on duty walks through and checks on them...

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In my kid's class, it’s pretty much a fifty-fifty split when it comes to who signed up for religious studies—maybe a few more are enrolled than not, but it's basically even.
During the regular school day, since we aren't in an after-school program, the kids who take that class just head over to a different classroom for a bit; it works exactly like it does for the kids taking ESL, except instead of the whole class moving together, only those specific students head out.

We live over in Cleveland, and honestly, the only real drama I've heard about is from some friends of mine in the area who warned me that there was massive discrimination against the kids who don't participate in the religious curriculum, so we spent most of the summer going back and forth debating whether that was actually a thing or just total nonsense.

What do you mean by discrimination?

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Jeremy Fowler45 said:What do you mean by discrimination?

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I’ve honestly heard so much nonsense about kids being picked on or bullied just because they don't take religion classes.
Whenever I try to dig deeper and ask who actually went through this, nobody can ever point to a single real-life case or someone they actually know—it’s always just "well, someone told me that someone else said..."

I get that if you live in some tiny rural town where 29 out of 30 kids attend religious studies, that one kid who doesn't might feel like an outsider, but seeing this level of outcry in a big city like Cleveland was honestly pretty shocking to me.

In my opinion, it feels like parents—especially the ones constantly venting on social media 😁—are just making way more of a huge deal out of this than necessary.
Looking back, when I was going through Elementary School in the early 90s, we didn't think it was weird at all that some kids attended and others didn't. It never crossed my mind to make a massive drama over it; for instance, I went to the classes while my absolute best friend didn't, and I never once felt the need to grill her about why she wasn't there. 🤷

I was actually thinking the same thing. It feels like parents overreact too much, which ends up driving kids into programs they wouldn't have even considered otherwise.

conspiracytheorymodeon maybe this whole thing is being pushed by religious groups just to build a reputation that it's "better not to air your dirty laundry."conspiracytheorymodeoff
😂

Karen Richardson3 said:I’ve honestly heard so much nonsense about kids being picked on or bullied just because they don't take religion classes.
Whenever I try to dig deeper and ask who actually went through this, nobody can ever point to a single real-life case or someone they actually know—it’s always just "well, someone told me that someone else said..."

I get that if you live in some tiny rural town where 29 out of 30 kids attend religious studies, that one kid who doesn't might feel like an outsider, but seeing this level of outcry in a big city like Cleveland was honestly pretty shocking to me.

In my opinion, it feels like parents—especially the ones constantly venting on social media 😁—are just making way more of a huge deal out of this than necessary.
Looking back, when I was going through Elementary School in the early 90s, we didn't think it was weird at all that some kids attended and others didn't. It never crossed my mind to make a massive drama over it; for instance, I went to the classes while my absolute best friend didn't, and I never once felt the need to grill her about why she wasn't there. 🤷

This actually happened to my son back in first grade. I shut that behavior down immediately with the help of his teacher, who actually has some common sense and years of experience under her belt.
Even on the walk home, some kids went out of their way to provoke him with stuff like, "God exists, you just don't get it."

So, I made a deal with him. I told him that if anyone ever asks about God, religion, or why he doesn't go to church or Sunday school, he should just say he has no idea and tell them to ask his mom because she’s the one who decided it. That way, the kid is protected; he isn't targeted for making a choice that isn't even his, and the responsibility is placed squarely on my shoulders.

...And honestly? In all these years of schooling, not a single soul has approached me to question why I don't believe or why I don't send my child to religious classes. It’s almost disappointing, frankly.

The 90s weren't any better when it came to this. A few of us didn't participate in religious ed, and we had to deal with the exact same thing: explaining ourselves, defending our lack of belief against people insisting "God exists," and all that other mindless drivel... though personally, it never really got under my skin.

Oh, and since I have a boyfriend—and men often feel the need to prove themselves physically—I actually signed him up for Krav Maga and rugby (a bit of a heavy category for him). I just want to make sure he knows how to defend himself if things ever escalate to that level I constantly worry about....

Karen Richardson3 said:I’ve honestly heard so much nonsense about kids being picked on or bullied just because they don't take religion classes.
Whenever I try to dig deeper and ask who actually went through this, nobody can ever point to a single real-life case or someone they actually know—it’s always just "well, someone told me that someone else said..."

I get that if you live in some tiny rural town where 29 out of 30 kids attend religious studies, that one kid who doesn't might feel like an outsider, but seeing this level of outcry in a big city like Cleveland was honestly pretty shocking to me.

In my opinion, it feels like parents—especially the ones constantly venting on social media 😁—are just making way more of a huge deal out of this than necessary.
Looking back, when I was going through Elementary School in the early 90s, we didn't think it was weird at all that some kids attended and others didn't. It never crossed my mind to make a massive drama over it; for instance, I went to the classes while my absolute best friend didn't, and I never once felt the need to grill her about why she wasn't there. 🤷

Your perspective comes from your own experience, living in a major city. We can probably agree that America is much larger than just its biggest metropolitan areas. And even in those big cities, tolerance isn't exactly universal.

Small towns aren't outliers; they are often the ones actively maintaining the status quo because people are terrified of being judged. They act as brakes on progress because you're constantly stuck in this defensive position where it's hard to speak your mind. Not everyone is brave or revolutionary—like my friend from elementary school whose sister basically invited her to sit in on a religious class just to tell her in front of everyone that Satan would devour her. My friend gave her a legendary comeback and got a standing ovation from the rest of us. Obviously, not every small town is like that, but the experiences of most of my colleagues from rural areas are pretty similar—whether it's religion, music, sexual orientation, or social status, it's just more intense in those smaller communities.

And I don't see the issue with the outcry regarding how inappropriate the eighth-grade religious studies textbooks are. They repeat certain points that shouldn't be allowed in a free society within a state institution that pays the teachers but doesn't have the right to choose them through a competitive hiring process.

Saying you "understand" why things might be different in smaller towns is like saying you understand why coming out is harder in a Small town in the Midwest than it is in Washington, D.C. But look, I still think people overreact. To me, it's not "drama," it's an awareness of injustice. I don't see how that's a bad thing.

PS: I know I'm in a bit of a tense writing mode here, but I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not trying to start a nasty verbal fight with you 😁 (plus, it's been a while since we talked, so if you're up for it, let's chew the fat a bit).

Around here, classes stay pretty small—usually capped at about 20 kids—and honestly, at least a third of them don't even show up for religion class. So, I guess they just merged two different grades together to hold the sessions collectively.
And looking at the schedule, it’s either the very last period for the first graders or it happens right before lunch during the afternoon shift.
I really don't see any kind of discrimination happening here. I mean, if I actually heard my kid making some nasty comment about it, I’d probably just assume they picked up that kind of attitude from somewhere else at home, you know? Like, maybe they heard someone talking down about the kids who don't take the class.

silentraven6 said:Your perspective comes from your own experience, living in a major city. We can probably agree that America is much larger than just its biggest metropolitan areas. And even in those big cities, tolerance isn't exactly universal.

Small towns aren't outliers; they are often the ones actively maintaining the status quo because people are terrified of being judged. They act as brakes on progress because you're constantly stuck in this defensive position where it's hard to speak your mind. Not everyone is brave or revolutionary—like my friend from elementary school whose sister basically invited her to sit in on a religious class just to tell her in front of everyone that Satan would devour her. My friend gave her a legendary comeback and got a standing ovation from the rest of us. Obviously, not every small town is like that, but the experiences of most of my colleagues from rural areas are pretty similar—whether it's religion, music, sexual orientation, or social status, it's just more intense in those smaller communities.

And I don't see the issue with the outcry regarding how inappropriate the eighth-grade religious studies textbooks are. They repeat certain points that shouldn't be allowed in a free society within a state institution that pays the teachers but doesn't have the right to choose them through a competitive hiring process.

Saying you "understand" why things might be different in smaller towns is like saying you understand why coming out is harder in a Small town in the Midwest than it is in Washington, D.C. But look, I still think people overreact. To me, it's not "drama," it's an awareness of injustice. I don't see how that's a bad thing.

PS: I know I'm in a bit of a tense writing mode here, but I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not trying to start a nasty verbal fight with you 😁 (plus, it's been a while since we talked, so if you're up for it, let's chew the fat a bit).

Well, yeah, it is harder, but people in D.C. act like they're living in a tiny Midwest town, you know?
I'm pretty sure this happens in D.C., Cleveland, and everywhere else, but I really don't believe it's widespread enough that parents should enroll their kids in religion just out of fear.

I was in 7th grade when religious studies was introduced. I didn't take it. Nobody ever really questioned why, though to be fair, my teachers had much bigger issues with me talking in class than they ever did with religious studies. 😂

rowdypanther12 said:Well, yeah, it is harder, but people in D.C. act like they're living in a tiny Midwest town, you know?
I'm pretty sure this happens in D.C., Cleveland, and everywhere else, but I really don't believe it's widespread enough that parents should enroll their kids in religion just out of fear.

I was in 7th grade when religious studies was introduced. I didn't take it. Nobody ever really questioned why, though to be fair, my teachers had much bigger issues with me talking in class than they ever did with religious studies. 😂

Alright, look, it's true there's a bit of drama going on. Even Clint Eastwood thinks we're part of a "soft" generation.🤣

I think people—myself included—have just finally had enough. It feels like it's reached a breaking point where it's about principle now. People want a fair society. For me personally, it's the way the subject is taught and the status it holds that really bothers me.

Look, I agree that sometimes you have to step up, take charge, and do what needs to be done when the situation calls for it.
But I honestly feel like there's this manufactured narrative that children are inevitably going to be "marked," alienated, or mistreated...
Nobody actually wants that for their kid. That’s why people sign them up for religious studies for no real reason, and then they get annoyed when they're expected to actually show up to church.

rowdypanther12 said:Look, I agree that sometimes you have to step up, take charge, and do what needs to be done when the situation calls for it.
But I honestly feel like there's this manufactured narrative that children are inevitably going to be "marked," alienated, or mistreated...
Nobody actually wants that for their kid. That’s why people sign them up for religious studies for no real reason, and then they get annoyed when they're expected to actually show up to church.

🙂

I see it a bit differently.

Sure, kids aren't being "marked" or anything—that's mostly just perception—but they definitely end up getting blamed for things they shouldn't be.
For example, whenever something goes wrong at school, like someone tagging a wall or breaking equipment, the first kids they look at are the ones who weren't in class but were still on campus.
And honestly, that’s where those who skipped religion class really get the short end of the stick, because they’re wandering the hallways without any supervision (it's happened before). I'm not saying the kids in class are always innocent, but they aren't the ones responsible. Sometimes a parent will enroll their child in that class just to ensure they are under some kind of adult supervision to avoid any trouble. Plus, some kids are naturally more energetic and really do need that extra oversight.
What I mean is, it isn't just about religious discrimination; it's about parents who, if they don't know the exact schedule for electives like religion or computer science, just sign their kid up so they aren't left to explore secret hallway routes or hang out unsupervised.

Things get even messier with other electives, too—like a second language, religion, or computer lab. There are always kids roaming the halls during class because it's impossible to schedule everything perfectly. And can you imagine the chaos if they scheduled religion and computer science at the exact same time? 😲, people would be forced to choose, and everyone would probably just pick computer science.

My hometown is tiny.
Most kids here come in packs of twenty.
If I ever noticed anything off, I’d just pull an Azzura and tell people their parents already made up their minds...
Plus, she does karate.
There were three kids in her class who didn't want to go, though I think those two changed their minds and joined in.
Mine's the only one left who isn't going..
I honestly think most people will assume she's Muslim just based on her name..

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Small update on my end, I finally reached out to the school board and they sent back this incredibly detailed response, backed by a whole mountain of articles and documentation, so now I’m just stuck wading through all of it to make sense of things, and after I have another meeting with the teacher we'll see where we actually stand... someone was asking about the other grades or if they're just hanging out in the hallways or the library, because from what I've heard, there are groups of two or three kids everywhere who aren't even showing up to class... we happen to be lucky enough that our kid is the only one from their specific class not attending, but honestly, I find this entire situation completely unacceptable and I am fully prepared to keep pushing, negotiating, and showing up to every single meeting necessary until this gets fixed...

Whether it's one child or two, it doesn't really matter. They shouldn't be leaving things out in the hallway like that.
It’s great that you’re going into the interview all prepared 👍

silentraven6 said:Your perspective comes from your own experience, living in a major city. We can probably agree that America is much larger than just its biggest metropolitan areas. And even in those big cities, tolerance isn't exactly universal.

Small towns aren't outliers; they are often the ones actively maintaining the status quo because people are terrified of being judged. They act as brakes on progress because you're constantly stuck in this defensive position where it's hard to speak your mind. Not everyone is brave or revolutionary—like my friend from elementary school whose sister basically invited her to sit in on a religious class just to tell her in front of everyone that Satan would devour her. My friend gave her a legendary comeback and got a standing ovation from the rest of us. Obviously, not every small town is like that, but the experiences of most of my colleagues from rural areas are pretty similar—whether it's religion, music, sexual orientation, or social status, it's just more intense in those smaller communities.

And I don't see the issue with the outcry regarding how inappropriate the eighth-grade religious studies textbooks are. They repeat certain points that shouldn't be allowed in a free society within a state institution that pays the teachers but doesn't have the right to choose them through a competitive hiring process.

Saying you "understand" why things might be different in smaller towns is like saying you understand why coming out is harder in a Small town in the Midwest than it is in Washington, D.C. But look, I still think people overreact. To me, it's not "drama," it's an awareness of injustice. I don't see how that's a bad thing.

PS: I know I'm in a bit of a tense writing mode here, but I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not trying to start a nasty verbal fight with you 😁 (plus, it's been a while since we talked, so if you're up for it, let's chew the fat a bit).

I’m almost at a loss for words because I pretty much agree with everything you said 😁

I was really just speaking from my own personal experience living in Cleveland.
Basically, this past summer, I found myself in these deep conversations about how kids who opt out of religious studies get treated in Cleveland. It felt totally surreal to me, especially when you consider the actual percentage of non-Catholics in the city—you've got Orthodox folks, Muslims, atheists—and that whole local vibe where people try to brand the city as this "cool, progressive, tolerant, anti-fascist hub."

Based on what my friends were telling me, I fully expected my kid to be one of the few outliers who didn't participate, so I decided to just take the risk of dealing with some potential discrimination.

But guess what? Nothing happened. In fact, nearly half the class skips it; they just sit there watching Disney cartoons while the others are off in religion class.

What I find fascinating is this growing narrative about the near-persecution of kids who don't attend these classes, which has somehow made its way even to Cleveland—a place that, if my gut is right, probably has some of the lowest participation rates in the entire US.

It would feel just as bizarre if that kind of blatant discrimination were happening in Washington, D.C., too. Sure, I can wrap my head around individual people making snide comments because that's how they were raised, much like how people might face prejudice simply because they aren't originally from D.C. and moved there later (if we're being honest, there seems to be more online bashing of people from the South or rural areas than there is actual outcry over kids skipping religion class), but that doesn't mean the city itself is inherently discriminatory.

On the flip side, I completely get why it feels so much harder in smaller towns, where any kind of deviation from the norm gets you some pretty nasty looks.

As for the textbooks and stuff, I haven't really followed it closely; I saw a headline about that controversial religious textbook, but then just the other day there was that whole drama involving a woman and her mom, and I'm starting to get the impression that people just love to stir up panic. Even the liberal media outlets jump on it, framing everything as this looming "threat of backwardness" just to trigger clicks and comments. It’s a total conflict of interest because these news sites aren't trying to inform you; they're just chasing engagement.

Personally, a much bigger issue for me is that Disney cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse where they sing that song about "it's a mouse thing"—it sounds so suggestive, almost like they're singing about a penis, and to me, it honestly feels like some weirdly inappropriate pamphlet. 😁

LOL, I'm actually crying here 😂
You totally saved my experience watching the most annoying cartoon ever, thanks 😂