Religion classes in school - Megathread

Look, even baptism is supposed to be about understanding. Honestly, people—there’s just no logic left in this world. It’s about following, plain and simple.

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frozenrider15 said:Someone please correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that they have to attend both the school-based programs and the parish classes if they want to receive First Communion and Confirmation. That is, assuming they want to stay on track with their classmates, of course. From what I've gathered, you can't really have one without the other.

So you're saying both? Like, you can't just stick to the school curriculum?
We've got this priest at our local parish—God help us, what a total piece of work. Just some young, self-important "philosopher" type who thinks he's God's gift to the world.
Just thinking about all the massive headaches he caused me during my wedding and my little one's baptism... honestly, unbelievable.👎

feralmoose32 said:I think you might have missed a detail there—he actually wanted them to receive communion, he just didn't want them standing up at the altar with everyone else, maybe because he thought it wouldn't look right or something like that...

Besides, the child has Down, and they attend school with an aide—do you really think they have no idea what's going on?

People with Down aren't mentally incapable; they understand way more than you'd think, and honestly, they are often much more sincere in their faith than a lot of "devout Catholics" out there...

Yeah, I definitely have to admit I missed the mark on that one. I just saw the headlines floating around online and totally jumped to conclusions myself. I was under the impression the whole issue was that they were denying him the sacrament because of his special needs, not realizing the guy actually wanted him to participate, just... tucked away in a corner somewhere. That part is honestly pretty heartbreaking.

Susan James said:Maybe confession isn't necessary🤣 🤷
if a person hasn't done anything wrong, then there's no need for Confession, and they can receive Communion. You don't go to Confession every single time before Communion unless you've actually sinned. The goal isn't to sin just so you can confess; it's to live without sinning. That's how I was taught growing up in the church. 🧐 🙂)

If a priest views the sacrament the way you described, then that little boy probably shouldn't have been participating in First Communion at all—maybe even religious ed classes if he doesn't grasp the lessons. The real question is why he was allowed to participate until now? Why was he permitted to receive the sacrament if he doesn't understand it?

To be completely honest, looking at the big picture here rather than just this specific situation (since, clearly, I totally botched my initial take), I just don't get the logic behind handing out things like confession, communion, or confirmation to people who don't really wrap their heads around concepts like sin, forgiveness, or the Holy Spirit.

Tyler Ruiz502 said:Look, even baptism is supposed to be about understanding. Honestly, people—there’s just no logic left in this world. It’s about following, plain and simple.

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It’s not quite the same thing, though. For these later milestones, there’s a specific age and a level of cognitive maturity expected to really process what's happening.
Anyway, it doesn't matter now, I basically crashed the party without knowing the full story. But if this parent really intended for the child to receive communion just by being sidelined off to the side, that is truly awful.

Harold Cook2 said:So you're saying both? Like, you can't just stick to the school curriculum?
We've got this priest at our local parish—God help us, what a total piece of work. Just some young, self-important "philosopher" type who thinks he's God's gift to the world.
Just thinking about all the massive headaches he caused me during my wedding and my little one's baptism... honestly, unbelievable.👎

You can't even get to First Communion if you don't take the parish religious ed classes. That's how they explained it to me—that the school program and the church program are supposed to complement one another. Honestly, I was asking all those questions because the idea of getting a letter grade for something rooted in faith seems totally absurd to me, so I wasn't even sure we'd sign her up. In the end, we decided against it because we didn't want her to feel left out from the rest of the kids, so we went with the school's curriculum instead.

frozenrider15 said:You can't even get to First Communion if you don't take the parish religious ed classes. That's how they explained it to me—that the school program and the church program are supposed to complement one another. Honestly, I was asking all those questions because the idea of getting a letter grade for something rooted in faith seems totally absurd to me, so I wasn't even sure we'd sign her up. In the end, we decided against it because we didn't want her to feel left out from the rest of the kids, so we went with the school's curriculum instead.

So you gotta do the church stuff too. But could you, like, just do the church classes and skip the school ones? Would that still count for communion?

Harold Cook2 said:So you gotta do the church stuff too. But could you, like, just do the church classes and skip the school ones? Would that still count for communion?

I'm honestly not sure. In my experience, mine had to knock out both just to be eligible for communion in NYC. I can't tell if it's a local rule specific to the diocese or if it’s some universal standard they enforce everywhere.

frozenrider15 said:I'm honestly not sure. In my experience, mine had to knock out both just to be eligible for communion in NYC. I can't tell if it's a local rule specific to the diocese or if it’s some universal standard they enforce everywhere.

Ah, gotcha. Well, we'll see when the time actually comes. Just curious, that's all.

frozenrider15 said:I'm honestly not sure. In my experience, mine had to knock out both just to be eligible for communion in NYC. I can't tell if it's a local rule specific to the diocese or if it’s some universal standard they enforce everywhere.

It seems to me like it boils down to the individual priest's discretion. It’s a lot like when they refuse to baptize a child because the parents aren't married—though whether they're civilly married or had a church wedding usually changes the conversation. Even with godparents, it varies wildly from one parish to the next; some priests are totally fine with unmarried godparents, while others are much more selective about who they deem "suitable." In my local church, some friends wanted a family friend who was divorced to be the godmother, and the priest flat-out refused—told them to find someone else. Honestly, people have lost their minds over this stuff... though, in the end, the priest did cave.

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frozenrider15 said:I'm honestly not sure. In my experience, mine had to knock out both just to be eligible for communion in NYC. I can't tell if it's a local rule specific to the diocese or if it’s some universal standard they enforce everywhere.

Honestly, it probably comes down to the local situation and the priest you're dealing with. I know a Catholic family where the kids go to a Jewish private school; the little guy just attended the parish religious ed classes and did his Communion there.

But yeah, he doesn't have access to Catholic religion classes at his actual school...

Around here, you’re expected to show up for both if you're looking to get through communion or confirmation.

It looks like my kid probably won’t be taking communion, even though we’ve talked about it quite a bit. He just isn't interested, and honestly, I don't have the heart to go in and get into a heated debate with the local priest about why he isn't attending religious studies class at school.

I actually did have the energy for a while—I really thought I was going to stand my ground and fight for what I believe is right—but his hesitation is the deciding factor for me. I just don't think a child should be forced into something they don't fully grasp yet, purely out of a sense of obligation or just to follow the rules.

To be honest, I think he might be leaning toward atheism, which I’m perfectly fine with; it's his choice to make. He'll still have plenty of opportunities to see how people practice their faith and hear the teachings, so let him decide whenever he feels a genuine, sincere desire to participate.

Chloe Roberts2 said:Around here, you’re expected to show up for both if you're looking to get through communion or confirmation.

That’s why kids basically storm out of church right after their confirmation, since they're pretty much done with all the religious bullying... ☕
Plus, they aren't exactly jumping for joy about it, which is the same reason they end up sitting through religion class at school too... 😁

Honestly, kids pick up on everything—the prayers, the confessions, all the theatrics involved in that whole circus... I mean, how could they not?
As for me, I was baptized... but I never went through First Communion or Confirmation. I ended up having a church wedding because my husband really insisted on it, even though I wasn't thrilled about the idea. I was pretty upfront with him, though; I told him straight out that I had no intention of doing any religious rites like Confirmation or Communion. Later on, we had our children baptized just like everyone else. But if I ever had to go back and redo all of that now? There is absolutely no way I’d ever marry in a church again. Honestly, the whole thing just turns my stomach.
In truth, I probably wouldn't have even married at all. I would have just lived in a common-law marriage.

And besides, what business does an eight or nine-year-old kid have with making a confession? It’s just distasteful.

granitewolf20 said:Hey!

coppermarlin14, I checked "no" too—so if you haven't moved away (not since you had 😉 ), mine isn't going anywhere either

Nope, I'm still here....🙂

In that case, it looks like there will be quite a few of us... maybe even more... that’s actually really great!!!🎉

coppermarlin14 said:Honestly, kids pick up on everything—the prayers, the confessions, all the theatrics involved in that whole circus... I mean, how could they not?
As for me, I was baptized... but I never went through First Communion or Confirmation. I ended up having a church wedding because my husband really insisted on it, even though I wasn't thrilled about the idea. I was pretty upfront with him, though; I told him straight out that I had no intention of doing any religious rites like Confirmation or Communion. Later on, we had our children baptized just like everyone else. But if I ever had to go back and redo all of that now? There is absolutely no way I’d ever marry in a church again. Honestly, the whole thing just turns my stomach.
In truth, I probably wouldn't have even married at all. I would have just lived in a common-law marriage.

And besides, what business does an eight or nine-year-old kid have with making a confession? It’s just distasteful.

Well, maybe they just don't have much to talk about compared to teenagers, who are constantly caught up in that whirlwind of adolescent chaos...

For instance, when my mother was thirteen, a priest actually had the audacity to ask her during confession if she had ever engaged in any sexual acts with animals. 😲

After that encounter, my grandmother—a woman who prayed at least once every single day—never set foot in a church again, though she did make sure to carry a butcher knife with her just in case she ran into that specific priest... thankfully, she didn't... So, I think it’s pretty easy to see why I ended up as an unbaptized atheist...

I know a woman who would go through the entire ritual of confession, pouring her heart out to the priest, only to step out of the church and laugh to herself, saying, "Haha, I totally played him! I didn't believe a single word I told him!"

🙂
The topic is religious studies in school, not a confession.

coppermarlin14 said:Honestly, kids pick up on everything—the prayers, the confessions, all the theatrics involved in that whole circus... I mean, how could they not?
As for me, I was baptized... but I never went through First Communion or Confirmation. I ended up having a church wedding because my husband really insisted on it, even though I wasn't thrilled about the idea. I was pretty upfront with him, though; I told him straight out that I had no intention of doing any religious rites like Confirmation or Communion. Later on, we had our children baptized just like everyone else. But if I ever had to go back and redo all of that now? There is absolutely no way I’d ever marry in a church again. Honestly, the whole thing just turns my stomach.
In truth, I probably wouldn't have even married at all. I would have just lived in a common-law marriage.

And besides, what business does an eight or nine-year-old kid have with making a confession? It’s just distasteful.

Mine just stopped attending religious education classes the moment they realized they were expected to go to confession before they could even take communion.

Just checking in to note that two more souls have been purged from this cultish input machine

Anthony Nguyen13 said:Just checking in to note that two more souls have been purged from this cultish input machine

👍

I think people generally tend to underestimate just how much power there really is in using the "ignore" button...