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Explaining religion to a 5 year old

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    #32
    shesty
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    lazygal wrote: »
    It's just all sorts of wrong. Seeing little children chanting these horrible prayers and thinking they have sins and that they should draw a dying man. Baffles me that so many teachers think it's lovely and parents go along with it.

    I seriously doubt you will find teachers out there thinking it's lovely....more like one more thing they have to cram into a day of subjects.Parents just don't really have a choice.Personally I would happy for religion to be taken out of schools and if you want your child to have a religious education you should go put the effort in yourself, but clearly that idea has yet to gain enough traction to take off.

    We don't do change very well in Ireland.


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    #33
    Neyite
    Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    lazygal wrote: »
    I don't think a child needs to know about a man being tortured in any context.

    I'm loath to defend the RCC but the entire religion was based on the man being tortured. :pac: They can't teach Catholicism without it. The Crucifix is basically the staple symbol of Catholicism. These days thankfully they gloss over a fair bit of the gory stuff we had taught to us at that age and religion class is steered more towards love and kindness than hell and damnation.

    For what it's worth, I agree that religion is something that should be taken out of our schools curriculum entirely, and ideally have a Sunday School system for parents who want to teach their children the faith instead. But I fear that's rather too...Protestant for the high-ups in the RCC to implement. Ditto with female or married priests.


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    #34
    Dravokivich
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Music Moderators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 22,360 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dravokivich


    lazygal wrote: »
    Grow in Love is awful. Encourages children to draw the crucifixion, what kind of person wants children drawing pictures of a man being torturered to death. And also has the "Mary says yes" story where a child is encouraged to say yes to any authority figure once it is religious. Just such a toxic message.

    I'm not really too unsettled by that, my son learned of sacrifice through Terminator 2.

    My only issue with it is the "At Home" segments that focus on praying. Other than that, it's just another workbook.


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    #35
    shesty
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    It probably says everything about my child's religious education that not once has any mention of 'At Home' stuff come my way.I haven't laid eyes on the book since I sent it in in September.


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    #36
    Neyite
    Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    shesty wrote: »
    It probably says everything about my child's religious education that not once has any mention of 'At Home' stuff come my way.I haven't laid eyes on the book since I sent it in in September.


    Same as us. :pac:


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    #37
    Digs
    Registered Users Posts: 2,102 ✭✭✭Digs


    shesty wrote: »
    It probably says everything about my child's religious education that not once has any mention of 'At Home' stuff come my way.I haven't laid eyes on the book since I sent it in in September.

    Lol have to agree! My daughter was in a multi denom Gaelscoil and we moved her to a Gaelscoil a little further away which so happens to be RC. I have never laid eyes on her religion books nor am I inundated with questions from her but that’s probably because she’s too busy asking every single question that fills her waking moments :D

    OP when our daughter does ask us questions, generally stemming from funerals, weddings etc we ask her what she thinks and how she feels about it. As with all aspects of life we want to encourage our children to develop their own thoughts on it. We tell her what we believe but then follow it up with how others may feel differently and encourage her to do the same while tolerating how others feel. Moving her to an RC school has changed absolutely nothing for us (except that coincidentally our experiences with the schools have been night and day but that has nothing to do with this topic!).


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    #38
    CheerLouth
    Registered Users Posts: 2,443 ✭✭✭CheerLouth


    We must be in the minority who do actually do the religion homework with our little girl. We've always done bedtime prayers and now our little girl is adding in her own prayer that she has learned at school and she says the Grace before we have our dinner. I like the idea that she has some faith to keep her comforted should she ever need it down the line.

    That said, we do not agree with all of the concepts of the catholic church & nor to do we encourage her to believe with a blind faith.


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    #39
    seannash
    Registered Users Posts: 5,672 ✭✭✭seannash


    CheerLouth wrote: »
    nor to do we encourage her to believe with a blind faith.
    So evidence based faith.... So science?


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    #40
    CheerLouth
    Registered Users Posts: 2,443 ✭✭✭CheerLouth


    What I am saying is that we don't encourage to believe everything everyone tells her and that goes for everything in life, not just religion.


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    #41
    seannash
    Registered Users Posts: 5,672 ✭✭✭seannash


    CheerLouth wrote: »
    What I am saying is that we don't encourage to believe everything everyone tells her and that goes for everything in life, not just religion.

    Okay, thats fair enough and in fairness is a good way to have her make up her own mind. just curious, do you tell her god is real?
    Also if she isnt to believe everything and everyone she hears what do tell her when she asks "how do i know what's the truth"

    Not trying to pick holes, i just dont know how anyone can explain faith but not believe blindly and id be curious to hear how you'd balance that


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    #42
    shesty
    Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,908 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    CheerLouth wrote: »
    I like the idea that she has some faith to keep her comforted should she ever need it down the line.

    That said, we do not agree with all of the concepts of the catholic church & nor to do we encourage her to believe with a blind faith.

    This is exactly how I feel.


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    #43
    CheerLouth
    Registered Users Posts: 2,443 ✭✭✭CheerLouth


    seannash wrote: »
    Okay, thats fair enough and in fairness is a good way to have her make up her own mind. just curious, do you tell her god is real?
    Also if she isnt to believe everything and everyone she hears what do tell her when she asks "how do i know what's the truth"

    Not trying to pick holes, i just dont know how anyone can explain faith but not believe blindly and id be curious to hear how you'd balance that

    She has never asked me if God is real or not so we haven't come to that yet. No doubt it will happen and then I will tell her that I believe he is (which I do) but also that plenty of people don't believe and that's fine too. At this point, she is happy to say her prayers and our religion practice is basically being kind to each other & everyone that we meet & saying our prayers at bedtime.

    I don't know about blind belief but I do believe that there is a God of some description but do I believe everything that the Catholic church tells me I should - absolutely not.


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    #44
    AngryLoner
    Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭AngryLoner


    My 5 year old goes to Educate Together (because, like OP, it was the nearest and best school) so they haven't really touched on religion yet much. But when my kid does ask questions I'll just say some people believe X, some people believe Y but in reality it's all a great mystery ... a puzzle yet to be solved... that should keep his head busy...


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