At Ask Me Help Desk you can ask questions in any topic and have them
answered for free by our experts. To ask questions or participate in
answering them you must register for a free account. By registering you
will be able to:
Get free answers from experts in any of our 300+
topics.
What do members think of Religous Education in their respective countries.
My apologies for any offence this may create. I am a total atheist, I cannot bring myself to believe in an omnipotent being, but that's who I am.
I am all for religous tolerance and feel that if "we" were all taught the basics about the various "main" religions of the world....maybe, just maybe the whole place would be a darn site nicer place!
Throughout history, more people have been killed, murdered, etc for the sake of one God or another than any other reason, and yet as far as I know all Gods teaching preach peace! (Those who wish to differ feel free)
The question is about religous education, not the merits of one God over another.
There is a fair middle ground. Kids should be made aware of the world and it's ways along with all the other stuff we teach and show them as they grow.
...but granted; we should not make it out to be an evil place or try to scare them.
There is a fair middle ground. Kids should be made aware of the world and it's ways along with all the other stuff we teach and show them as they grow.
...but granted; we should not make it out to be an evil place or try to scare them.
Yes, agreed! It's similar to sex education, I think. You don't introduce everything to kids at once, as it's too overwhelming. You gradually teach them things, as they can handle and understand it.
Tried to give you rep and couldn't... anyways I agree with you 100%! I don't see the point in teaching my children about all the horrors of the world and scaring them on purpose. There's plenty of time for them to learn about that world as they get older. Rather I'd like to concentrate on what they can do personally to make the world a better place. Like with a hurricane or a tsunami for instance, rather than dwell on how horrible it was and how it signals climate change or G-d's wrath or whatever, I would rather teach the kids the meaning of compassion... let them help with raising money or goods to send to the victims, etc. Let them see how in times of trouble like that people can band together to help the less fortunate, regardless of their beliefs. I never want my kids to give up hope.
My biological mother was a paranoid schizophrenic, and she was constantly telling me about the horrors of the world and how the world was unsafe, that it was going to end soon and G-d would save us, etc. All that did was terrorize me and cause trauma. It took me a long time in therapy to not feel that the world was a terrible place.
Yu really believe that's what I said?
The method you describe with the emphasis on the horrors taught to children along with the infusion of hopelessness has absolutely nothing to do with the preaching of the Good News of the Kingdom.
BTW
My three kids, who are now grown, thank me for having taught them that God offers hope for the future of mankind and that this world isn't all there is for us. It helped them to face up to the daily persecution they were subjected to by the other kidsin the neighborhood based on ethnic differences as well as a physically abusive mother who had no faith in God.
BTW
Their mother considered herself good people and so did all the kids involved in the persecution. I suspect they were somehow enjoying themselves while they still had time.
a physically abusive mother who had no faith in God.
Remember, she wasn't physically abusing because she had no faith in God, she was just a bad mother. Watch out for erroneous cause and effect relationships.
I am all for religous tolerance and feel that if "we" were all taught the basics about the various "main" religions of the world....maybe, just maybe the whole place would be a darn site nicer place
So the concensus ( bar one ) so far is that teaching about all the religions and faiths of the world is by far the most sensible way to bring up our children.
Knowledge is not dangerous but ingnorance is. That which you know can be understood - that which you are ignorant of you tend not to understand and therefore, fear.
I concur !! Children should not be brought up in fear.
So the concensus ( bar one ) so far is that teaching about all the religions and faiths of the world is by far the most sensible way to bring up our children.
Knowledge is not dangerous but ingnorance is. That which you know can be understood - that which you are ignorant of you tend not to understand and therefore, fear.
I concur !! Children should not be brought up in fear.
...........and may your god go with you
It would be worrisome to find anyone who disagreed with religious education. It puts the lie to the old axiom, "What you don't know can't hurt you." Ignorance can be deadly, especially when it is wedded to intolerance.
Hmmm, what an interesting concept you have there... almost like maybe require any educational facility that teaches religion to give a comparative course first? The only trouble I see with that is some countries would do it and some would not and some would dance on a slippery slope. What to do about all the noncompliance? Makes me shudder a little, hmm?
I have never been a big fan of legislated morality. I think its more potent as lessons learned on an individual basis. And while I agree with Morganite that ignorance can be deadly, I am also aware that while you can force a book in front of someone, you cannot necessarily make them learn. I see an easier softer path in that the world (meaning the majority of people) can put pressure on their respective religious leaders to adapt a respectful and tolerant tone that filters from the top down. I still believe we are the power even though we don't exercise it often enough.
This is the dawn of the "information age" and as the world learns, it changes and I think there may be some dawning awareness by churches that their flocks are far more sophisticated in their thinking than they once were, at least in places where information access is uninhibited. That is definately going to make a difference in the long run, I think!
Who we are in the world collectively is largely determined by how we were raised. And I really like what Ghandi said about "we must be the change we seek in the world." .....ergo, I am religiously tolerant, I like to think? If I had been blessed with kids, I would have hoped to pass that on to them.
It would be worrisome to find anyone who disagreed with religious education. It puts the lie to the old axiom, "What you don't know can't hurt you." Ignorance can be deadly, especially when it is wedded to intolerance.
It isn't worrisome at all. Leave it the parents to teach about religion not an educator.
It isn't worrisome at all. Leave it the parents to teach about religion not an educator.
Nods in agreement.. nod nod nod lol
Actually parents teach it, actively or subconsciously, whether they realise it or not.....as they do many many things.
RGANITE
Linear Mode
