Christening/baptising

MummyFreckle wrote: [

I have to stick my neck out here and say that just by sending your kids to a religious school (catholic or otherwise) doesnt mean that your kids are going to have better "values" than a child that goes to a state school. Values start at home, and I for one am not going to depend on teachers (regardless of the school) to teach my child the values that we live by in this family.

State schools will teach a similar set of principles to catholic schools without being based in a religious context, and without the guilt / concept of hellfire and damnation.

I believe we should be teaching children tolerance and acceptance as they are growing up a world with LOTS of different types of people, and if we start teaching them at an early age that XX person is bad / wrong because they dont go to church or their mummy and daddy arent married, then arent we setting them up to struggle when they have to survive in a high school / university / workplace where everyone is different.

 

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Ok, did you read the part in my post where I said "Also faith based education means your children are being taught in an environment that might be similar at home - IE values and morals and thinking of others, tolerence of difference and forgiveness"
FAITH based, so based on the principles of my faith and beliefs,
As far as I am aware, and believe me I reserched hard into the school I sent Jake to, no one is teaching anyone that people are bad or wrong if they don't believe/live to the chuches ways. If that was the case, no one would send their kids there, because that is fairly small minded, and its also fairly small minded to think that church schools teach this.
Interestingly, almost half of the schools students are immigrants. ethnic, mostly from the islands but also many brazillians, somalians and many that come from single parent families and blended families there are probably more poor students than rich ones so a diverse range of families that go to our school, so the kids are exposed to a wide variety of different cultures, beliefs and lifestyles. I have been actively involved with the community within the Church/Pre school/School for a number of years now, so am fairly sure that our families aren't being set up for a big shock when they hit college (no Catholic college here). There are 2 private schools here that are fundamentalist schools, now I can't speak for them, but I imagine there is more of that kind of small minded education in regards to right and wrong there, but as I don't go to or belong to their churches or communites, I couldn't say.
I don't think my children will be better behaved or any better than the kids who go to the schools round the corner, I sent them there because the education in a catholic school is simply the best, well, it is here anyway. ALL our year 8's go into year 9 at college in A band and continue on in that path, so that is something to aspire to I think.

Oh and FYI neither I, nor do any of the parents from the school that I know RELY on teachers to teach our kids morals/values etc, we do do all that in the home, but it is really reassuring that what is being taught at home is carried on at school in a similar manner.

Edited by fattartsrock

Oh ok I was christened (catholic) as a baby (my mum was hedging her bets ) and the catholics I've known have made a big thing of the difference so I just assumed it would be the same everywhere

caliandjack wrote: Without organised religion they'd be no such thing as the concept of God - that's what religion is all about. Ask any atheist.

I wouldn't consider an atheist to be the go-to person since most of them don't even have a proper concept of what 'atheism' means...