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Nov 13, 2018 at 8:37 comment added Eric Duminil Truly excellent answer. Congrats!
Apr 6, 2017 at 12:28 comment added G. Bach @SteveJessop "I take in that in Germany, Religion classes aren't intended for proselytisation" Having grown up in one of the more Catholic corners of Germany and having visited Catholic religious classes until my penultimate school year, my impression was always that those classes are very much intended for religious instruction and proselytization. The option to offer that kind of religious indoctrination is even enshrined at the constitutional level for recognized religious organizations, see Art. 7 (3) GG.
Mar 3, 2017 at 9:01 history bounty ended CommunityBot
Mar 3, 2017 at 8:32 comment added RedSonja @sleske It was attending a CofE school that made me an atheist. On the other hand I wanted my kids to learn about the world as it is, including learning about religion. In fact they didn't seem to do much dogma at all. They know a lot less Bible than I do. And now they are grown they manage without deities, but appreciate that some people need them. I am happy with the result.
Mar 3, 2017 at 8:19 comment added sleske @RedSonja: True, though it should be pointed out that many parents want their children to learn about their religion and associated culture, so in a way it is a service for religious parents, to supplement their education.
Mar 9, 2015 at 12:52 comment added RedSonja @Steve Jessop in Germany many schools and Kindergartens are run by a church, who seize the opportunity for proselytising. In my personal experience they are not aggressive about it.
Mar 9, 2015 at 11:14 comment added Steve Jessop ... I take in that in Germany, Religion classes aren't intended for proselytisation, but I also expect they presume the children choose the class for the faith they already belong to via their parents. So there is a kind of procedural problem here, that the system probably isn't designed for this situation, and that's what the questioner has to compensate for. If the class at some later point requires the children to affirm Catholic catechism then that would certainly be a point to assess the situation again, IMO.
Mar 9, 2015 at 11:11 comment added Steve Jessop @erdekhayser: I didn't want to get into the nature of free will, but certainly one of the possible outcomes in the "capable of disbelieving it" case, is that the child is equipped to disbelieve it and nevertheless does believe it through faith and in time becomes a Catholic. But the questioner says they're only really troubled about brainwashing due to the child's naivety, not about conversion of someone who understands what they're being told.
Mar 9, 2015 at 9:17 comment added James Snell @erdekhayser - it is. There is also a distinct difference between learning about the beliefs, history and customs of a religion (which are verifiable facts) including the unpalatable or contentious parts versus a sugar coated version that attempts to encourage students to adopt that religion outside the classroom... The latter being a specific concern the OP believes to be the case and is addressed in this answer.
Mar 8, 2015 at 14:43 comment added erdekhayser @swbarnes2 Isn't that belief without concrete evidence what people call "faith"?
Mar 8, 2015 at 11:40 vote accept CommunityBot
Mar 7, 2015 at 1:07 comment added swbarnes2 This answer for me is has really got their finger right on the problem. Your kid learns things in science class that are backed up by solid observations, and things in history class backed up by solid evidence. It sounds like this religion class is being taught as if the claims were as well backed up as the claims in math and history and science, but you need to tell your kid that that's just not so when it comes to any religion. Your kid might find the claims of certainty appealing, you need to break that illusion.
Mar 6, 2015 at 18:39 history edited Steve Jessop CC BY-SA 3.0
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Mar 6, 2015 at 18:25 history edited Steve Jessop CC BY-SA 3.0
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Mar 6, 2015 at 18:20 review First posts
Mar 6, 2015 at 18:34
Mar 6, 2015 at 18:19 history answered Steve Jessop CC BY-SA 3.0