what about a Jewish one :D:

I'm not touching that subject, Livia will chop my balls off :D

Do people somehow get the impression that "religious" schools somehow drum the bible into you?

I went to a catholic school but I don't believe it made any difference. There were masses held in the school hall, which you had the choice to attend or not, you had the choice to be confirmed or not, religious education wasn't about trying to make you believe the bible but studying varying different religions/cultures and how they've developed over the years, how the religious groups split etc.

A valid cultural education for anyone whether you're a believer or atheist.

It is bad though :laugh: I don't consider myself to be Catholic anymore though just because I was born into it. Sooner they take the Religious aspect out of our supposedly state schools the better tbh

They do over here

That is my experience with my kids education

Ah well, Ireland is another kettle of fish altogether. :hugesmile:

..no, we don't at all, religious topics are covered but it's all religions not just Christian ones..the children have bible stories once a week for around 15 minutes, which is the only time the bible is covered ...and they are 'moral' stories...it's not a Catholic school though, so it's probably different for them...I told you about my work colleague and his marriage..?...I should say that the restrictions placed aren't from the school as such, it's more from the parents and what they want...

Nope they cover all religions as part of the RE curriculum.

Sorry, I shouldn't have referred to "all religious" schools as I only have experience with catholic ones. :hugesmile:

Apparently so.

what are you suggesting? we ban all catholic schools? we ban any talk of religious parables ? ban hymns in the morning? where do you draw the line?

jim davidson was pretty much booted off a tv show for using the term shirt lifter

yes its just a Old Term for Gay

Not at all.......if you read my post properly you would have seen i was talking about "state" run schools which are actually Catholic, which make up over 90% of the schools in Ireland.

why would you ban them all as opposed to tightening regulations and scrutinising them better? are they performing any worse than the other schools/

I would rather "state" run schools be purely educational, if people want to send their kids to religious run schools that would be their choice, I don't want to but currently I have very little choice in the matter as all the schools in or near my area (and probably the majority of areas over here) are religious run schools eventhough they are state schools not private. imo the state should not be influenced by religion and currently almost all of our schools are.

im surprised theres no choice at all
what is it in particular you detest about these catholic schools? I read their performance tables are on average higherthan most other schools

Its a disgusting liberty that the word religion and schools are uttered in the same breath.

There should be NO religion anywhere near a school:nono:

I'm sure you did read that about privately run Catholic schools but that's not what I'm talking about here, I'm talking about state schools in Ireland which are pretty much all Catholic run. They shouldn't be, state schools should not be run by the church, I don't detest Catholic run schools but I would have preferred to send my children to a school that doesn't teach Catholicism as fact...........which is what happens in these schools. People can choose to send their children to religious schools if they like, that's their prerogative, I didn't want to but I had no choice unless I took my kids out of our area and travelled a long way to and from home every day with them which wasn't doable for me and wouldn't have been fair on them

That's just as bad, parents forcing their religious beliefs on their children and basically indoctrinating them is disgusting

Faith schools shouldn't exist full stop. Religious beliefs are a personal, private and individual choice that should be made after studying and understanding different viewpoints when at an age where you're capable of forming your own rational opinions, not having them taught to children as fact from an early age whether in the home or at school. It's sickening

Well I guess that's another argument completely and whilst I agree with you as a person who doesn't believe in God, I guess if you truly do believe in God and the teachings of your particular religion then I suppose you would think you're doing your children a dis service by not bringing them up the way their God says, you know?

yes indoctrinating kids with atheism and anti religious teachings is equally disgusting

If I felt as strongly as you seem to do about how awful catholic schools are I would leave to an area which provides a school with no religious element. though personally I think the religious element is in many ways a good thing and this is illustrated by the fact catholic schools usually outperform other schools

96% of schools in Ireland are Catholic run, you think I should sell my house and move from an area that I love to find a non denominational school? Don't be ridiculous :rolleyes:

Also, again I never said catholic schools were awful please don't put words in my mouth. I said I would rather not send my kids to a religious run school as I am not religious myself...........I really don't get how that's a strange point of view to hold