[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

How can you decide you don't believe in something if you don't know anything about it?

Look it up in your own time if you're curious is my opinion

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Look it up in your own time if you're curious is my opinion

With so much conflict going on in the world I think we have a duty to understand other religions and cultures. Also, lots of kids get no religious knowledge or debate, so could never make an informed choice of their own. If you want to follow your own religion, that's a different thing and should be done outside school hours, but general studying of religion is essential, I think.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

With so much conflict going on in the world I think we have a duty to understand other religions and cultures. Also, lots of kids get no religious knowledge or debate, so could never make an informed choice of their own. If you want to follow your own religion, that's a different thing and should be done outside school hours, but general studying of religion is essential, I think.

Essential why?

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Essential why?

Well it might just save you from having your head whipped off or blown up, seriously though , I think kids should be taught about religions ,at least then they can decide what path they want to follow, if they want to follow any

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Essential why?

Because a lot of trouble in the world comes down to differences in religious thought. If you understand why there are differences you've got a better handle on the situation. I don't mean kids should be indoctrinated, but given the facts. And like I said before, if you don't know anything about a religion how can you come to the conclusion that you don't believe it?

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Look it up in your own time if you're curious is my opinion

I think Ireland should adopt the approach Catholic primary schools have taken they follow the catholic ethos in school time and touch on different faiths and those of non faith to promote diversity, communion and confirmation lessons are taken outside of school hours, I really don't see why this couldn't work in Irish schools.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Cherie

I think Ireland should adopt the approach Catholic primary schools have taken they follow the catholic ethos in school time and touch on different faiths and those of non faith to promote diversity, communion and confirmation lessons are taken outside of school hours, I really don't see why this couldn't work in Irish schools.

primary Schools in Britain you mean? Honestly I just don't believe Religion (any religion) has any place in the education system at all

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

primary Schools in Britain you mean? Honestly I just don't believe Religion (any religion) has any place in the education system at all

I disagree, while religion exists, it's important to know and learn about other faiths as it is part of understanding cultural differences and living together in peace, ignorance of other faiths causes more problems than it fixes


And yes I meant in the UK, auto correct on iPad is so annoying

[Crimson Dynamo]

ask yourself this

if no parent breathed a word about religion to their children and there were no religious schools

what would quickly happen to religion?

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

ask yourself this

if no parent breathed a word about religion to their children and there were no religious schools

what would quickly happen to religion?

Missionary's (people not the position

[rubymoo]

Both my daughters are in secondary school, and both have to take the compulsory RE GCSE, i think it's good for them as it teaches them religions from around the world, as well as Buddhism (which is a philosophy not a religion), they're both enjoying it and the exam is based more on personal opinion than a right or wrong answer, which is what religion is....it's a personal opinion.

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by rubymoo

Both my daughters are in secondary school, and both have to take the compulsory RE GCSE, i think it's good for them as it teaches them religions from around the world, as well as Buddhism (which is a philosophy not a religion), they're both enjoying it and the exam is based more on personal opinion than a right or wrong answer, which is what religion is....it's a personal opinion.

Yeah it's considered part of social studies and is useful if you go on to do a degree in social care or social work

[rubymoo]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Yeah it's considered part of social studies and is useful if you go on to do a degree in social care or social work

I'm possibly one of the few who finds religion fascinating*waits for the **** storm*

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by rubymoo

I'm possibly one of the few who finds religion fascinating*waits for the **** storm*

Me too Rubymoo

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Cherie

Yeah it's considered part of social studies and is useful if you go on to do a degree in social care or social work

Then make sociology or politics compulsory subjects?

[Cherie]

Originally Posted by Kizzy

Then make sociology or politics compulsory subjects?

What for A level? You can take both Sociology and RE at A level so the subject topics covered must be mutually exclusive

[Kizzy]

Originally Posted by Cherie

What for A level? You can take both Sociology and RE at A level so the subject topics covered must be mutually exclusive

You suggested RE was useful for social science based professions, I fail to see why of the subjects needed RE is so important it has to be a compulsory subject.
Ireland is moving on in all areas, this is one where personally I feel it's still lagging.

[Drew.]

What a great subject RE was. 50 minutes of watching DVD's every lesson.

[JoshBB]

No subjects (barring perhaps English, Maths, Science) should be forced upon anyone.

[Ninastar]

No lessons should be 'forced' as such, but I also think religious studies (of all religions, not just one) is absolutely essential. We must learn the ways of most human life in order to understand how the world works.

[Jamie89]

Originally Posted by Chaos

No lessons should be 'forced' as such, but I also think religious studies (of all religions, not just one) is absolutely essential. We must learn the ways of most human life in order to understand how the world works.

I agree with this. Maybe not that it's essential but definitely that there can be benefit to it. I'm not religious at all but I chose to do religious studies for my GCSE's (because I hated history and geography and had to pick one lol) and I found it really interesting, from a cultural perspective, and learning different peoples different way of lives. Even my RS teacher wasn't religious, but it wasn't about trying to force anything on to us, or make us believe anything, it was about teaching us about the world and the impact that all the different religions have, which I think is useful because whether you like it or not, it's a hugely influential part of society.

[Daniel-X]

I sort of see were you're coming from Niamh but RE in my school focuses a lot on sociological and political issues rather than just plain Cathlolic teaching. Nevertheless I do see why you're wondering is it an essential subject (particularly if your daughter does not attend a faith school)

[Jack_]

I'm always torn when it comes to this issue.

On the one hand I completely oppose the existence of faith schools, and any kind of religious practices such as communal praying, hymn singing etc, but when it comes to RE being a compulsory subject? Now that's a different matter.

As one of my Sixth Form teachers so beautifully put it when questioned as to why he also taught RE to lower school after the latest ever enjoyable class bout of religion-mocking, 'the more knowledge you have of something, the more equipped you are to pick apart its ridiculousness' (or words to that effect). And I think he's right. So long as RE is not biased, and is taught with the intention of making students more open minded, tolerant and qualified to make a decision on the merits of holding religious beliefs, I think it can only be a good thing.

And yes, sociology and politics should most definitely be compulsory subjects. From the age of 12.

[Kizzy]

I was responding to your comment to Rubymoo though.
Maybe the threads getting a bit confused between the prevalence of faith schools in Ireland and just plain old RE that all schools teach?

[Kizzy]

Only cover Christianity and Islam? Well unless they've changed the exam paper she won't pass anyway.
I still don't see how it it has ever warranted an exam to itself, why could it not be added to
PSHE and Citizenship?