Religion

cbayer

(146,218 posts) Wed Dec 31, 2014, 11:07 AM Dec 2014

Teaching Religion to Children May Not Be Easy, but It Is Necessary [View all]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dan-arel/teaching-religion-to-chil_b_6379288.html

Dan Arel
Author of Parenting Without God

Posted: 12/29/2014 11:03 am EST Updated: 12/29/2014 11:59 am EST

I was raised in a Christian home and was taught very little about other religions. I also attended a Christian school for a number of years where I was taught a great deal of misinformation about other beliefs, most of which revolved around their rejection of Jesus Christ as the Lord, or that even that some Christians who didn't understand the Bible correctly and wanted to lead me astray from my faith, guaranteeing me a place in hell.

Had I not taken an interest in world religions later in life, I would not have questioned the misinformation I was given and would have a drastically different view, likely thinking the worse of other religions.

And so when I began researching subjects for my latest book Parenting Without God, one popular question from parents was how to teach religion, or whether they should teach it at all. Many felt religion was harmful to society so they should avoid the subject altogether.

It didn't take long to discover that it is not only non-religious parents who confront this dilemma. Religious parents struggle with teaching their children about other religions in the same way. Christian parents, Muslim parents, Jewish parents, you name it, they all face a time when they have to address what others believe, and the common response I found was that they just tell their children everyone else is wrong.

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Teaching Religion to Children May Not Be Easy, but It Is Necessary [View all] cbayer Dec 2014 OP

Bullshit on both claims in the title. AtheistCrusader Dec 2014 #1

My parents are non-religious but sent us to Catholic school. hrmjustin Dec 2014 #2

I wish I had had more education about different religions when I was a child. cbayer Dec 2014 #3

Living Brooklyn my whole life I was exposed from an early age. hrmjustin Dec 2014 #4

I grew up in a predominantly Catholic neighborhood until middle school. cbayer Dec 2014 #5

As for the question of faith and kids I don't have kids but I do bring my sisters kids to church hrmjustin Dec 2014 #7

Why would you have needed it as a kid, as opposed to just... doing it now? AtheistCrusader Dec 2014 #44

When teaching a myth, essential to block info that destroys the myth. Classic religion problem on point Dec 2014 #6

Well, I am glad he is the one that is providing general guidance on this. cbayer Dec 2014 #8

Sorry CB. Have to disagree. Indoctrinating children in a lie is harmful to them on point Dec 2014 #11

First, you have to have data to show that it is a lie, which you don't. cbayer Dec 2014 #12

You have this backwards. You have to have prove it is true. Otherwise made up nonsense on point Dec 2014 #15

No, no. I don't say it's true, so I don't have to prove anything. cbayer Dec 2014 #16

You misunderstand science. It only says this is our current best model on point Dec 2014 #25

Lol, I truly do not misunderstand science, but thanks for the chuckle. cbayer Dec 2014 #29

Actually, pretty much everyone touting "proof" and "truth" while talking about science LTX Jan 2015 #50

Science is a methodology that results in facts and theories supported by evidence on point Jan 2015 #85

Hey, on point! Welcome back. cbayer Jan 2015 #86

What parts do we need to reserve as edhopper Dec 2014 #17

You don't have to reserve a single word of it as possibly true. cbayer Dec 2014 #18

Depends on what they believe, edhopper Dec 2014 #19

No, it depends on how they act, not what they believe. cbayer Dec 2014 #20

Define God edhopper Dec 2014 #21

I have no definition for god at all. Do you? cbayer Dec 2014 #22

Outside edhopper Dec 2014 #23

So, do you have evidence that this vaguely defined supernatural agent does cbayer Dec 2014 #26

No edhopper Dec 2014 #27

"Do you have a single shred of data to support that all of it is a lie or a myth? " series? Warren Stupidity Dec 2014 #32

I taught my kids that it's all mythology Rainforestgoddess Dec 2014 #35

I also live in a community where being religious is far from the norm cbayer Dec 2014 #36

Honestly, I'd be a bit disappointed Rainforestgoddess Dec 2014 #42

That's very unfortunate. cbayer Dec 2014 #43

You keep selling it, but nobody's buying. Probably doesn't help that you claim not to use AtheistCrusader Dec 2014 #45

Wow. That's an interesting thing for you to say. Rainforestgoddess Dec 2014 #47

Post removed Post removed Jan 2015 #48

It may have gone to far and I apologize for that. cbayer Jan 2015 #53

The start of critical thinking is the ability to distinguish between myth and religion. rug Jan 2015 #57

What IS the difference? PassingFair Jan 2015 #63

Start here: rug Jan 2015 #64

Thank you for the wikipedia link, oh critical thinking one. PassingFair Jan 2015 #66

Read the citations, oh befuddled one. rug Jan 2015 #68

Or we could just start with the ability to distinguish between belief in god cbayer Jan 2015 #67

The best way is to distinguish between discussion and bigoted bullshit. rug Jan 2015 #69

Which is easily done if one uses critical thinking instead of knee jerk reactions. cbayer Jan 2015 #70

Checklist. PassingFair Jan 2015 #75

Exactly the point. cbayer Jan 2015 #79

I would support a World Religions class in schools Prophet 451 Dec 2014 #9

I agree and I think this author lays out the reasons for this really well. cbayer Dec 2014 #10

We should be prejudiced against phil89 Dec 2014 #13

"We should be prejudiced" is not a phrase that I will accept. cbayer Dec 2014 #14

Yes, in cbayer's world, if you cannot prove something is false... trotsky Dec 2014 #28

You won't even get cbayer to admit the non-existence bvf Dec 2014 #40

Of course, after all, there's an invisible, fire-breathing, pink unicorn hiding in my garage. AtheistCrusader Dec 2014 #46

Quite a claim considering religion came about originally for early man shraby Dec 2014 #24

Interesting historical analysis that sounds about as good as any. cbayer Dec 2014 #30

Racism and xenophobia arose in different cultures all over the world too. trotsky Dec 2014 #31

The power of Myth by Joseph Campbell Phlem Dec 2014 #33

What a great set of interviews. cbayer Dec 2014 #34

I absolutely agree you need to teach myth to kids. Goblinmonger Dec 2014 #41

This is a subject that has haunted me for a long time.... N_E_1 for Tennis Dec 2014 #37

Thought provoking post. Thanks. cbayer Dec 2014 #39

Ah, I see from C & B that you may have thought I was CTYankee. cbayer Jan 2015 #54

That's exactly what happened.... N_E_1 for Tennis Jan 2015 #83

That's ok. I've mad much more embarrassing mistakes and I haven't had a stroke! cbayer Jan 2015 #84

This message was self-deleted by its author kdmorris Dec 2014 #38

This is the most ridiculous, stupid, intellectually bvf Jan 2015 #49

Indoctrinating children with religion is child abuse randr Jan 2015 #51

Oh my god!! We need to start building more jails ASAP. cbayer Jan 2015 #52

Actutal child abuse can be deceptive randr Jan 2015 #55

When you make a comparison between raising children in a religious home and cbayer Jan 2015 #56

Call it what you want randr Jan 2015 #58

Again, you are making hyperbolic statements that have no basis in fact. cbayer Jan 2015 #59

I would not paint our fellow men/women with such a broad brush randr Jan 2015 #60

I think we can agree on this point. cbayer Jan 2015 #61

We are in agreement randr Jan 2015 #72

I am glad we found common ground. cbayer Jan 2015 #73

We are Democrats and should be proud to discuss, disagree, and come to understanding. randr Jan 2015 #76

+1 pinto Jan 2015 #77

Thank you for having this conversation with me and for being civil cbayer Jan 2015 #80

And back at ya randr Jan 2015 #82

I agree 2naSalit Jan 2015 #62

Although I would love to take credit, the book is not mine. cbayer Jan 2015 #65

The more we de-mystify and better understand the "other", in whatever sphere, the better, imo. pinto Jan 2015 #71

Exactly. I think that is his goal - demystification in order to increase understanding cbayer Jan 2015 #74

Unfortunate headline from HuffPo. "Teaching about religion" is the author's gist. pinto Jan 2015 #78

That's a really good point and I think may explain some of the responses here. cbayer Jan 2015 #81

That would significantly alter my response to the article. AtheistCrusader Jan 2015 #87