Support thread for all the atheist,agnostic,non-religious and secular humanist TTCers

[Sbmack]

Welcome Electricat.

Hi, Tsy!! Glad to hear everything is going well. I'm definitely finding out the sex. Thinking of names has been difficult. Deciding on one will be hard enough.

 

[GingerPanda]

Wow, that's rough, Dragonfly. You kind of have to go out of your way (and pay private school fees) to send your kids to a religious school in the US. So unfortunately, I don't really know what it's like there. I think I would contact the school with my questions and concerns. But if you think that might just make your children more of a target, then don't.

Sheesh, for all the wailing and moaning the religious do about their beliefs being under attack, it always seems like they're the ones making it hard for everyone else.

 

[Dragonfly]

The school where nice about it but I dont trust really any one. Since its catholic run I just worry they may treat my children like outcasts. Maybe even other children would. They have it like this as we do have more immigrants now that arnt all catholic, so I dont know if they will be alone but I guess they will as every one belief or not does the same thing here. There really is no choice for atheist children here only for that one school that will take all. Thats why I was going to home school. They can attend religion to learn but wont make holy communion and confession *fine by me* as they are not baptised but decided to leave them out of all of it. What was the point on filling them with beliefs we didnt believe. Even if it was just to learn. I would end up having to undo it when they got home. So I thought I would teach myself on different religions at home anyway. I think I will just have to see what happens. I probably will get so much stick from family but cant be worse than when I said I wanted to home school least he is going to a school they cant complain!

Just thought if this school dosnt accept him as the application was late in, I was misinformed of a date then there is no other school that will take him!

 

[GingerPanda]

It's weird. You're thinking of homeschooling because the schools are too religious. Here, parents homeschool because the schools aren't religious enough! My cousin homeschools her six kids because she's afraid they'll "catch the devil from the other kids" or something. She gets on Facebook saying she can't believe she has to tell her kids about Evolution because "it's just a theory".

I asked her if she was teaching them about gravity.

It's always the super religious that say they can't teach Evolution because it's a theory, but a book that has been edited and retranslated countless times about the way an ancient civilization thought the world began is legit. We already know we can run an electric current through sterile mud and create living microorganisms. Where is your god now? siiiigh

Sorry. That rant is not helpful to your situation.

 

[Dragonfly]

You offered support thats enough and yes its back wards here. People assume online I was home schooling as I was Christian and met a lot of not nice Christians who home school in facebook groups who think I was wrong to make my children atheist. Well I didnt make them atheist they where born that way. yet was acceptable for them to make their children their own religion. So I dont like home school groups either. And I dont know why poeple say I should just let them learn it , like why? be like sending your kids to a different religion to learn more about it when you yourself dont practise or believe. Urrgh this fitting in stuff around here! follow the herd. I dont want my kids making holy communion or confessing anything to a priest! I had to do that as a child and ended up lying as I couldnt think of stuff I did wrong to repent. So it was assumed every one does bad stuff every week and need forgiving. They dont. I suppose I dont need to explain myself here anyway. Other than as usual I am the outcast. On the up note my kids will learn way more without religion as I had to eat books on space and the world as a child to learn that stuff.

 

[GingerPanda]

Uneducated sheep are easier to herd.

Get your babies some knowledge! Lol

 

[Sbmack]

I asked her if she was teaching them about gravity.

hahaha

Sorry you have to send your kids to a Catholic school, Dragon. I know a lot of athiests and agnostics that went to catholic school and it didn't make them believers...especially if you teach them what you believe at home. If it were me, I'd probably not take my kids out of anything specific at school so they weren't ostracized by the other students. Good luck!

 

[Dragonfly]

I never believed but my head was filled with crap I dont want that for my kids. I dont want them being brainwashed with stupid stories and grovelling to the man in the sky when they dont have to. They are smart kids, I dont want to give them less of a chance. I am sorry if that offends any one. I would be a hypocrite having catholic kids and non catholic parents who dont believe in god so my kids can be told he is real and used as blackmail? my other halfs family are protestant for a start. I went to catholic school all my school life its very much religion orientated here, lots of praying. My friend worked as a class room assistant at a primary school here and they prayed about 5 times a day, before school lunches breaks and end of school. Then RE classes so a lot of time was taken up by just them activities. I recall the same in school to. It is their duty to maintain the religion I understand that just not for my kids.

 

[Electricat]

Changed my profile pic in honor of this thread

 

[Skyler2014]

Hi Dragonfly. That sucks that they put you in that position over there. You should not have to be forced to put them in a religious school. I'm pretty sure you're not going to offend anyone here, we all have different ways of dealing with the religion issue. Unfortunately for me, DF is catholic but I am going to fight him tooth and nail to raise them at least Christian if not ignoring it entirely until they are old enough to understand and think for themselves. I am not sending them to that Catholic Church. I hate it, if he forces the issue I will send them to the community church my friend takes her daughter to

 

[Dragonfly]

There is no option here for non religious only that one that will take them and not teach religion. Going to have to be that way. I will not change our families views to fit in. And I am fed up being called cruel for not including them in making sarciments, sorry I think putting them in and telling them god isnt real is worse. I respect someone else's religion enough not to mock it with being a hypocrite. As you can see the subject annoys me. Probably because its unknown what will happen. Never in my school was any one excluded. Least they dont have to rush for assembly lol but then if they get the bus they will end up I dont know what they are doing when the rest pray. I should find out soon if he got in. I still can home school if he really dosnt like school as I just want him to see what its like so he dosnt forever bug me to go. Maybe he will like it. I have sociable kids.

 

[Skyler2014]

Good luck, I'm sure he can't be the only
Atheist kid in your area. He hopefully will have a couple people during those things

 

[Dragonfly]

This is Ireland I am sure he is as every one else wouldn't dare be atheist. I just hope there are some foreign children and there are few of them to. Lets hope I dont become some sort of nasty bitch mum who makes their kids a target. People here only pretend to actually believe stuff, they dont practise it or do anything religious thats the schools job to them. They only christen to get them in to schools! I was told so many times to do it just to get them in schools especially secondary schools which I think you need to be here.

 

[Skyler2014]

Wow I had no idea Ireland was like that. My maternal side are Finnegan's do obviously Irish and its always been a place I was interested in. Had no idea it was a religion-or-die kind of country. Hope he's not outcasted or you either

 

[Dragonfly]

Theres a joke here
You dont believe in God - Bad catholic
You do- good catholic

nothing else lol

 

[GingerPanda]

Which is interesting. I always heard that Northern Ireland was mostly Protestant, while Ireland was mostly Catholic. I'm sure it varies by area, of course.

 

[Dragonfly]

yeah its mixed NI. So in my area which is close to the border its all catholic.

 

[GingerPanda]

There you go, then. Makes sense.

Sorry we don't have better ideas. Here, all the public schools are non-religious and no public praying allowed. Doesn't mean I never got harassed by the religious, but I guess it's good to know it wasn't allowed... Even if the school principal never would have taken my side if I'd made a complaint. She disowned her own daughter for being a lesbian, and hated my guts because I was bisexual and interested in things like witchcraft and ghosts. ... Still interested in ghosts, actually. (And bi, of course.)

Surely there is some kind of atheist network in Northern Ireland who might have some ideas?

I still say I would call the school anonymously and ask what children who are exempted from RE do at those times. If the person seemed nice enough, I would ask if there are children who currently are, or if your children would be the only ones.

 

[Dragonfly]

I did ask and was told to speak to principal but that they only left them out, I planned on asking on open day if he got in that is. Suppose to hear today here but no letter arrived. I never thought of looking for Atheist in NI , I am member of pages and groups on facebook but no point on asking as you said elsewhere your schools arnt religious anyway and there are choices where here there isnt. I enjoyed chatting here and you where not no help . I had no one to talk to about it and let it out and you all understood.

 

[Bibliophile]

Sorry you have to deal with all of that, Dragonfly.

Nothing new here. If things are normal, I should be getting a positive OPK within the next day or two.... Fingers crossed! If I don't, I have at least two months of taking them every day and avoiding the positive days to get past the boys' birthdays.