Quebec bans religious instruction in government-sponsored daycare

[9-10ths_Penguin]

And that should be stopped. However, I think they're throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Do you think that they won't be able to mention religion at all?

I see this more as a way to, say, stop a Catholic daycare from sending kids home asking their parents to do First Communion.

 

[Storm]

I see it as instruction, or perhaps indoctrination, in a particular religion. Maybe it'd be getting the kids to agree to the Ten Commandments, or doing readings from a "children's Bible stories" book at storytime. Maybe it'd be a Muslim daycare teaching the kids how do do a salaat, or a Sikh daycare getting the kids to help out with Langar.

IOW, I see it as mainly training them for membership in a particular religion.

OK, I was right. I oppose that, too.

I don't have a problem with a secular institution teaching facts about different beliefs as part of some sort of comparative religion program, however, I question how appropriate this would be for preschoolers, except for very, very basic stuff (e.g. explaining why some of their classmates get a different meal when pork is served for lunch).

UU RE manages.

Honestly, I don't know how one would make religious instruction accessible to preschoolers, but that's part of a larger personal failing. (I have difficulty with making virtually every subject age-appropriate.) But I do think it's important that the subject be covered, even if it's just as basic as what you describe.

 

[Storm]

Do you think that they won't be able to mention religion at all?

I see this more as a way to, say, stop a Catholic daycare from sending kids home asking their parents to do First Communion.

And if that's what's usually happening, I support the decision to end such indoctrination.

Perhaps I saw the OP through my rarely used rose-colored glasses.

 

[Magic Man]

Again, I wonder if we're using the same definitions.

But to answer the question, it's never too early to teach kids about the world they're going to have to live in.

Generally, that's true, but with religion, I'm not so sure it is. Just like I wouldn't try to teach my 5-year-old how to do algebra, I probably wouldn't try to explain how other people try to explain the mysteries of life.

 

[LittleNipper]

Sounds good to me. I wouldn't want my children influenced at a young age by religions that I believe to be false. If they are to learn about any religion it should be the one that I believe to be true.

You could pick the daycare and the influences.

 

[Storm]

Generally, that's true, but with religion, I'm not so sure it is. Just like I wouldn't try to teach my 5-year-old how to do algebra, I probably wouldn't try to explain how other people try to explain the mysteries of life.

I think it can be done. As I mentioned earlier, the UU Religious Education program seems to do a pretty good job.

And this much I know: you don't start with the "algebra." It would, of course, be inappropriate to introduce preschoolers to theodicy. But there's no reason not to give them a sampling of mythology.

 

[Magic Man]

I think it can be done. As I mentioned earlier, the UU Religious Education program seems to do a pretty good job.

And this much I know: you don't start with the "algebra." It would, of course, be inappropriate to introduce preschoolers to theodicy. But there's no reason not to give them a sampling of mythology.

I understand, but they're not going to understand mythology as anything more than some cool stories.

 

[Storm]

I understand, but they're not going to understand mythology as anything more than some cool stories.

No, but even that will give them a foundation to build upon.

Anyway, to get back to the topic:
While I do wish public schools would provide religious education, it seems that the issue in question is not education but indoctrination. In that light, I think the decision to end it was correct.