Frazz by Jef Mallett for October 08, 2006

Teaching religion is hard too:“Well, yes, that was probably a mistranslation.”“How were the Apocrypha chosen? Who told you about the Apocrypha?”“Was Jesus the Son of God or a prophet? Well, er, that depends on who is in this room at the moment.”“Is celebrating saint days the same as worshipping false gods? Well, er, …”“Is this really Jesus’s flesh and blood? Well, er,…”“Were the Jews right about Jesus? Well, er,…”“Yes, more than half the world does not believe in the Abrahamic religions. So why are we teaching you about them? Well, er…”“Why are some foods banned by God? Sensible health and safety rules in a pre-refrigerator hot countries. So does this mean the other rules are out-dated? Well, er, …”“Is it true there are more non-believers and atheists than Christians? Well, yes. Non-belief is the world’s largest belief system.”“Just because Protestants killed Catholics for being wrong, and Catholics killed Protestants for being wrong, that doesn’t mean they’re both wrong. Nor does Muslims killing Christians and Christians killing Moslems make them both wrong. And no, that does not mean killing is OK. They were just wrong, OK.”“Never mind the facts. Just follow the scripture.”“No, it is not important the Gospels contradict one another, and yes, they are still the Word of God.”“Stop taking the scriptures literally, they need to be interpreted and they don’t mean what they say. They mean what I say they mean.”“Look, just stop asking questions and believe what I tell to believe in … or else!”

Creationism has no more place in a school setting than alchemy, astrology, phrenology, or flat earth theory. It’s not science. It’s not biology. It’s religious faith. If people of faith wish to teach creationism to their children, then home school them, or save it for religious services.

Would you have New Age mysticism taught in schools as well? Islam? Judaism? Buddhism? Taoism? Shintoism? All faiths people believe in, all with their own philosophies of how the universe works.

Or would you prefer they learn about the science that makes modern medicine possible, modern technology possible, modern engineering possible?

I am an atheist who teaches Sunday School to Junior High youth (and yes, the Minister and Congregation know of my atheism). We don’t teach them what to believe. We teach them what various religions believe, based on their own religious dogma. We teach them why they believe it and the history of the religions.

We offer the youth free access to as many “Holy Books” as possible, and encourage them to read them, and even check them out and take them home.

We cover as many religions as possible, from the Abrahamic religions, to the Eastern religions, paganism, indigenous religions, newer religions (Mormonism, Scientology and so forth), as well as Humanism and non-religion such as atheism. We even invite members of as many of these communities as possible to come in and talk to the youth, so that the youth may ask questions and get answers directly from the practitioners of those faiths. And, we try to get tours of temples, mosques, churches, and so forth.

Finally, we tell the youth to follow their heart. Go to whatever calls to them. Don’t feel forced into any one path, but discover what you feel is right for you, even if it means picking and choosing from various paths. If “truth” is out there, then they will find it, without being indoctrinated into it.

I am an atheist, and my wife is a theist. we have been married for over 12 wonderful years! It can work, IF you respect the other person.

In my school, the only place the bible comes in is english class

If the school is meant for teaching, then religion has no place there: Religion is about believing, not knowing – and naturally so, because when you know, there’s no room left for beliefs.