Defenses against jealousy

TheGFG
Sun, 17 Sep 2006 15:47:43 +0000

Aries, I totally agree with your distinctions about the teaching of religion.

As for parents coming into the classroom to teach about the origins and traditions of their religion, I don’t believe this works well, especially if handouts and participatory activities are included. Remember, that what one religion may hold dear could be anathema to another. For example, as a Christian, I believe that engaging in sorcery or witchcraft, contacting the spirits of the dead, and consulting astrologers is wrong and an offense to my God, as per the Bible. Therefore, I have not been particularly happy when my children have come home from school with astrology charts and an accompanying homework assignment requiring them to write essays about what the astrology charts indicated about their personalities and future. These projects were usually associated with the celebration of Chinese New Year, which the school considered to be a secular holiday. I tried to explain to the administration how astology has religious connotations, as do also the Chinese customs relating to expelling evil spirits from their homes at years’ end. Similarly, I would have a tough time allowing my children to do or eat anything at all associated with a Satan-worshipping cults or new-age witchcraft cults.

In addition, although I was invited to come to school to talk about our family’s winter holiday, Christmas, I was told I could not mention Jesus at all. Obviously since for us Christmas is NOT about Santa and Frosty, this would have been impossible.