s/o: Anyone else have religious instruction when attending public school?

CleoKitty

When I was in elementary school we were taken out of class once a week for WRE (Weekly Religious Education.) Library one day, PE another, art, music and the fifth "special" was WRE.

We would all put on our coats and walk just across the street to a Lutheran church where volunteers would teach us Bible stories and scripture. It wasn't mandatory and parents had to sign a permission slip.  But, kids who didn't go had to stay in the classroom and take extra spelling tests during that time.

I recently looked it up and much to my surprise the school system STILL does this.

In addition, my ds attended a public school for one semester this year. On parent's night there were little old ladies there trying to get us to sign up ds for their after school "Good News Club." There is a small table in the lobby of the school where posters, a sign-up sheet and information for the club is apparently kept on permanent display. It was there on the first day of school and was still there when I stopped by the school just last week.

Anyone else have similar experiences? 

 

joy143dh

No. Our community was a religious melting pot.   I did have a few "spiritual" experiences in public High School, if you KWIM...

gracendantho26

I did not have anything like that growing up. My DD does go to an on campus Christian group once a week. It's completely voluntary though and if you don't go to it you just go home (we have short days once a week and it's on that day). They do have fliers for it and a sign is put up when they are on campus but otherwise there is not permanent display.

wifetoawookie

No religious instruction in my schools but I did have a 6th grade teacher who made us say the Lord's Prayer before class each day. Not sure if she got that ok'd or not but we all did it.

HAFranklin

Not on a weekly basis, but we did have a fairly religious Christmas program every year including a live nativity.

Rebekah1021

Nope. I went to a huge public school. There was none of it.

#6

We had Bible Bus.  I cant remember what grades it was for.  I think it started in 4th.

Anyways, it wasnt mandatory.  If your parents didnt want you attending you didnt have to.  Same was if you didnt want to you could opt out.  Those who didnt go stayed and had a study time.    We would get on a bus that had fold out desk tops and drive to a near by church to learn basic bible scripture and mini bible lessons.  It was a lot of fun and , as most of my backwards redneck county attends church, no one really opted out.  

ETA:  They still continue to do weekly Bible Bus.  I see it around all the time.  

dnagal

No way.  In the context of several social studies classes there was review of "the worlds religions" with discussion of the basic tenets of each (everything from Buddism to Shintoism, etc. Including Christian, Jewish Muslim) but no "religious instruction" per se.  Can't imagine in this day an age a district that could get away with doing this!

grja

No. But in high school one of the electives you could choose was religion. There was a bunch of them and you had to choose one each semester. I think most people did the popular ones - psychology, business, typing, current events, journalism.

Jermysgirl

No...and I went to school in Kansas.  We didn't even say the Pledge after like third grade.

wildfloweragain

Wow, I can not believe they'd do religious instruction in public school.  I think religion should be out of school altogether.  There is one bus that takes kids to the catholic church/school for religious ed, but that's because there are so many kids signed up for it.  We also have a bus that takes a bunch of kids to the YMCA for daycare.

happ17

nope, and I could never imagine it since I went to a very diverse school, and it was a nyc public school. However, my classmates and I usually attended some sort of yeshiva, church or mosque on weekends or after school--the school bus would do regular dropoffs at yeshivas after school, for instance, I actually learned how to read arabic in religious school when I was little.