Catholic schools should teach faith
Briana Campigotto | Fulcrum Contributor
FOR SOME PEOPLE, there is no such thing as too much. In this high-tech, high-speed, iPhone, iPad, hashtag “I want it now” world we live in, everyone seems to want to have their cake and eat it too. And it’s not just today’s youth who are susceptible to this attitude. The Canadian Secular Alliance (CSA), a non-profit public-policy research organization, is pushing for the right of parents to exempt their children from religion classes and religious activities in Ontario Catholic high schools.
How ridiculous—this is just another example of wanting for the sake of wanting. Logical thought would suggest that if you don’t want your kids taking religion classes or participating in religious activities at school, you would send them to a public school.
I mean, the point of having both Catholic schools and public schools is so that parents can choose which institution to send their children to. And if the family belongs to another faith, then their children can go to a private school teaching that religion.
Also, what’s so wrong with Catholic schools as they are—religious teaching and all? I went to a Catholic school so I know first-hand they’re not perfect, but what school is, really? It doesn’t make sense to send your kid to a religious school and ask for them to not learn about religion.
If you feel that education should be secular, that’s fine. This is Canada, where individual beliefs and personal choice are highly valued. But Catholic schools are not in the business of brain-washing, and there’s no need for them to change the way they teach for the sake of a few parents who want to get their way. Teaching children about religion, faith, and spirituality won’t prevent them from being able to think for themselves in the future, or render them incapable of making their own decisions about which religion (if one at all) they choose to follow.
Few parents would send their son to a computer camp and ask that he be exempt from the computer portion of the camp, or their daughter to a soccer school where she will be allowed to sit on the sidelines 100 per cent of the time. The notion is preposterous.
Yes, you should be able to exempt your child from a religious education. I agree. Public schools exist for a reason.
