Irish schoolchildren to learn about atheism

[Minimalist]

but most people I know are interdenominational

The preachers must hate that. They need a certain number of sheep coming through the doors just to keep the lights on.

[CleanShavenJesus]

If children are taught to reason through things mathematically like this, they will decide that they are atheists.

You say this like it's a good thing. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either.

This isn't some sort of battle for childrens' minds. I couldn't care less if kids are Christian, atheist, or fucking Taoist. It just isn't fair for public schooling to put such an emphasis on one major religion, since it's clealry indoctrination.

[Crossless2.0]

Teaching students about atheism, whatever that means, sounds to me like an excuse to allow apologetics and other nonsense through the back door. After all, telling a class that there are people who don't believe in gods is a pretty fucking short lecture. How long could any discussion about atheism last without the usual arguments for the existence of some god (and in Ireland I'm sure the god everyone will have in mind is Yahweh) being introduced?

I'm opposed to any religious or explicitly irreligious instruction in a public classroom and agree with the earlier poster who suggested a course in logic (and, may I add, scientific method) instead. Even a class on rhetoric would be better.

[Einharjar]

How would one teach atheism? Its not as if its a discipline and it has no rituals to classify it as a religion. You cannot be indoctrinated as a result. Saying the class teaches atheism must be a ploy deployed in words to make it sound terrible. Atheism I'd the RESULT of skepticism and rationality, both of Those you Could teach. However not atheism itself. That'd just as bad as teaching creationism. You smash an answer to the kids faced without letting them see the problem worked out. I sure hope that's what they mean to teach and not just "there are no gods because there is no proof" logic loops.

But that's the main reason I'm an atheist...

From my experience though, atheism is just a RESULT of rationality, skepticism and curiosity. I would not and will not ever go to a school that suggests atheism as a standard areligious practice or philosophy as a whole. I'm an atheist because I see no evidence yes, but I'm more than that. It's because of the scientific method, reason and mathematical logic that I, when it comes to the question of God's, reject those claims. It's real freaking shallow to lift atheism up to the religious squander that is today's faith-based philosophies. Atheism shouldn't even be mentioned because it only exists due to those who suggest there are gods. If there is no pizza in my apartment, I'm not a apizzaist. I just know there is simply, no fucking pizza available. My reason takes me there, to the answer. A simple one. The only "religion" I follow is the scientific rhetorics and methods and it is these things plus the rewards of curiosity that they should be teaching. By teaching religious ethics and including the ethics that some people deny dieties basically reinforces the debate about God's existing when there shouldn't even be one. Period. End of story. Belief in how our universe works should never be a damned choice. It should be a problem that you solve for yourself with the tools like the modern physics models and quantum mechanics. Simple math, astronomy, molecular physics. Learn these, know that you can test the findings yourself and then decide what you believe. I just think its counter intuitive to teach labels without any depth as that gives kids the easy way, "oh, just choose if you're a theist or atheist. No harder than choosing democrat or republican right?".

[Rev. Rye]

I personally believe in teaching all religions and atheism, as long as you don't take any of them seriously.

Of course, this is a step in the right direction, especially for a country who, when drafting its constitution 75 years ago, was close to opening it with "in the name of Our Lady of Lourdes", and which is, to this day, dominated by Catholic influences.

[Doubting Thomas]

Maybe if you teach religions as part of a mythology class.

[T.J.]

If it's aimed at debunking the myths surrounding atheism out there I'd be for it, but I don't think you'd need a whole class for that. Unless it's covering its growth in society over the years.

[ChildOfReason]

If children are taught to reason through things mathematically like this, they will decide that they are atheists.

You say this like it's a good thing. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's not a good thing either.

This isn't some sort of battle for childrens' minds. I couldn't care less if kids are Christian, atheist, or fucking Taoist. It just isn't fair for public schooling to put such an emphasis on one major religion, since it's clealry indoctrination.

Well, I don't think children should be taught directly ¨there is no god¨, but rather, they should be taught critical and logical methods of thinking. If such a thing is taught, religion might slowly die off without violence.

[Bob Kelso]

Am I the only one that sees a country that is dominantly catholic teaching about atheism and thinks... Man, that sounds like a great way for teachers to use apologetics and shame the atheistic community...?

That was my first thought.