Religion at my public school - Advice needed

[orpheus last chant]

Info:

In my country there is no such thing as separation of state and religion. the entire cleric community is paid from taxes, churches are built from taxes, religion is a topic from 1 grade to 12.

The religion class begins and ends with a prayer.
The teacher comes in (only last year they replaced the priests wih just theology graduates) and immediately everyone turns tot eh back of the class (which is facing east) on that wall there is always a religious object (cross, cheesy xeroxed painting). at that point everybody makes a cross (similar to a catholic one) and says outloud our father, including the teacher.

You are asked to learn a psalm by heart, the creede, and theology issues. this as if you are a christian.

Last school year, I deconverted. I used to turn my back as everybody, but I did not make any crosses, nor recite the prair.
I felt bizzare, embarassed, and a little like a hypocrite.

I thought I will continue to do this class this year as well, but should I?

My mother can give me a written excuse and I can refuse to do it, but usually people of other sects have done that, NEVER an atheist. I am really afraid of the response from my colleagues. i am not exactly popular, and would not want to become the local freak. adn i especially don't want the other teachers to know. that would be dezastrous.

Our head theacher is FUNDY beyond hope. I can only look in horror at the next easter. Then , people stop greeting eachother with hello and hi, they use "jesus is resurected" and the other person says "true he has ressurected". She will do that no matter what I believe, and I have to be polite and answer that...for 50 days! She has asked us in a literature class if we have read "the lifes of saints" and criticised us for not being good christians. she asks us after hollidays if we have gone to church and ate god....

the more i think about it, the more i do not want to quit. But what about if I go to the religion teacher and tell him of my situation. I wonder if he will understand. I'll learn whatever he teaches but never say a creede, or....

What would you do?

[Yangja Isuko]

damn, i'm missing all the fun. maybe we could switch places, i'd completely wreck havoc in your school. would be fun.

[orpheus last chant]

And what exactly would you do?

Just saying to a specific person that I like rock music and do not believe in God would make her think I am a satanist. The rest would just think I'm weird.

There is just no way to debate the teacher. I tried and he down right lied to my face. Plus, there is just no fun in debating persons who, if admited that I am right, would look at themselves as though they wasted their university options , their time and intellect.

[Carlos]

It sounds as if at least your mother is aware of your beliefs. Is she supportive? Having someone that you can rely on at home would make it easier for you to take more "risks" at school. Be mindful of your activities at school if they could turn your home into a hostile environment, though.

Since allowances are made for followers of other sects to be treated differently, I would explore that as an option. It seems as if there is the desire to treat people fairly. Maybe you could make use of that without revealing your beliefs. The excuse your mother would write - how specific would it have to be? Maybe something like "please excuse o.l.c. from required religious practices as he is not a follower of the eastern orthodox church" would suffice. If someone were to ask you what you believed in, you could answer that you believe such things should be kept private. If pressed, say that revealing them would lead to harassment so you prefer to keep quiet.

That would allow you to keep true to your beliefs and maintain a low profile with those who would be troubled by your views. It may be hard to keep this from your teacher if the religion class requires more than just memorization. If you are expected to relate personal experiences to religion, you might have to lie or be found out.

If it were me, my concerns would be escaping intact and in a position that allowed me to move into a less fundy environment (university, etc.). I would not be outspoken, would not take risks that would jeopardize the future, and so on. Keep quiet about religion and hope others ignore your non-participation.

[Bright Life]

Orpheus,

I understand your dilemma. I "came out" in high school. I received death threats, was called names and generally harangued for a while.

Eventually though, it died down, and because I "came out" I discovered there were others like me.

That being said, I would never reccomend it to you. Being underage, you have no means of escaping if the blacklash is more severe--and as your peers and teachers have no legal obligation to respect your beliefs, there's no way I, with my purely American experiences, could know what could happen in your culture.

My advice echos that of previous posters. Keep quiet, go through the motions, and then get the heck out of there! Your "salvation" lies in college.

[User]

I'm currently enrolled in a hard-lined fundie penitentiary, and know exactly how you feel.

Coming out seems to be more trouble than it's worth, and it could open up a pandora's box of problems that you really wouldn't want to deal with.

I think the note sounds like the best idea, and then keeping a low profile in any religious based class. If you are given an assignment that involves your "personal journey with Christ", then I'm not sure what you should do. I'm still thinking about that myself....

[Bright Life]

Hey, at least you don't go to this school:

http://www.funny-funny-pictures.com/dp/files/1-390.jpg

P.S. I'm not for a second making light of your situation, just looking to give y'all a smile.

[orpheus last chant]

School starts here on 15 september. The more I think about it, the more I realise that I may just keep the Re class (keeping in mind that for the first time the teacher is young - 25 - and more open than the bunch, not too liberal though).

I could say I am agnostic (which is true, when referign to ANY entity type of god), and get away concerning my fellow classmates (they probably don't know what it means).

I could take the effort to load up on arguments and bible knowledge (ahh, debating, don't you love it?).

I have lost a friend by becoming what I am now, and gained another. So ultimately, it's their choice.

And when it comes to (my) teachers, it is better not to sturr any trouble. One is particularly vindictive, and I better not challenge my weakest education point - french.

Thanks for makeing me decide. I really hope that soon there will be total separation of law and religion. And there are hopes. If we are to enter E.U, I think they would demand it.

[rock_hard_cox]

dude, you should protest all that shit. You would be like Ghandi. If nobody opposes that bullshit, it will just continue.

[jafosei]

Originally posted by orpheus last chant
I felt bizzare, embarassed, and a little like a hypocrite.

(snip)

Then , people stop greeting eachother with hello and hi, they use "jesus is resurected" and the other person says "true he has ressurected". She will do that no matter what I believe, and I have to be polite and answer that...for 50 days!

(snip)

What would you do?

Personally, I would go along with the suggestions of the others in the thread, and go through the motions. But you don't have to feel hypocritical about doing it.

The way I view it, responding to your teachers with the proper ritual greetings and reciting the proper sayings is more a matter of politeness and kindness than it is a reflection of your beliefs. It's a matter of responding to people within a context that they are comfortable.

For instance, I don't generally swear much, but I will do so more with some of my friends who favor rougher language. I won't swear at all with my parents. I avoid many religious terms with atheist friends, but I'll use them with Muslims I know.

That doesn't mean I suppress my beliefs or change them just to fit in. It's just being friendly, and I don't think there's anything hypocritical about being friendly. Just my opinion, though.