By Kathlene Marie ~
I was born into a mostly Christian family. My mother's side of the family is Christian, and, aside from my father, his side of the family is Mormon. What a crazy mix.
Anyway, I was enrolled in a private goody-goody Christian school the day I was old enough to attend preschool. There, they read us "Bible Stories" and gave us snacks. As I progressed through this school, (although I didn't realize it at the time because I didn't know any better) their lack of coverage of science was astounding. Science in a private religious school is most definitely not top priority. But, little did we know, we were all being transformed into bible-toting toddlers. "Bible Class" was a regular scheduled class, in which we were forced to learn and recite passages from "His Word" in front of the rest of the school on "Chapel Days". This was when they would take a whole hour and a half of our valuable learning (or not) time and make us sit in the church to listen to sermons.
As I reached junior high, I started to realize more and more that they were avoiding science. We were taught from a book whose focus was the 'holy' side of science, in which god controlled everything and reason and logic were no longer needed. Luckily for me, I was enrolled in a public high school where I was allowed to speak my mind, and be with others who weren't brainwashed, including my longtime partner, who ultimately revealed the "light" of atheism to me.
I can only imagine where I would be if I had been trapped inside those Christian walls any longer. I don't hate them for being religious, nor do I hate anyone who has a religion, but for me, it's not the way to go. And I am proud to be the only one of my class to kiss those ways goodbye.
Anyway, I was enrolled in a private goody-goody Christian school the day I was old enough to attend preschool. There, they read us "Bible Stories" and gave us snacks. As I progressed through this school, (although I didn't realize it at the time because I didn't know any better) their lack of coverage of science was astounding. Science in a private religious school is most definitely not top priority. But, little did we know, we were all being transformed into bible-toting toddlers. "Bible Class" was a regular scheduled class, in which we were forced to learn and recite passages from "His Word" in front of the rest of the school on "Chapel Days". This was when they would take a whole hour and a half of our valuable learning (or not) time and make us sit in the church to listen to sermons.
As I reached junior high, I started to realize more and more that they were avoiding science. We were taught from a book whose focus was the 'holy' side of science, in which god controlled everything and reason and logic were no longer needed. Luckily for me, I was enrolled in a public high school where I was allowed to speak my mind, and be with others who weren't brainwashed, including my longtime partner, who ultimately revealed the "light" of atheism to me.
I can only imagine where I would be if I had been trapped inside those Christian walls any longer. I don't hate them for being religious, nor do I hate anyone who has a religion, but for me, it's not the way to go. And I am proud to be the only one of my class to kiss those ways goodbye.
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