Keep your proselytizing to yourself

So, I am bothered by a recent event that took place during recess at Amelia's school. I wasn't there to witness said event, but learned about it via my husband who relayed what Amelia had shared with him about what had happened.

According to Jeff, Amelia asked him over the weekend why we don't go to church. He gave her our stock answer which is: "Because we don't feel like it's something we need to be doing." He then quizzed her as to why she wanted to know. She replied that the physical education teacher at her school, who I'll refer to as Mrs. P.E. Teacher, told Amelia she wished she went to church.

Why Mrs. P.E. Teacher felt it necessary to inquire as to Amelia's church attendance record is beyond me. It certainly has nothing to do with her learning to be physically fit, which, as I understand it, is the kind of information this teacher is supposed to be imparting upon my child.

When sharing this news with me, Jeff could sense my blood beginning to boil and reminded me that making a stink over this incident would cause trouble for Amelia and likely result in her being ostracized in our community where you can't swing a dead cat without hitting a Bible-thumper. I agred we should just let it go and prepare for the next time something like this happens because, I assure you, there will be a next time.That having been said, I don't like that this happened one iota!

Jeff and I have made a conscious decision to not attend church and are confident in the choice we've made. However, it's not easy to make our little second-grader understand our reasons and sometimes even harder to teach her to stand up for her parents' choices when she's not entirely filled in as to why we feel the ways we do.We try to inform her on an as-needed basis using language she can understand, but, even then, we're asking a 7-year-old to try to grasp a concept scholars have been pondering for centuries so oftentimes one answer leads to more questions.

Being a left-leaning, open-minded family in the way-over-to-the-right, ultra-conservative South is quite a challenge. Our lifestyle and parenting choices have been often questioned by others who do not think as we do and who think we're just flat-out wrong for having the opinions we do.

We've been challenged for celebrating Halloween, which some in these parts suggest is just a day to honor Satan; bugged for talking up Santa Claus when "Jesus is the reason for the season," as we've been reminded numerous times by folks who promise to pray for our immortal souls; condemned for letting our girls believe Easter is about eggs and candy delivered by a giant rabbit; and laughed at for suggesting Mother Nature is responsible for the changes in the weather and that karma is real.

How I've kept from slapping someone into next week for sticking their nose into our business surely qualifies as a miracle because, believe me, I've wanted to do it more times than I can count. This alone should earn me heaps 'o points on the karma meter.

I am, and always have been, a "live and let live" kind of gal. You want to be in church every time the doors are open? Go ahead! More power to you! Teach your kids that Santa and the Easter Bunny are myths? Fine by me! Make your young 'uns stay home on Halloween so as not to be corrupted by any revelers out in search of candy and fun? Okie dokie! Believe that an omnipotent being handles each and every meteorological event that occurs in our world? That's your right! Do not care for the concept of putting good out in the universe and the universe will deliver good back to you two-fold? That's alrighty!

I may not agree with others' beliefs. In fact, I may think that most of them are hokum and B.S. However, I don't think attacking people for the choices they make for themselves and their family is helping anyone.

And, while I get that folks who subscribe to various religious beliefs feel strongly that witnessing to others about their faith is an important part of their mission as a believer, I don't want people discussing this type of information with my child when me or her father aren't with her and certainly not while she's in school!

Around here people very passionately believe religion, specifically Christianity, should be taught in school right alongside reading, writing and arithmetic. I, which should be obvious by now, do not and am proud to live in a society that has made it as much a point to protect its citizenry from religion as it has to protect the rights of those who want to practice a religion to do so without fear.

Choices are precious things. I guard mine closely and would love it if others could, even just a little bit, respect that. I don't think I am asking for too much.