Catholic Students Intensively Studying Buddhism?

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My son is a 6th grader in a Catholic school and hasn’t yet been confirmed. I’d say he’s still learning and questioning everything about the Catholic faith, and we’re doing our best to answer questions and guide him towards the answers.

In the middle of all of this, his middle school social studies teacher, at a Catholic school, is having students spend what seems to be an entire semester focused deeply on Eastern religions. We’re on our second massive assignment about Buddhism. He spent a full week learning about and painting mandalas, for instance. Now he’s doing a three page essay about Buddhism that is taking up every night of homework for the next two weeks.

I was in a shock when I walked into his classroom the other day and found an entire wall of mandalas, as that never would have been permitted in my own Catholic school growing up. I understand that it’s part of the current state curriculum mandates in some way, but it’s still odd to me.

I have reservations and questions about whether this is normal for a Catholic school, especially before Confirmation when I assumed students would be focused on Catholic tenets primarily. Any insight?
 
Have you spoken to the teacher about this yet? Ask the teacher how long this will be a part of the lessons. Afterward, if you are not satisfied with the answer, you may proceed to a meeting with the principal, and then, if need be, the diocese. But you must go through the teacher first.

Have you looked at the book from your son’s social studies class? Is this included?
 
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Ask the teacher why they arent studying the old masters, whompainted on Christian topics… or on stained glass, that the Church innovated in…

Why study buddhism when you can study the Church?
And people these days ask why the Church is losing ao many young people to new age and eastern religions.
 
Yes, in 6th grade.
While not knowing what the actual curriculum is, it would be hard to judge.
Where I live, there are certain state education standards, even for Catholic schools in so.e cases. So long as it is not against church teaching, and they are also learning g about their own faith appropriate ways, why it a problem for a student this age to learn about different cultures? We are a global society now.
 
This is definitely not a good thing. This was heavily promoted in the late 1960s by Hippies and Anarchists, and lots of books about Eastern mysticism began to flood bookstores. It was designed to distract Christians and offered as a substitute belief system by total strangers. That was never permitted in Catholic schools. But I’m seeing signs of new attempts at a revival of this sort of thing.
 
Learning about other religions is a good thing. And to have any real knowledge or understanding takes more than a paragraph or two in a social studies book.
 
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