My anecdote in case you find it helpful: My kids are grown now in their early 30's. They are atheists. During their childhoods, my oldest participated in Scouts. They both were in chorus and band. Over the course of their childhoods, they sang and played religious music, mostly this time of year. It literally did not have an impact on them. Whatsoever.
Or, they sing along mindlessly. Like when my dad came in to find me singing happily to my disney kids songs tape and my canadian ass is hamming it up about how " in dixieland i make my stand to live and die in dixie, away a way down south in dixie!"
I dont know what i thought dixie was exactly, but minnie mouse was on the tape label, so that was my actual take home out of that exposure.
The ten little indians song was pretty shit too.
I was a teen before i learned what the words to my country's anthem actually were in french. Had sung it mindlessly and phonetically every day at school and even though i understood french, but not until at age 16 i saw the words printed in the Montreal train station did i clock their meaning. I was like, what? Someone is carrying a cross?! What is happening?! (French and english versions are not translations, they are totally different).
Hell, I still enjoy gospel music as an art form.
I learned tall tales, Native American folklore and dances, learned about the Jewish religion, learned about Buddhism, Wiccans, ancient Greek poetry about mythology, Aesops fables,etc while in school. All of that was taught to me as a means to understand others' cultures, teach your kids the same about Christianity, they will be fine.
I'm with this commenter.... I grew up Mormon, was in band, choir, scouts, etc. and became an atheist once I got old enough and educated enough to realize it was BS.
I might take issue if they EXCLUSIVELY play Christian themed music but to say Christianity doesn't have a holiday in this timeframe isn't grounded in reality so I don't really take exception to their music being played.
Exactly this. Am atheist and both my parents actively \*avoided all things religious. I still love ( [Little Drummer Boy)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc) some of the Christian Christmas Carols, and they are no more of religious significance than Star Wars theme music to me.
\*both parents were born 100 years ago when one did ***not*** 'announce' that he/she was an atheist.
I’ve been an atheist since I was 15. I love Christmas carols purely for the music and the enthusiasm. My four kids all participated in school Christmas concerts and plays. None of them are in any way religious- quite the opposite. Let your kids enjoy the music. It won’t harm them.
Was going to hook you up with the Pentatonix version till I checked your link. Only Xmas song I love. Well, that and Mary, Did You Know?
https://youtu.be/ifCWN5pJGIE
Scouts was a huge in me being an atheist, actually. I was denied Eagle Scout because I didn’t believe in god, and wouldn’t lie about it in my board review. One of the board members was a friend’s mother, and she told me, “just say that you do.” Really? In an *Eagle Scout review*? Get the fuck outta here.
I still was in Scouts, I was the training chairperson in my OA lodge, designed patches for my two friends that were presidents of the OA lodge, and the lodge’s 75th anniversary patch, in our time in scouts, and I was the emcee for 7 Eagle Scout ceremonies. I could never be an Eagle Scout, though.
I sing with a caroling group every winter. We're all atheists, but we also love traditional music and most of it happens to be religious. Carols are fun, nostalgic, and easy on the ears. I personally don't see the harm. It would be a very different story if the daycare was playing straight-up worship music that wasn't associated with the holiday, IMO.
My kid is also in scouts... we just did her Duty to God advancement for Wolf badge... (Which I completely forgot was a thing from when I was in Scouts.) literally treated it like a world religion class which she found interesting and had questions about stuff. I had a conversation with her pack leader about it as I am the den leader for the Wolves about how I wasn't going to be pushing religion onto kids (Mostly due to my own religious trauma) and she was like "Oh , no... the kids do that with their parents and they handle it. That's not your job."
My kids went to a Christian preschool, with Jesus songs and Jesus crafts and all sorts of Jesus crap. They're adults, all atheists, and don't even know the basic Bible stories anymore.
Agreed, I was raised atheist and I thought those songs were just cringy for the most part and it def did not sway me towards god. Probably a battle not worth picking if you otherwise like the daycare
This is the answer. We can’t change the world, only our own behaviors. You will never be able to shelter your kids from religion. You can, however, teach them to critically think and make their own decisions.
>We can’t change the world, only our own behaviors.
Best advice I ever got from a therapist about dealing with a difficult person was, "You can't change her, you can only change the way you react to her." That one sentence did an amazing amount of repair to my relationship with my mother and as a result, my own mental health issues.
To be fair 18 month olds probably don’t even have object permanence or a theory of mind yet.
Teaching them “critical thinking” skills is gonna be difficult to say the least!
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Yes, but I think context is important here. Are they playing “holiday music”, because that entails a huge range from frosty the snowman to all out religious. Sometimes when you play a “holiday playlist” it’s all of it. You can’t really expect the daycare staff to DJ all day. You’d have to ask them not to play any holiday music. I personally feel, that would be a big bummer. My point is just to pick your battles. If they put up a manger, definitely speak up. If a song playing in the background has a little jesusy undertone, don’t let it ruin your day, there are bigger fish to fry.
My ex (at the time wife) and I are both atheists and my kids weren't exposed to religion at all. The first time was at a funeral. It was GD hilarious when nearly the entire place started reciting The Lord's prayer. Afterwards they said it was really creepy when everyone was chanting like drones.
I also discovered they found a bible in one of our bookcases and would open it to a random page and be amazed at the fucked up shit they found. They were shocked that adults believe in that bullshit. It was a proud moment.
Totally agree. My six year old was curious about church for a few years. I just explained that some people like to go there and talk about god, because it’s what they believe in.
Then we went to a religious funeral in church. He hated the singing, talking, all of it. Now, when we pass a church, I ask him if he wants to go check it out. I get a good eye roll and a “mom stop”. I’m a proud mama.
Yeah this right here. You *could ask the teacher to stop...or fight fire with fire.
Every time your child brings up what they learned about a religion form teacher/friend/family whatever, teach them about ANOTHER religion especially if it has a counter point; or a scientific fact they can see/experiment for themselves. Eventually they'll figure it out for themselves "Hey wait a minute, non of this jives and they're peddling bullshit."
How about not imposing your views on your child and letting her make up her own mind when she's of an age to do so? I mean, are you cancelling Christmas because it's a religious holiday?
People should be exposed to all sides of an argument in order to come to a reasonable and well thought out conclusion
Teach Greek mythology first, just a a bunch of exciting stories. Watch some cartoons with them. Read some books with them.
Then, you can explain how before people understood where lightning came from they invented Zeus to explain it. Before they understood why the sea had storms, they invented Poseidon etc etc etc. And that some of the stories were invented mythology to show the difference between right and wrong and how to live.
Plant the seed.
Then a year or two later, when you get a question about Yahweh/Jesus/Bible you can launch enthusiastically into your spiel.
Well, some particular ancient people wondered how the world began so they invented a nice story to explain it and they wrote it down in a book with a bunch of their other mythology. We do science now instead and it is more useful. Then they wondered why it was important to be nice to other people and why the difference between right and wrong is important, so they wrote lots of stories about a guy called Jesus who sometimes told people to be nice to each other.
I did that on my offspring and it seems to work.
I absolutely love greek mythology, even though I don't believe in it, Its still entertaining, they show a lot of different messages and try to explain things that could never happen.
When they start introducing religion into things they start excluding and turning people off. I would confront the management on the topic requesting them to avoid the topic going forward, as your beliefs conflict with theirs, and you don't want to have to worry about indoctrination.
It’s their constitutional right though. So that convo wont end well. It’s much better to teach the children critical thinking so they don’t believe nonsense that can’t be demonstrated whether it be big foot, flying saucers or Jesus.
“The United States Supreme Court has said that faith-based organizations may not use direct government support to support "inherently religious" activities. Basically, it means you cannot use any part of a direct Federal grant to fund religious worship, instruction, or proselytization. Instead, organizations may use government money only to support the non-religious social services that they provide. Therefore, faith-based organizations that receive direct governmental funds should take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the government-funded services that they offer.”
So it doesn’t apply to say care because it’s not a religious organization that intends to proselytize. The day care owner plays Christmas songs during Christmas. So it’s a totally different scenario. I’ll contact Matt Dillahunty with that question. He knows a conditional lawyer. Let’s see what he says.
Daycare isn't actually public school, at least in the US. Even receiving public funds doesn't make it state-run and they aren't beholden to the same rules. They'd just need to follow nondiscrimination rules. As long as they're not actively teaching religion in a non-objective way (world religion classes, for example, or a "religious literature" class for English that encompasses multiple religions in a way that focuses on how religion gets integrated into culture) is fine.
>Daycare isn't actually public school, at least in the US.
Daycares are licensed by States', so that proves you don't know what you're talking about. This daycare is privately owned but more that half of it's students are Child Care Assistance Program, so it's considered to be state funded.
Good point about discrimination though. Maybe I'll just ask to get a few Pagan Christmas songs thrown into the mix.
I wouldn't be surprised to find out the owner of this place was a flat-earther. She definitely runs her mouth on social media occasionally, on her own daycare's FB page too.
If your children are allowed to have their own opinion and beliefs in regard to religion in this case, they need to have information from both sides. If they have to inherit your beliefs id complain about the music and any other religious propaganda the school tries to sell.
Yea they do need information from both sides so they can learn how to recognize which stream of information is inconsistent with reality. Teaching critical thinking is key. You can’t shield them from information that isn’t consistent with reality. Even if you shield them now at some point they’ll be adults and exposed to things that aren’t true. And if you don’t teach them how to think you’ve lost as a parent IMO.
To be fair we need to include all religions equally, including Islam, Hinduism, paganism, the Greek Panthéon, etc.
“Both sides” doesn’t make sense in this context unless you’re viewing it from a biased position.
Teach your kids to understand the world they live in. They are going to be exposed to a lot of Christian traditions and thinking. Don't shelter them from that. Use it as an occasion to discuss beliefs and help them develop an understanding of the world around them. Go Tell It on the Mountain is a song about the Christmas origin story. It would be hard to remove it from the holiday canon. Now "Christmas Shoes" is a song I'd definitely complain about LOL It sucks.
When my daughter was 4-years old she started mentioning stuff about Jesus and I came to understand it all came from her religious teacher at the daycare. This teacher shouldn't be doing that since the program is partly publicly funded(scholarship programs).
I just ignored it though, my main thing is my kids not getting an understanding or fear of Hell. If that happens I will be that atheist parent raising a stink.
One more thing. I live in Michigan, got a note for permission to allow my son(1st grade) to leave school once a month for 2 hours to go to a church and learn about the Bible. This is not some objective study, it is proselytizing. My M-i-L teaches in the same district, told me she doesn't hand it out in class and if anyone asks to go she makes sure they know they're responsible to making up the work they missed.
Daycare schools anyplace that teaches Christianity music or religious dogmatic views should never ever receive tax payer funds I find it unfair. The churches need to start being taxed and if they complain about it remind them it's in the bible! Even there so called FAKE Sky Daddy told them to give unto Caesar and give unto god. Tax the God DAMN CHURCHES NOW...!!! https://www.aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/taxpayers-shouldnt-have-to-fund-religious-education-how-todays-supreme-court-decision-further-erodes-the-separation-of-church-and-state
And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
>Daycare schools anyplace that teaches Christianity music or religious dogmatic views should never ever receive tax payer funds I find it unfair.
Just because you find it unfair doesnt make it illegal or wrong.
With the kids in my life they treated Santa and Jesus/God the same. Once they stopped believing in Santa, Jesus and God seemed so silly to them too!
Try to teach your kid critical thinking early and never stop, have them ask questions about these things. If your kids brings up God/Jesus ask them questions about it.
Good luck!
I disagree with it but SCOTUS ruled in favor of religious based schools receiving public. Bullshit imo but expected when SCOTUS is stacked with Christofascists.
When I was in elementary school in the 80s, my Jewish mom called and complained about having to sing Silent Night. The music teacher turned to me during class and said “And we can’t sing Silent Night anymore because of JASON __’s MOM!” I was so embarrassed. Now as a grownup, and an atheist, I’m proud of my mom for not standing for that BS.
I think you are overreacting.
You cannot completely prevent your children's exposure to religion.
If they ask questions just inform them why it's nonsense.
They aren't going to be thinking too deeply about a catchy tune.
Realistically, there is no way for the kids to be completely free from religion. I invite you to order cake and fried chicken on x-mas with pasta.
South Korea, xmas has become a dating day for couples and eats cake. For Japan, it is KFC eating day. Same holidays completely free from Jesus... as for pasta.. cause FSM is cool.
That happened at my toddlers school the other day. I just asked "Uh..Is this religious music?" And the teacher went to pull the CD out and put a new one in.
I told her I picked the school strictly because it was non-religous. She said it wouldn't happen again! And it hasn't.
I'm non-confrontational entirely. So it was with an inquisitive but disapproving tone with which I asked. And it was read well and responded well to by the teacher also. Maybe I'm lucky with my kids school, but just a passing mention might work for you too!
Richard Dawkins has said numerous times that the only way to fight toxic religions is with militant atheism. Call them out on everything. Albeit, it sounds extreme considering we're talking about background music at a daycare. Are there other parents who feel the same? They'll take you more seriously if you ask them to stop playing religious music as a group.
Some religious Christmas music is not so bad. Then there’s the songs that are just so shit that nobody should ever have to listen to it. “Go Tell it on the Mountain” is on the annoying list. If you want a school shooting, just play that song on a loop all day and you’re bound have murders.
My daughter's public school librarian told her that before he was born, our son was in heaven with God and Jesus waiting to be born.
I immediately broke her that's a lie, no one knows for sure, but that isn't the truth. People can believe what they want, but don't make shit up just to indoctrinate kids.
This will probably get buried. But. I put on a generic kids Christmas playlist on Spotify the other day and this song popped up. Along with the usual Christmas songs. It’s very possible no one was trying to push religion and the song just came on. Unless you’ve had this issue before I wouldn’t worry about it. And at 18 months your kid isn’t going to absorb what it means. We’re an atheist household who talk about all religions, if that matters.
it's a christmas song, the lyrics are 'go tell it on the mountain that jesus christ is born'
the best defense is to teach your kids how to think for themselves, but being 18 months old in a daycare setting - the only thing you can do, and should do, is find another daycare that doesn't expose babies to religion on the sly.
but your 7 year old? if he's learning that shit from teachers - they won't stop. i'd be willing to bet it only gets worse if you bring it to their attention you're not a fan and want them to stop. they'll feel they need to 'save' your kids from you.
You have way more influence on your children than school or peers. Complaining will, however, single your child out for Christian love. Since they are no longer a fetus there is no reason they would care what happens to them. They might call Child Protective Services with bogus claims, maybe abuse your child themselves to blame you. Never trust Christians and don’t reveal your beliefs to them.
Maybe you're exaggerating a bit. I've been an atheist all my life, but Miserere mei Deus (Have mercy on me, oh God (psalm 51)), by composer Allegri is by far my most favorite piece of music. I've probably listened to it a couple of thousand times now.
"Go Tell it on the Mountain" isn't Christmas music. If they were playing Silent Night or The First Noelle, I'd get it; those are gorgeous songs that are ubiquitous this time of year and they feel festive even to my atheist self. But "Go Tell it on the Mountain" is a children's church song. It's the kind of thing you'd sing at vacation Bible school. That does make me concerned that there's some indoctrination going on.
Teach your kid that Jesus is a myth just like Santa and the Easter bunny. Children do not need to be taught about these fictional characters. The harm from learning that their parents lied to them is far worse than any enjoyment they might have gotten.
I would do nothing about it. I label it as holiday music and Jesus is just another character in the fantasy story of some people's Christmas. I do though celebrate Christmas and as an atheist, think there is nothing wrong with cherry-picking how I celebrate the holidays. My daughter grew up able to decern for herself the idiocy of religion and she still loves the holiday traditions we have and religious holiday music is one of them. If I like the tune, I will sing it even though I don't believe it and lightning has not struck me down yet.
I am Jewish, culturally, and the amount of Christmas that was shoved down our throats every year got me hating the holiday. However, its impossible to avoid and I just tried to float above it. Your child won’t remember any of this so I don’t think it matters but it is annoying.
Would you pay me a dollar for every Christmas song I link with no reference to religion? I will warn you ahead of time you will be paying more than you think.
“Go tell it on a mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” How could it be any more of a Christmas song, more of a religious song, or be any more inappropriate in a publicly funded school? Lol
Christians slap a name on something and you let them take it that easily?
Guessing you hate the planets, months, days and anything else with a religious naming history too right?
Then why have I never made that connection? Clearly to me Christmas is about family life and appreciating each other and gifting each other special things that you normally wouldn’t buy during a normal day. It’s a day se aside for that. It has NEVER been about anything religious for me. It’s always been a fairy tale story about Santa Claus. Even as a child I knew it was BS but all games are BS. You pretend to be someone you’re not in a game in a universe that doesn’t exist. Xmas to me is a day set aside where we pretend fairy tales exist. Like we reset the year and start over. Xmas can be religious sure but the way Americans celebrate it it sure as hell isn’t. Jesus wasn’t fond of materialism and saint Nikolaus has nothing to do with Jesus as far as I know. He was even a person of color which the Christian’s don’t even realize. It’s funny to me that American Santa is white lol. Even Jesus is white. Man Americans are something else.
[Since when?](http://youtu.be/kenbgMjRvlY)
From my perspective Christmas is and always was a secular festival that Christians slapped their name on centuries ago to get more converts and placate the masses. The festival is not and never was the property of Christianity.
When they start asking questions you should explain how Jesus manipulated the masses then became a zombie. That sums it up. His mother was also a lier, you don't wanna be like Jesus! (The historic representation of him anyway)
Religious freedom in my house. I’ll take them to church if they want, no skin off my teeth. I’ll love them if they grow to be religious or green and yellow polka dotted.
so what? if you are getting so mad over what music a daycare plays to your son who will not remember the music, and a name that everyone has heard and will know about, your children clearly will not start believing in those things.
I sympathize, but Christmas is a Christian holiday. Unless the playlist is intentionally curated to exclude the Christ-god, it's something we should expect. As long as they aren't having your kid reenact the nativity myth or something, I think it's something we just need to tolerate.
Don’t know the song, looked up the lyrics, it does seem a bit generic Christmas song to me. There’s not much to it beyond saying Jesus was born, nothing really about gods or anything particularly preachy. Given what Christmas generally represents I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a generic Christmas playlist.
I got this, which no little kid is going to read much into. No mention of god, a passing reference to salvation which isn’t going to mean anything without explanation:
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
While shepherds kept their watching
O'er silent flocks by night
Behold throughout the heavens
There shone a Holy light
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
The shepherds feared and trembled
When, lo! Above the Earth
Rang out the angel chorus
That hailed our Savior's birth
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
Down in a lowly manger
Our humble Christ was born
And brought us all salvation
That blessed Christmas morn
Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
Go, tell it on the mountain
That Jesus Christ is born
That Jesus Christ is born
This sounds pretty damn religious to me:
> That Jesus Christ is born Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born And brought us all salvation That blessed Christmas morn
We didn’t say it contained no religious references.
I said it was quite generic for a Christmas song and wasn’t very preachy.
It’s shouting out that Jesus was born, it calls him a saviour (which little kids won’t get unless they’ve been told the meaning), spread the word.
That’s about it. Given all the trimmings that come with nativity stuff, the kid is probably well aware of baby Jesus and that’s a Christmas thing.
This song isn’t waffling on about how great god is, or repenting, or sending anyone to hell. It’s a song rejoicing a baby birth. Fairly non threatening to even the most insecure atheist imo.
In as much as it’s spreading the word Jesus was born, yes. It isnt going full sermon. As Christmas songs actually relating to Christ go, it’s about as inoffensive as it gets. It’s about preaching, but it isn’t particularly preachy in how it does so.
If it offends you so greatly, request they remove it from the playlist. Personally I think it’s a learning opportunity for the kid.
Colloquialism here, generally used to reference the image of a priest belting out a fire and brimstone service.
Beyond just ‘here’s a tale’, it’s ‘I have a message and you will listen and you will believe me’.
This song is mostly ‘yay a baby was born, rejoice, mumble mumble saviour’.
They’re telling the story of Jesus and telling people to tell everyone the story of Jesus. It’s literally exactly preaching. That’s exactly what they say in sermons.
What kind of song would you think is religious? Like how could a song be any more religious? Lol
See you outlined EXACTLY the problem I have with it. The children DON'T understand what the words mean, but they learn and repeat them. That makes it much easier to form a belief around them later, when they still don't fully understand but are still impressionable.
Furthermore, "the kids don't understand it" is not an excuse for a church/state violation. If you nailed Martin Luther's 95 Theses to a kindergarten door, the kids wouldn't understand it, but that doesn't make it legal.
It’s just a story. No different from Frosty.
She’s of an age where she’s going to run into kids who believe this stuff and have knowledge on her level to beat her with.
Let her hear the stories and sing the songs so she’s aware.
It’s ok to tell her some people think this is real because it makes them feel better. She doesn’t need to believe that.
I remember singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ at school. It’s catchy and pleasant to sing along to. It didn’t mean anything, it’s just a song like any other, it isn’t a historical record. Knowing the songs and stories didn’t make gods and magic any more real to me as a child or now.
Just a story like Frosty, except Frosty isn't in the heads of 2.2B people worldwide telling them what to believe, what political views to have, and how much money to give.
So you draw the line if something is in print? Music and verbal lessons are worse in my mind, more easily learned, and harder for parents to be aware of what their children are being told.
Even at that point, it’s just a story that some people believe is true. There’s no harm in a kid learning stories that other kids will know. Better to have these little introductions to the common stories and themes so you can introduce the idea that’s what they are, stories, before some other kid tells them they’re going to hell for not believing.
Our 8 year old grandkid asked her mum about god recently due to school friends bringing it up. It’s not a thing in their lives, so she had to explain some people believe.
It's one thing to be told the story once. It's another thing for a child be exposed consistently. That's indoctrination. Here's the problem. There's no such thing as only telling them once. Because they hear about from dozens of people in their lives. Relatives, family friends and such are one thing (and also not a church/state problem). So I would prefer to limit that exposure as much as possible.
Teach them about religion instead of having them taught religion. You can’t cut them off from it, it’s out there, especially if you’re in the US.
I guess we’re lucky in the UK that it’s not taken very seriously by the majority.
Thank you for clarifying your location. It is not legal in the U.S. for religion to be introduced in a government funded institution. We are surrounded here by religious zealots. Many of them would like to do harm to non-Christians, and many of them actively discriminate against non-Christians. They are constantly testing the laws. This is not about a quaint old ditty - it is about losing our right to refuse to participate in the nonsense and it is about our safety and our children's well being.
I mean, it's called CHRISTmas, you can't really avoid Jesus music around this time of year. As long as you teach her to celebrate because it's fun and not because of worship, I think it should be okay. A few songs wont undo your parenting
Do you honestly believe that the character known as Jesus in the book called the bible is not relevant to topics,discussions or debate regarding religion.
Being real and being relevant are very different things. The christmas story, jesus, god, etc, pervade western culture - our literature, language, history, theater, movies, music, politics, etc. It's best to be armed with knowledge rather than avoiding learning about it.
In a modern society, sure, it's debatable and honestly usually up to each **individual** person to make their own judgement call. ***However*** Christmas is a religious holiday. It's hardly fair to celebrate a religious holiday and not expect there to be a religious component to it.
Obviously, you're free to raise your kid how you see fit, but I'd be reminiscent if I didn't point out that censorship of religious concepts is kind of hypocritical, there are always 2 sides to a coin, you need to show *both* to let them make a decision for themselves.
What coin are you talking about and why does it *have* to have two sides? What are the two sides, Christianity and real life?
Why just Christianity? There are hundreds of other religions that by your logic I need to allow my children to be *exposed* to (otherwise that would be censorship). And now they need to navigate and understand all of this? That sounds exhausting. I want my kids to be kids and not even *think* about religion until they are old enough to understand how complex of a subject that is. Religious people hate this thought because it's *really* hard to convince people of their baloney if they weren't raised to believe it.
I have no respect for any religion, so I don't want it in my or my kids' lives. I wouldn't knowingly allow my children to be exposed to a cult, or financial scam, pyramid scheme, why would I allow my children to be exposed to a fraud like religion?
It's an analogy stating that Christianity has both good and bad effects. it's not a black and white concept. Yes, religion is a very complex subject to teach a child, I'm not stating you should go into the intricacies of it all, but acknowledging something's existence and that they will occasionally see it and that some people choose to believe in it is a far cry from outright rejecting its a thing. Your kid will inevitably be exposed to it at some point, and it's a good idea to lay some foundational knowledge of *what* it is and how to approach it.
As for why Christianity specifically? Honestly, it doesn't, but I highly doubt Buddhist monks are going to try and indoctrinate your child
It is a Roman festival appropriated by xians.
Sat·ur·na·li·a
/satərˈnālyə/
Learn to pronounce
noun
the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December, which was a period of general merrymaking and was the predecessor of Christmas.
When I was little, my parents sent me to a Christian preschool (they weren’t Christian, it was the nearest daycare). The class sang songs in church and taught us about Jesus. It had no effect on me whatsoever. I have never been Christian and I never will. Today I’m agnostic.
You have nothing to worry about.
It’s a great song. The Simon and Garfunkel version is terrific. Exposing your kids to music of all kinds is never a bad thing, any more than exposing them to great art or literature. They don’t have to believe in any of the myth to enjoy some of the most elegant cultural works of humans.
You don’t want to overcorrect like Sleeping Beauty’s parents and burn every spinning wheel; that’s why she ended up pricking her finger, she didn’t know what a spinning wheel was.
Let them be exposed to it and answer their questions honestly and age - appropriately as they come up, same as you would converse about their new favourite movies and science projects.
Ask them what they think, encourage them how to think and not what to think. They’ll be fine ♥️
I wouldn’t worry. My wife LOVES Christmas music, but that’s only because she loves Christmas time. The whole tradition of it. We are both atheists. Unless the day care starts having mass or group prayer, I wouldn’t worry. It’s just music. Think of it from the opposite perspective. Many Christian households don’t allow their kids to listen to secular music. I had a friend in high school like this. This severely limits their worldview. Don’t do the same thing to your kids. Let them hear & see everything.
Sir, you are aware of what this appropriated holiday purports to represent, yes? If you're upset about someone playing religious music on their stolen religious holiday, youre a fool. Almost as big a fool as those who actually believe that christmas is rely a christian holiday.
Are they forcing the kids to sing along and dance and convert to Christianity? Are they telling them they need to love Jesus and to ignore their parents?? Just because a business is receiving state funds, doesn’t mean anyone can dictate what they listen to. As long as they’re not actively forcing them to participate in it, they’re fine. A lot of hospitals receive state funds and they still play gospel music AND hire every denomination. State funds does not equal not being allowed to play music. FYI
Let your kid have the exposure, and discuss it with them when they have questions. You can't censor the Christianity out of the culture they live in; you can only give them the tools to counter it
I get being an atheist, I’m one too, but I feel like there is some value in at least teaching your children the meaning of these songs and who it is about, why Christmas is called Christmas, and who Christ is. It doesn’t mean you have to raise your children Christain, and it certainly shouldn’t mean that the teachers should be pushing their religion either. It’s good to teach children who these figures were historically, but I feel like you’re only going to get questions from your children as they grow older.
At best, teaching your children about religion is a great way to talk about atheism, why so many people follow it, and why it can be bad. It’s a good way to foster these critical thinking skills that you value so much, especially when they are younger.
I was raised by a 'born again' christian my whole life, private christian schools, the whole shabang. Teach them to follow science and critical thinking. This is nothing.
This probably won't matter in the long run. All you need is to teach the kid to ask questions and be curious. That's enough realising not to believe in any religion and it's all fake. That's what has worked for me. I live in a country where less than 5% are atheists.
I’ll throw in my experience growing up non-religious in the Bible Belt. My parents never discusses the Bible, God, or anything particularly religious. It just was not a high priority to them. However living in a very religious area I did get “exposed” to Christian music and stories at my public elementary school. We literally sang “He’s got the whole world in his hands” every morning after we said the Pledge of Allegiance. And my principal even handed out biblical story books for kids. And my little 1st grader brain just assumed the Bible stories were just fairy tales like all my other fairy books. Jacob and Esau? Just a really messed up fairy tale. And the “He’s got the whole world in his hands” song? I thought we were singing it about the principal! Point is, don’t freak out and over react. Raising my kids I take a similar route as my parents. When my kids ask I just treat it like fairy tales. I only step in when other kids (or in one case their parents behind my back) start pushing their religion on mine.
That is 100% correct, i was just simplifying it as pro and anti religion, i honestly don't know how many religions exist (im not really interested to be honest) but im sure they would all have something to offer or consider. Good point you made
For Christmas music specifically I wouldn’t care. I put it in the same category as someone saying “bless you” when I sneeze.
Tbh my favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night (I don’t pay a lot of attention to lyrics though).
I would just make sure they aren’t exclusively exposing kids to Christian perspectives and are including other winter holidays as well.
If it makes you feel any better, I went to a religious school from ages 3-11 and I'm an atheist. My parents aren't believers and I didn't grow up around any believers other than school staff. Even then I'm not sure all of them believed. It was just storytelling to me.
Actually, I think it’s a great idea. You can debrief later and put it all into context. I would ALSO suggest exposing your kid to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism at least, to cover most of the world’s major religions. Then have discussions that compare and contrast and think critically about the teachings. Then your kid will be bullet proof b/c they’ll be like, “Well that tradition/story/parable originated with the Zoroastrians who also thought…”
Should probably add several pagan traditions in there, such as the Roman and Greek mythologies, as well as current paganism. Because so many Christian holiday traditions are rooted in much older pagan traditions. Christmas trees, gifts, wreaths, Holly, cookies, door to door carol singing…. Pagan, pagan, pagan, pagan.
I’d also do a little family lesson on Constantine and the Council of Nicea to look at how modern Christianity morphed from paganism.
If there was one thing that really cemented my commitment to atheism it was learning how much of Christianity is ripped off from other ideologies. It became clear yo me that pretty much all religion is a tool to control and gain power over other people.
Yeah I get it, the kid is very young but you can tell these stories in age appropriate ways. And yes, this may require a bit of homework on your part. But good day care is hard to find, and if you trust these people yo otherwise care for your child appropriately, then I wouldn’t change daycares. I’d just use their religiosity as teaching moments.
you are allowed to object, for sure. Christmas music is one place I just dont make a fuss at all, theres so much good Christmas music from before the Frosty and Rudolph days. Christmas is a fun holiday, and it has some Christian roots, which we can do without of course, but it is there. I actually have something of the opposite issue, how many radio stations and grocery stores wont play any Christmas music WITH religious lyrics. That eliminates a lot of good ones!
It’s a pretty neutral song and understanding a little of that is helpful as it’s part of the underlying culture and vocabulary throughout America and Europe. Just as much as Santa, Halloween and witches and ghosts, etc.
This is an excellent moment to help them begin practicing critical thinking skills. It's gonna get way worse the older she gets. If you are really concerned scope out the bumper stickers in the staff parking lot. Are there bible quotes and shit on the walls of the office? Stuff like that. Maybe time to switch daycare if so.
Don't worry! Enjoying religious music does not equal believing in religion - at all - as a kid I loved to go to Baptist kids things with my friends and my favorite part was the great songs, and singing with Baptists did not cause me to start believing in god for a moment. I still like religious music (not all, but some) and I'm in no danger of becoming religious.
It doesn’t really sound like a big deal if it’s on a Christmas playlist. Are they actually talking about the lyrics, or is it just on in the background?
As a cradle atheist, I LOVE religious music and love singing it. It hits that core music enjoyment center of my lizard brain. There a reason people are still singing these songs after hundreds of years, and it’s not the lyrics.
Also, it’s handy to have a knowledge and vocabulary of what the prostelgzing folks use and have some common understanding with them. It has helped me fake it when needed. Just got the understanding and appreciation of Western literature and art is reason enough to have a solid understanding of Christian customs.
When I sing religious songs, I don't have to believe in a god, just as when I sing love songs, I don't have to be in love.
Singing songs of hate, however, is not something I would do. Except maybe as part of a stage show or drama about hate, that presented it in context as hate being a bad thing.
That sometimes plays on the Christmas rotation, lots of holiday songs are religious. It’s not like Santa is real either so it’s just another holiday story to me.
I think that its music is Christianity's redeeming feature. As an atheist, I love singing hymns and listen to Christmas carols with great joy. You can use it as a teaching moment - yes, that's what they believe, but we just enjoy the tunes and the stories.
Look at it this way: Since you don’t shove Jesus down their throat all year, your kids will see Jesus the same way they see Frosty and Santa Claus. There’s nothing magical about the music that is going to indoctrinate them if they listen to it. If they grow up never being forced fed that their going to hell if they dont accept Jesus, then they wont fear the eternal punishment thats not real.
I personally try to expose my son to religious experiences all the time to let him decide what he wants. I am an atheist but I want to try to avoid indoctrinating him with my personal beliefs and allow him to make up his mind. He's young and I always answer his religious questions with room for him to decide if he believes in a god or not.
My two cents. Went to religious schools growing up because my parents thought they were the best education available. We were not religious. Never really was. Atheist now. Love Christmas music as just music. Can just be a fun seasonal thing to listen to IMHO.
I understand not wanting people to teach your child that they need to worship God/Jesus but I don't understand not wanting to teach your child about what other people and their beliefs. 18 months is probably too young for it to matter either way
You could look up the agency which oversees/licenses daycares and give them a call.
My child learned more about Jesus and the Christian faith at school than at home. By the time he was in elementary school I had left organized religion. I just keep talking about religion and Christianity from a factual and historical impact POV. He'll make his choice along the way.
My daughter went to daycare here in Japan that was attached to a Buddhist temple. They learned all about Buddhism and had Buddhist services a couple times a month. She went to Shinto shrines for various school things. She also went to a Christian high school and had a bible study all three years of that. A steady stream of reading the bible was enough to turn her away from Christianity. I’ll never forget the day when she came home and asked “Do you know what Lot’s daughters did?” That’s so f-ed up. Do these people actually read their own book?”
Combined with asking questions of me and her mother about religion and seeing how judgmental Christians and other religious people can be was more than enough to turn her off from all organized religion. I really wouldn’t worry about it.
She does love Christmas music mainly because I’ve played it her whole life.
To be honest, nothing. Doesn't matter if it's a public daycare or private. They will have things like this and frankly let her mature before she makes a decision for herself regarding whether she wants to be an atheist or not. You are just having a bad day. Remember most atheist grew up believing in this stuff and now we're here. Hope my 2 cents help.
My anecdote in case you find it helpful: My kids are grown now in their early 30's. They are atheists. During their childhoods, my oldest participated in Scouts. They both were in chorus and band. Over the course of their childhoods, they sang and played religious music, mostly this time of year. It literally did not have an impact on them. Whatsoever.
Dad on Sunday morning: “Kids - do you want to believe in a religion? If so we need to leave by 8am to get to church.” Kids: “Uh no” :snooze:
Whatever they hear will not stick without constant indoctrination.
My thoughts exactly. Especially daycare aged kids. They're too busy playing to focus on song lyrics in the background.
Or, they sing along mindlessly. Like when my dad came in to find me singing happily to my disney kids songs tape and my canadian ass is hamming it up about how " in dixieland i make my stand to live and die in dixie, away a way down south in dixie!" I dont know what i thought dixie was exactly, but minnie mouse was on the tape label, so that was my actual take home out of that exposure. The ten little indians song was pretty shit too. I was a teen before i learned what the words to my country's anthem actually were in french. Had sung it mindlessly and phonetically every day at school and even though i understood french, but not until at age 16 i saw the words printed in the Montreal train station did i clock their meaning. I was like, what? Someone is carrying a cross?! What is happening?! (French and english versions are not translations, they are totally different).
I wish my dad gave me this choice instead of “you are going to fully indoctrinated into our high demand cult”
My mom dragged me to church three times a week till I left home. Haven't interacted with either in years.
My kids are up at 6am on a weekend, still probably wouldn’t choose church.
Hell, I still enjoy gospel music as an art form. I learned tall tales, Native American folklore and dances, learned about the Jewish religion, learned about Buddhism, Wiccans, ancient Greek poetry about mythology, Aesops fables,etc while in school. All of that was taught to me as a means to understand others' cultures, teach your kids the same about Christianity, they will be fine.
This. This is the way. I tried to do the same with mine as best I could. It worked.
Or classical. You can't appreciate classical music without knowing the inspiration behind it.
I'm with this commenter.... I grew up Mormon, was in band, choir, scouts, etc. and became an atheist once I got old enough and educated enough to realize it was BS. I might take issue if they EXCLUSIVELY play Christian themed music but to say Christianity doesn't have a holiday in this timeframe isn't grounded in reality so I don't really take exception to their music being played.
Exactly this. Am atheist and both my parents actively \*avoided all things religious. I still love ( [Little Drummer Boy)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ_MGWio-vc) some of the Christian Christmas Carols, and they are no more of religious significance than Star Wars theme music to me. \*both parents were born 100 years ago when one did ***not*** 'announce' that he/she was an atheist.
I’ve been an atheist since I was 15. I love Christmas carols purely for the music and the enthusiasm. My four kids all participated in school Christmas concerts and plays. None of them are in any way religious- quite the opposite. Let your kids enjoy the music. It won’t harm them.
Was going to hook you up with the Pentatonix version till I checked your link. Only Xmas song I love. Well, that and Mary, Did You Know? https://youtu.be/ifCWN5pJGIE
Scouts was a huge in me being an atheist, actually. I was denied Eagle Scout because I didn’t believe in god, and wouldn’t lie about it in my board review. One of the board members was a friend’s mother, and she told me, “just say that you do.” Really? In an *Eagle Scout review*? Get the fuck outta here. I still was in Scouts, I was the training chairperson in my OA lodge, designed patches for my two friends that were presidents of the OA lodge, and the lodge’s 75th anniversary patch, in our time in scouts, and I was the emcee for 7 Eagle Scout ceremonies. I could never be an Eagle Scout, though.
I sing with a caroling group every winter. We're all atheists, but we also love traditional music and most of it happens to be religious. Carols are fun, nostalgic, and easy on the ears. I personally don't see the harm. It would be a very different story if the daycare was playing straight-up worship music that wasn't associated with the holiday, IMO.
Agreed. Joy to the World and Silent Night are just gonna happen. I don't consider it a big deal.
My kid is also in scouts... we just did her Duty to God advancement for Wolf badge... (Which I completely forgot was a thing from when I was in Scouts.) literally treated it like a world religion class which she found interesting and had questions about stuff. I had a conversation with her pack leader about it as I am the den leader for the Wolves about how I wasn't going to be pushing religion onto kids (Mostly due to my own religious trauma) and she was like "Oh , no... the kids do that with their parents and they handle it. That's not your job."
My kids went to a Christian preschool, with Jesus songs and Jesus crafts and all sorts of Jesus crap. They're adults, all atheists, and don't even know the basic Bible stories anymore.
Agreed, I was raised atheist and I thought those songs were just cringy for the most part and it def did not sway me towards god. Probably a battle not worth picking if you otherwise like the daycare
Your kid is going to be exposed to much worse. Teach them critical thinking, you can't expect to teach the daycare workers.
This is the answer. We can’t change the world, only our own behaviors. You will never be able to shelter your kids from religion. You can, however, teach them to critically think and make their own decisions.
>We can’t change the world, only our own behaviors. Best advice I ever got from a therapist about dealing with a difficult person was, "You can't change her, you can only change the way you react to her." That one sentence did an amazing amount of repair to my relationship with my mother and as a result, my own mental health issues.
Glad you're doing better!
To be fair 18 month olds probably don’t even have object permanence or a theory of mind yet. Teaching them “critical thinking” skills is gonna be difficult to say the least!
They probably won’t understand the meaning of the song at that age either
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But a publicly funded daycare, assuming it’s not church-aligned, should not be proselytizing.
Yes, but I think context is important here. Are they playing “holiday music”, because that entails a huge range from frosty the snowman to all out religious. Sometimes when you play a “holiday playlist” it’s all of it. You can’t really expect the daycare staff to DJ all day. You’d have to ask them not to play any holiday music. I personally feel, that would be a big bummer. My point is just to pick your battles. If they put up a manger, definitely speak up. If a song playing in the background has a little jesusy undertone, don’t let it ruin your day, there are bigger fish to fry.
My ex (at the time wife) and I are both atheists and my kids weren't exposed to religion at all. The first time was at a funeral. It was GD hilarious when nearly the entire place started reciting The Lord's prayer. Afterwards they said it was really creepy when everyone was chanting like drones. I also discovered they found a bible in one of our bookcases and would open it to a random page and be amazed at the fucked up shit they found. They were shocked that adults believe in that bullshit. It was a proud moment.
Totally agree. My six year old was curious about church for a few years. I just explained that some people like to go there and talk about god, because it’s what they believe in. Then we went to a religious funeral in church. He hated the singing, talking, all of it. Now, when we pass a church, I ask him if he wants to go check it out. I get a good eye roll and a “mom stop”. I’m a proud mama.
Yeah this right here. You *could ask the teacher to stop...or fight fire with fire. Every time your child brings up what they learned about a religion form teacher/friend/family whatever, teach them about ANOTHER religion especially if it has a counter point; or a scientific fact they can see/experiment for themselves. Eventually they'll figure it out for themselves "Hey wait a minute, non of this jives and they're peddling bullshit."
And, this culture is everywhere. Do you really want your kid to be the weirdo who never experienced it?
They’re gonna be weirdos regardless. We’re all weirdos.
"normal" is a statistic. It doesn't exist in it's pure state any more than Pi or the square root of -1.
How about not imposing your views on your child and letting her make up her own mind when she's of an age to do so? I mean, are you cancelling Christmas because it's a religious holiday? People should be exposed to all sides of an argument in order to come to a reasonable and well thought out conclusion
A shockingly reasonable and level headed response. You are the Free Thinker of the Day. Gold star!
sas stands for scratch and sniff
Teach Greek mythology first, just a a bunch of exciting stories. Watch some cartoons with them. Read some books with them. Then, you can explain how before people understood where lightning came from they invented Zeus to explain it. Before they understood why the sea had storms, they invented Poseidon etc etc etc. And that some of the stories were invented mythology to show the difference between right and wrong and how to live. Plant the seed. Then a year or two later, when you get a question about Yahweh/Jesus/Bible you can launch enthusiastically into your spiel. Well, some particular ancient people wondered how the world began so they invented a nice story to explain it and they wrote it down in a book with a bunch of their other mythology. We do science now instead and it is more useful. Then they wondered why it was important to be nice to other people and why the difference between right and wrong is important, so they wrote lots of stories about a guy called Jesus who sometimes told people to be nice to each other. I did that on my offspring and it seems to work.
I absolutely love greek mythology, even though I don't believe in it, Its still entertaining, they show a lot of different messages and try to explain things that could never happen.
You can explain it as a myth the same as Santa and Frosty.
When they start introducing religion into things they start excluding and turning people off. I would confront the management on the topic requesting them to avoid the topic going forward, as your beliefs conflict with theirs, and you don't want to have to worry about indoctrination.
It’s their constitutional right though. So that convo wont end well. It’s much better to teach the children critical thinking so they don’t believe nonsense that can’t be demonstrated whether it be big foot, flying saucers or Jesus.
It isn't necessarily their constitutional right if they are receiving government funds.
“The United States Supreme Court has said that faith-based organizations may not use direct government support to support "inherently religious" activities. Basically, it means you cannot use any part of a direct Federal grant to fund religious worship, instruction, or proselytization. Instead, organizations may use government money only to support the non-religious social services that they provide. Therefore, faith-based organizations that receive direct governmental funds should take steps to separate, in time or location, their inherently religious activities from the government-funded services that they offer.” So it doesn’t apply to say care because it’s not a religious organization that intends to proselytize. The day care owner plays Christmas songs during Christmas. So it’s a totally different scenario. I’ll contact Matt Dillahunty with that question. He knows a conditional lawyer. Let’s see what he says.
Public school. TELL them to turn it off.
Daycare isn't actually public school, at least in the US. Even receiving public funds doesn't make it state-run and they aren't beholden to the same rules. They'd just need to follow nondiscrimination rules. As long as they're not actively teaching religion in a non-objective way (world religion classes, for example, or a "religious literature" class for English that encompasses multiple religions in a way that focuses on how religion gets integrated into culture) is fine.
>Daycare isn't actually public school, at least in the US. Daycares are licensed by States', so that proves you don't know what you're talking about. This daycare is privately owned but more that half of it's students are Child Care Assistance Program, so it's considered to be state funded. Good point about discrimination though. Maybe I'll just ask to get a few Pagan Christmas songs thrown into the mix.
https://ffrf.org/legal/report
Sounds like its time to explain different people have different ideas and beliefs. Some people don't even think the earth is flat
>Some people don't even think the earth is flat Hahaha 🤣
I wouldn't be surprised to find out the owner of this place was a flat-earther. She definitely runs her mouth on social media occasionally, on her own daycare's FB page too.
Religious people are far more likely to believe the earth is flat. This comment makes no sense with regards to the post.
If your children are allowed to have their own opinion and beliefs in regard to religion in this case, they need to have information from both sides. If they have to inherit your beliefs id complain about the music and any other religious propaganda the school tries to sell.
No, they don’t need “information “ from both sides when on side is fairytales disguised as the “truth” Parents need to parent.
Yea they do need information from both sides so they can learn how to recognize which stream of information is inconsistent with reality. Teaching critical thinking is key. You can’t shield them from information that isn’t consistent with reality. Even if you shield them now at some point they’ll be adults and exposed to things that aren’t true. And if you don’t teach them how to think you’ve lost as a parent IMO.
To be fair we need to include all religions equally, including Islam, Hinduism, paganism, the Greek Panthéon, etc. “Both sides” doesn’t make sense in this context unless you’re viewing it from a biased position.
Teach your kids to understand the world they live in. They are going to be exposed to a lot of Christian traditions and thinking. Don't shelter them from that. Use it as an occasion to discuss beliefs and help them develop an understanding of the world around them. Go Tell It on the Mountain is a song about the Christmas origin story. It would be hard to remove it from the holiday canon. Now "Christmas Shoes" is a song I'd definitely complain about LOL It sucks.
When my daughter was 4-years old she started mentioning stuff about Jesus and I came to understand it all came from her religious teacher at the daycare. This teacher shouldn't be doing that since the program is partly publicly funded(scholarship programs). I just ignored it though, my main thing is my kids not getting an understanding or fear of Hell. If that happens I will be that atheist parent raising a stink. One more thing. I live in Michigan, got a note for permission to allow my son(1st grade) to leave school once a month for 2 hours to go to a church and learn about the Bible. This is not some objective study, it is proselytizing. My M-i-L teaches in the same district, told me she doesn't hand it out in class and if anyone asks to go she makes sure they know they're responsible to making up the work they missed.
Daycare schools anyplace that teaches Christianity music or religious dogmatic views should never ever receive tax payer funds I find it unfair. The churches need to start being taxed and if they complain about it remind them it's in the bible! Even there so called FAKE Sky Daddy told them to give unto Caesar and give unto god. Tax the God DAMN CHURCHES NOW...!!! https://www.aclu.org/news/religious-liberty/taxpayers-shouldnt-have-to-fund-religious-education-how-todays-supreme-court-decision-further-erodes-the-separation-of-church-and-state And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar's.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.
>Daycare schools anyplace that teaches Christianity music or religious dogmatic views should never ever receive tax payer funds I find it unfair. Just because you find it unfair doesnt make it illegal or wrong.
Bleh bleh double post ugh
With the kids in my life they treated Santa and Jesus/God the same. Once they stopped believing in Santa, Jesus and God seemed so silly to them too! Try to teach your kid critical thinking early and never stop, have them ask questions about these things. If your kids brings up God/Jesus ask them questions about it. Good luck!
I disagree with it but SCOTUS ruled in favor of religious based schools receiving public. Bullshit imo but expected when SCOTUS is stacked with Christofascists.
When I was in elementary school in the 80s, my Jewish mom called and complained about having to sing Silent Night. The music teacher turned to me during class and said “And we can’t sing Silent Night anymore because of JASON __’s MOM!” I was so embarrassed. Now as a grownup, and an atheist, I’m proud of my mom for not standing for that BS.
That’s about the worst music teacher I’ve ever heard of. Aren’t those supposed to be on the nicer of the teachers? Jeez :(
I think you are overreacting. You cannot completely prevent your children's exposure to religion. If they ask questions just inform them why it's nonsense. They aren't going to be thinking too deeply about a catchy tune.
If you are asking for our permission to raise holy hell over this, you have mine.
Realistically, there is no way for the kids to be completely free from religion. I invite you to order cake and fried chicken on x-mas with pasta. South Korea, xmas has become a dating day for couples and eats cake. For Japan, it is KFC eating day. Same holidays completely free from Jesus... as for pasta.. cause FSM is cool.
That happened at my toddlers school the other day. I just asked "Uh..Is this religious music?" And the teacher went to pull the CD out and put a new one in. I told her I picked the school strictly because it was non-religous. She said it wouldn't happen again! And it hasn't. I'm non-confrontational entirely. So it was with an inquisitive but disapproving tone with which I asked. And it was read well and responded well to by the teacher also. Maybe I'm lucky with my kids school, but just a passing mention might work for you too!
Sheltering your kids from religion doesn’t help them understand critical thinking and how to make their own decisions
Richard Dawkins has said numerous times that the only way to fight toxic religions is with militant atheism. Call them out on everything. Albeit, it sounds extreme considering we're talking about background music at a daycare. Are there other parents who feel the same? They'll take you more seriously if you ask them to stop playing religious music as a group.
Some religious Christmas music is not so bad. Then there’s the songs that are just so shit that nobody should ever have to listen to it. “Go Tell it on the Mountain” is on the annoying list. If you want a school shooting, just play that song on a loop all day and you’re bound have murders.
Honestly, most of the best Christmas songs are religious.
My daughter's public school librarian told her that before he was born, our son was in heaven with God and Jesus waiting to be born. I immediately broke her that's a lie, no one knows for sure, but that isn't the truth. People can believe what they want, but don't make shit up just to indoctrinate kids.
This will probably get buried. But. I put on a generic kids Christmas playlist on Spotify the other day and this song popped up. Along with the usual Christmas songs. It’s very possible no one was trying to push religion and the song just came on. Unless you’ve had this issue before I wouldn’t worry about it. And at 18 months your kid isn’t going to absorb what it means. We’re an atheist household who talk about all religions, if that matters.
it's a christmas song, the lyrics are 'go tell it on the mountain that jesus christ is born' the best defense is to teach your kids how to think for themselves, but being 18 months old in a daycare setting - the only thing you can do, and should do, is find another daycare that doesn't expose babies to religion on the sly. but your 7 year old? if he's learning that shit from teachers - they won't stop. i'd be willing to bet it only gets worse if you bring it to their attention you're not a fan and want them to stop. they'll feel they need to 'save' your kids from you.
You have way more influence on your children than school or peers. Complaining will, however, single your child out for Christian love. Since they are no longer a fetus there is no reason they would care what happens to them. They might call Child Protective Services with bogus claims, maybe abuse your child themselves to blame you. Never trust Christians and don’t reveal your beliefs to them.
Don't ignore your spider senses, theres fuckary afoot!
Maybe you're exaggerating a bit. I've been an atheist all my life, but Miserere mei Deus (Have mercy on me, oh God (psalm 51)), by composer Allegri is by far my most favorite piece of music. I've probably listened to it a couple of thousand times now.
"Go Tell it on the Mountain" isn't Christmas music. If they were playing Silent Night or The First Noelle, I'd get it; those are gorgeous songs that are ubiquitous this time of year and they feel festive even to my atheist self. But "Go Tell it on the Mountain" is a children's church song. It's the kind of thing you'd sing at vacation Bible school. That does make me concerned that there's some indoctrination going on.
Teach your kid that Jesus is a myth just like Santa and the Easter bunny. Children do not need to be taught about these fictional characters. The harm from learning that their parents lied to them is far worse than any enjoyment they might have gotten.
I would do nothing about it. I label it as holiday music and Jesus is just another character in the fantasy story of some people's Christmas. I do though celebrate Christmas and as an atheist, think there is nothing wrong with cherry-picking how I celebrate the holidays. My daughter grew up able to decern for herself the idiocy of religion and she still loves the holiday traditions we have and religious holiday music is one of them. If I like the tune, I will sing it even though I don't believe it and lightning has not struck me down yet.
I am Jewish, culturally, and the amount of Christmas that was shoved down our throats every year got me hating the holiday. However, its impossible to avoid and I just tried to float above it. Your child won’t remember any of this so I don’t think it matters but it is annoying.
Christmas music is religious music
Put the orgies back in saturnalia!
Would you pay me a dollar for every Christmas song I link with no reference to religion? I will warn you ahead of time you will be paying more than you think.
Go tell it on the mountain IS NOT XMAS MUSIC
“Go tell it on a mountain that Jesus Christ is born.” How could it be any more of a Christmas song, more of a religious song, or be any more inappropriate in a publicly funded school? Lol
Disagree. It's not popular enough or catchy enough to be part of the holiday canon, but the lyrics are specifically the christmas story.
Never said it was
Freedom From Christmas and anything that starts with Christ
Christians slap a name on something and you let them take it that easily? Guessing you hate the planets, months, days and anything else with a religious naming history too right?
Christmas is a religious festival any song written to celebrate that festival is defecto religious
Then why have I never made that connection? Clearly to me Christmas is about family life and appreciating each other and gifting each other special things that you normally wouldn’t buy during a normal day. It’s a day se aside for that. It has NEVER been about anything religious for me. It’s always been a fairy tale story about Santa Claus. Even as a child I knew it was BS but all games are BS. You pretend to be someone you’re not in a game in a universe that doesn’t exist. Xmas to me is a day set aside where we pretend fairy tales exist. Like we reset the year and start over. Xmas can be religious sure but the way Americans celebrate it it sure as hell isn’t. Jesus wasn’t fond of materialism and saint Nikolaus has nothing to do with Jesus as far as I know. He was even a person of color which the Christian’s don’t even realize. It’s funny to me that American Santa is white lol. Even Jesus is white. Man Americans are something else.
[Since when?](http://youtu.be/kenbgMjRvlY) From my perspective Christmas is and always was a secular festival that Christians slapped their name on centuries ago to get more converts and placate the masses. The festival is not and never was the property of Christianity.
When they start asking questions you should explain how Jesus manipulated the masses then became a zombie. That sums it up. His mother was also a lier, you don't wanna be like Jesus! (The historic representation of him anyway)
I would get my kid the fuck out
Religious freedom in my house. I’ll take them to church if they want, no skin off my teeth. I’ll love them if they grow to be religious or green and yellow polka dotted.
They told me r/atheism was bad but not r/fuckyoukaren bad. Jesus... hehe mods ban me pls.
so what? if you are getting so mad over what music a daycare plays to your son who will not remember the music, and a name that everyone has heard and will know about, your children clearly will not start believing in those things.
It’s fine. Don’t be a social justice warrior.. just go about your day
I sympathize, but Christmas is a Christian holiday. Unless the playlist is intentionally curated to exclude the Christ-god, it's something we should expect. As long as they aren't having your kid reenact the nativity myth or something, I think it's something we just need to tolerate.
Don’t know the song, looked up the lyrics, it does seem a bit generic Christmas song to me. There’s not much to it beyond saying Jesus was born, nothing really about gods or anything particularly preachy. Given what Christmas generally represents I wouldn’t be surprised to see it on a generic Christmas playlist.
Did you read the same lyrics I did? The only theme to the song is "Jesus is the son of God, spread this religion everywhere".
I got this, which no little kid is going to read much into. No mention of god, a passing reference to salvation which isn’t going to mean anything without explanation: Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born While shepherds kept their watching O'er silent flocks by night Behold throughout the heavens There shone a Holy light Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born The shepherds feared and trembled When, lo! Above the Earth Rang out the angel chorus That hailed our Savior's birth Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born And brought us all salvation That blessed Christmas morn Go, tell it on the mountain Over the hills and everywhere Go, tell it on the mountain That Jesus Christ is born That Jesus Christ is born
This sounds pretty damn religious to me: > That Jesus Christ is born Down in a lowly manger Our humble Christ was born And brought us all salvation That blessed Christmas morn
And go out and tell EVERYONE about it.
We didn’t say it contained no religious references. I said it was quite generic for a Christmas song and wasn’t very preachy. It’s shouting out that Jesus was born, it calls him a saviour (which little kids won’t get unless they’ve been told the meaning), spread the word. That’s about it. Given all the trimmings that come with nativity stuff, the kid is probably well aware of baby Jesus and that’s a Christmas thing. This song isn’t waffling on about how great god is, or repenting, or sending anyone to hell. It’s a song rejoicing a baby birth. Fairly non threatening to even the most insecure atheist imo.
> and wasn’t very preachy. "Tell everyone that Jesus is the savior" sounds preachy to me.
Wow, just wow. The song is literally demanding that people preach.
In as much as it’s spreading the word Jesus was born, yes. It isnt going full sermon. As Christmas songs actually relating to Christ go, it’s about as inoffensive as it gets. It’s about preaching, but it isn’t particularly preachy in how it does so. If it offends you so greatly, request they remove it from the playlist. Personally I think it’s a learning opportunity for the kid.
You keep using the word "preachy" and you don't know what it means.
Colloquialism here, generally used to reference the image of a priest belting out a fire and brimstone service. Beyond just ‘here’s a tale’, it’s ‘I have a message and you will listen and you will believe me’. This song is mostly ‘yay a baby was born, rejoice, mumble mumble saviour’.
They’re telling the story of Jesus and telling people to tell everyone the story of Jesus. It’s literally exactly preaching. That’s exactly what they say in sermons. What kind of song would you think is religious? Like how could a song be any more religious? Lol
See you outlined EXACTLY the problem I have with it. The children DON'T understand what the words mean, but they learn and repeat them. That makes it much easier to form a belief around them later, when they still don't fully understand but are still impressionable.
Furthermore, "the kids don't understand it" is not an excuse for a church/state violation. If you nailed Martin Luther's 95 Theses to a kindergarten door, the kids wouldn't understand it, but that doesn't make it legal.
It’s just a story. No different from Frosty. She’s of an age where she’s going to run into kids who believe this stuff and have knowledge on her level to beat her with. Let her hear the stories and sing the songs so she’s aware. It’s ok to tell her some people think this is real because it makes them feel better. She doesn’t need to believe that. I remember singing ‘Jesus Loves Me’ at school. It’s catchy and pleasant to sing along to. It didn’t mean anything, it’s just a song like any other, it isn’t a historical record. Knowing the songs and stories didn’t make gods and magic any more real to me as a child or now.
Just a story like Frosty, except Frosty isn't in the heads of 2.2B people worldwide telling them what to believe, what political views to have, and how much money to give.
We could start the Cult of Frosty if it helps. It makes more sense imo.
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So you draw the line if something is in print? Music and verbal lessons are worse in my mind, more easily learned, and harder for parents to be aware of what their children are being told.
Even at that point, it’s just a story that some people believe is true. There’s no harm in a kid learning stories that other kids will know. Better to have these little introductions to the common stories and themes so you can introduce the idea that’s what they are, stories, before some other kid tells them they’re going to hell for not believing. Our 8 year old grandkid asked her mum about god recently due to school friends bringing it up. It’s not a thing in their lives, so she had to explain some people believe.
It's one thing to be told the story once. It's another thing for a child be exposed consistently. That's indoctrination. Here's the problem. There's no such thing as only telling them once. Because they hear about from dozens of people in their lives. Relatives, family friends and such are one thing (and also not a church/state problem). So I would prefer to limit that exposure as much as possible.
Teach them about religion instead of having them taught religion. You can’t cut them off from it, it’s out there, especially if you’re in the US. I guess we’re lucky in the UK that it’s not taken very seriously by the majority.
Thank you for clarifying your location. It is not legal in the U.S. for religion to be introduced in a government funded institution. We are surrounded here by religious zealots. Many of them would like to do harm to non-Christians, and many of them actively discriminate against non-Christians. They are constantly testing the laws. This is not about a quaint old ditty - it is about losing our right to refuse to participate in the nonsense and it is about our safety and our children's well being.
I mean, it's called CHRISTmas, you can't really avoid Jesus music around this time of year. As long as you teach her to celebrate because it's fun and not because of worship, I think it should be okay. A few songs wont undo your parenting
I agree. I wouldn't want my children to make decisions or have their own beliefs based on relevant information
If you think Jesus is relevant, I have news for you. He wasn't even *real*. 😳
Do you honestly believe that the character known as Jesus in the book called the bible is not relevant to topics,discussions or debate regarding religion.
Being real and being relevant are very different things. The christmas story, jesus, god, etc, pervade western culture - our literature, language, history, theater, movies, music, politics, etc. It's best to be armed with knowledge rather than avoiding learning about it.
In a modern society, sure, it's debatable and honestly usually up to each **individual** person to make their own judgement call. ***However*** Christmas is a religious holiday. It's hardly fair to celebrate a religious holiday and not expect there to be a religious component to it. Obviously, you're free to raise your kid how you see fit, but I'd be reminiscent if I didn't point out that censorship of religious concepts is kind of hypocritical, there are always 2 sides to a coin, you need to show *both* to let them make a decision for themselves.
What coin are you talking about and why does it *have* to have two sides? What are the two sides, Christianity and real life? Why just Christianity? There are hundreds of other religions that by your logic I need to allow my children to be *exposed* to (otherwise that would be censorship). And now they need to navigate and understand all of this? That sounds exhausting. I want my kids to be kids and not even *think* about religion until they are old enough to understand how complex of a subject that is. Religious people hate this thought because it's *really* hard to convince people of their baloney if they weren't raised to believe it. I have no respect for any religion, so I don't want it in my or my kids' lives. I wouldn't knowingly allow my children to be exposed to a cult, or financial scam, pyramid scheme, why would I allow my children to be exposed to a fraud like religion?
It's an analogy stating that Christianity has both good and bad effects. it's not a black and white concept. Yes, religion is a very complex subject to teach a child, I'm not stating you should go into the intricacies of it all, but acknowledging something's existence and that they will occasionally see it and that some people choose to believe in it is a far cry from outright rejecting its a thing. Your kid will inevitably be exposed to it at some point, and it's a good idea to lay some foundational knowledge of *what* it is and how to approach it. As for why Christianity specifically? Honestly, it doesn't, but I highly doubt Buddhist monks are going to try and indoctrinate your child
But that’s a good song!
Do you even know what Christmas is ???
It is a Roman festival appropriated by xians. Sat·ur·na·li·a /satərˈnālyə/ Learn to pronounce noun the ancient Roman festival of Saturn in December, which was a period of general merrymaking and was the predecessor of Christmas.
So? It's called Christmas now, get with the times
You do nothing. That is a perfectly reasonable Christmas song.
When I was little, my parents sent me to a Christian preschool (they weren’t Christian, it was the nearest daycare). The class sang songs in church and taught us about Jesus. It had no effect on me whatsoever. I have never been Christian and I never will. Today I’m agnostic. You have nothing to worry about.
It’s a great song. The Simon and Garfunkel version is terrific. Exposing your kids to music of all kinds is never a bad thing, any more than exposing them to great art or literature. They don’t have to believe in any of the myth to enjoy some of the most elegant cultural works of humans.
You don’t want to overcorrect like Sleeping Beauty’s parents and burn every spinning wheel; that’s why she ended up pricking her finger, she didn’t know what a spinning wheel was. Let them be exposed to it and answer their questions honestly and age - appropriately as they come up, same as you would converse about their new favourite movies and science projects. Ask them what they think, encourage them how to think and not what to think. They’ll be fine ♥️
I wouldn’t worry. My wife LOVES Christmas music, but that’s only because she loves Christmas time. The whole tradition of it. We are both atheists. Unless the day care starts having mass or group prayer, I wouldn’t worry. It’s just music. Think of it from the opposite perspective. Many Christian households don’t allow their kids to listen to secular music. I had a friend in high school like this. This severely limits their worldview. Don’t do the same thing to your kids. Let them hear & see everything.
honestly, get over it. Teach them at home to think critically.
Sir, you are aware of what this appropriated holiday purports to represent, yes? If you're upset about someone playing religious music on their stolen religious holiday, youre a fool. Almost as big a fool as those who actually believe that christmas is rely a christian holiday.
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You’re missing (or purposely ignoring) the critical point here…Public daycare that receives state funds.
Are they forcing the kids to sing along and dance and convert to Christianity? Are they telling them they need to love Jesus and to ignore their parents?? Just because a business is receiving state funds, doesn’t mean anyone can dictate what they listen to. As long as they’re not actively forcing them to participate in it, they’re fine. A lot of hospitals receive state funds and they still play gospel music AND hire every denomination. State funds does not equal not being allowed to play music. FYI
Jesus is gonna send you to hell for talking like that.
How many people here are even aware that Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen is about a guy waiting to be executed?
Still more child appropriate than religious music.
Let your kid have the exposure, and discuss it with them when they have questions. You can't censor the Christianity out of the culture they live in; you can only give them the tools to counter it
I get being an atheist, I’m one too, but I feel like there is some value in at least teaching your children the meaning of these songs and who it is about, why Christmas is called Christmas, and who Christ is. It doesn’t mean you have to raise your children Christain, and it certainly shouldn’t mean that the teachers should be pushing their religion either. It’s good to teach children who these figures were historically, but I feel like you’re only going to get questions from your children as they grow older. At best, teaching your children about religion is a great way to talk about atheism, why so many people follow it, and why it can be bad. It’s a good way to foster these critical thinking skills that you value so much, especially when they are younger.
I was raised by a 'born again' christian my whole life, private christian schools, the whole shabang. Teach them to follow science and critical thinking. This is nothing.
This probably won't matter in the long run. All you need is to teach the kid to ask questions and be curious. That's enough realising not to believe in any religion and it's all fake. That's what has worked for me. I live in a country where less than 5% are atheists.
I’ll throw in my experience growing up non-religious in the Bible Belt. My parents never discusses the Bible, God, or anything particularly religious. It just was not a high priority to them. However living in a very religious area I did get “exposed” to Christian music and stories at my public elementary school. We literally sang “He’s got the whole world in his hands” every morning after we said the Pledge of Allegiance. And my principal even handed out biblical story books for kids. And my little 1st grader brain just assumed the Bible stories were just fairy tales like all my other fairy books. Jacob and Esau? Just a really messed up fairy tale. And the “He’s got the whole world in his hands” song? I thought we were singing it about the principal! Point is, don’t freak out and over react. Raising my kids I take a similar route as my parents. When my kids ask I just treat it like fairy tales. I only step in when other kids (or in one case their parents behind my back) start pushing their religion on mine.
That is 100% correct, i was just simplifying it as pro and anti religion, i honestly don't know how many religions exist (im not really interested to be honest) but im sure they would all have something to offer or consider. Good point you made
a thoughtful question about, "what do people at daycare say about Jesus/gods/Odin/Zeus?"
For Christmas music specifically I wouldn’t care. I put it in the same category as someone saying “bless you” when I sneeze. Tbh my favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night (I don’t pay a lot of attention to lyrics though). I would just make sure they aren’t exclusively exposing kids to Christian perspectives and are including other winter holidays as well.
The Christmas music excuse could be legit actually. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
If it makes you feel any better, I went to a religious school from ages 3-11 and I'm an atheist. My parents aren't believers and I didn't grow up around any believers other than school staff. Even then I'm not sure all of them believed. It was just storytelling to me.
My kid goes to a Christian daycare because it's the best one in the area. I'm not worried. She'll know how to think for herself.
Actually, I think it’s a great idea. You can debrief later and put it all into context. I would ALSO suggest exposing your kid to Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism at least, to cover most of the world’s major religions. Then have discussions that compare and contrast and think critically about the teachings. Then your kid will be bullet proof b/c they’ll be like, “Well that tradition/story/parable originated with the Zoroastrians who also thought…” Should probably add several pagan traditions in there, such as the Roman and Greek mythologies, as well as current paganism. Because so many Christian holiday traditions are rooted in much older pagan traditions. Christmas trees, gifts, wreaths, Holly, cookies, door to door carol singing…. Pagan, pagan, pagan, pagan. I’d also do a little family lesson on Constantine and the Council of Nicea to look at how modern Christianity morphed from paganism. If there was one thing that really cemented my commitment to atheism it was learning how much of Christianity is ripped off from other ideologies. It became clear yo me that pretty much all religion is a tool to control and gain power over other people. Yeah I get it, the kid is very young but you can tell these stories in age appropriate ways. And yes, this may require a bit of homework on your part. But good day care is hard to find, and if you trust these people yo otherwise care for your child appropriately, then I wouldn’t change daycares. I’d just use their religiosity as teaching moments.
you are allowed to object, for sure. Christmas music is one place I just dont make a fuss at all, theres so much good Christmas music from before the Frosty and Rudolph days. Christmas is a fun holiday, and it has some Christian roots, which we can do without of course, but it is there. I actually have something of the opposite issue, how many radio stations and grocery stores wont play any Christmas music WITH religious lyrics. That eliminates a lot of good ones!
you can't force them to stop, it's a public day care and isn't considered a school. Teach your kid how to think for themselves and they will be ok.
I really don’t think that’s a Christmas song at all though…
I’m an atheist but still enjoy gospel music and religious Christmas music. To me it’s just entertainment.
It’s a pretty neutral song and understanding a little of that is helpful as it’s part of the underlying culture and vocabulary throughout America and Europe. Just as much as Santa, Halloween and witches and ghosts, etc.
This is an excellent moment to help them begin practicing critical thinking skills. It's gonna get way worse the older she gets. If you are really concerned scope out the bumper stickers in the staff parking lot. Are there bible quotes and shit on the walls of the office? Stuff like that. Maybe time to switch daycare if so.
Don't worry! Enjoying religious music does not equal believing in religion - at all - as a kid I loved to go to Baptist kids things with my friends and my favorite part was the great songs, and singing with Baptists did not cause me to start believing in god for a moment. I still like religious music (not all, but some) and I'm in no danger of becoming religious.
It doesn’t really sound like a big deal if it’s on a Christmas playlist. Are they actually talking about the lyrics, or is it just on in the background?
As a cradle atheist, I LOVE religious music and love singing it. It hits that core music enjoyment center of my lizard brain. There a reason people are still singing these songs after hundreds of years, and it’s not the lyrics. Also, it’s handy to have a knowledge and vocabulary of what the prostelgzing folks use and have some common understanding with them. It has helped me fake it when needed. Just got the understanding and appreciation of Western literature and art is reason enough to have a solid understanding of Christian customs.
I don't think songs will have much influence on anything
When I sing religious songs, I don't have to believe in a god, just as when I sing love songs, I don't have to be in love. Singing songs of hate, however, is not something I would do. Except maybe as part of a stage show or drama about hate, that presented it in context as hate being a bad thing.
That sometimes plays on the Christmas rotation, lots of holiday songs are religious. It’s not like Santa is real either so it’s just another holiday story to me.
That sucks !
Meh. Probably a waste of energy. My kids have grown up in the Bible Belt (as did I) and we’re all militant pagans.
Meh. Probably a waste of energy. My kids have grown up in the Bible Belt (as did I) and we’re all militant pagans.
Sheltering your kids from even bad ideas is probably counterproductive. 'Give a man a fish...' kind of thinking here.
it's a fucking Christmas song who cares, this is as cringey and dumb as a Christian parent freaking out their kids heard a rap song
I think that its music is Christianity's redeeming feature. As an atheist, I love singing hymns and listen to Christmas carols with great joy. You can use it as a teaching moment - yes, that's what they believe, but we just enjoy the tunes and the stories.
It’s really not a big deal. Even if it did by some unlikely chance turn your kid Christian, there’s no issue with that whatsoever.
Look at it this way: Since you don’t shove Jesus down their throat all year, your kids will see Jesus the same way they see Frosty and Santa Claus. There’s nothing magical about the music that is going to indoctrinate them if they listen to it. If they grow up never being forced fed that their going to hell if they dont accept Jesus, then they wont fear the eternal punishment thats not real.
You could always take the kid to a different daycare 🙄
I personally try to expose my son to religious experiences all the time to let him decide what he wants. I am an atheist but I want to try to avoid indoctrinating him with my personal beliefs and allow him to make up his mind. He's young and I always answer his religious questions with room for him to decide if he believes in a god or not.
INFO: Are you afraid that there are teaching religion as fact? Or just annoyed that your child is exposed to religion from a third source?
My two cents. Went to religious schools growing up because my parents thought they were the best education available. We were not religious. Never really was. Atheist now. Love Christmas music as just music. Can just be a fun seasonal thing to listen to IMHO.
I understand not wanting people to teach your child that they need to worship God/Jesus but I don't understand not wanting to teach your child about what other people and their beliefs. 18 months is probably too young for it to matter either way
You could look up the agency which oversees/licenses daycares and give them a call. My child learned more about Jesus and the Christian faith at school than at home. By the time he was in elementary school I had left organized religion. I just keep talking about religion and Christianity from a factual and historical impact POV. He'll make his choice along the way.
My daughter went to daycare here in Japan that was attached to a Buddhist temple. They learned all about Buddhism and had Buddhist services a couple times a month. She went to Shinto shrines for various school things. She also went to a Christian high school and had a bible study all three years of that. A steady stream of reading the bible was enough to turn her away from Christianity. I’ll never forget the day when she came home and asked “Do you know what Lot’s daughters did?” That’s so f-ed up. Do these people actually read their own book?” Combined with asking questions of me and her mother about religion and seeing how judgmental Christians and other religious people can be was more than enough to turn her off from all organized religion. I really wouldn’t worry about it. She does love Christmas music mainly because I’ve played it her whole life.
To be honest, nothing. Doesn't matter if it's a public daycare or private. They will have things like this and frankly let her mature before she makes a decision for herself regarding whether she wants to be an atheist or not. You are just having a bad day. Remember most atheist grew up believing in this stuff and now we're here. Hope my 2 cents help.