CANOE — CNEWS – Canada: Kids book removed from schools
This article is interesting to me, but not so much because of parents concerns leading to the book being pull from shelves. I mean, the entire point of religious schools (Catholic or otherwise) is to shelter kids from content they feel is “non-whatever-religion-they-follow”. What I find comical is the last line:
“…by British author Philip Pullman, an admitted atheist.”
An admitted atheist?!?!?!
The writer makes it sound like it is some sort of crime or deviant mental state, like an “admitted axe murderer” or an “admitted child molester”.
Atheism is a valid belief (not a lack of belief, as some would try to imply). Would any journalist worth reading say someone was an “admitted Catholic”? or an “admitted Jew”? Would they get away with saying it?
(December 20, 2009: note that the above link is broken – Canoe.ca does not seem to have maintained the article)
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FredSpace 
Thanks for the feedback. And I agree about people “drawing attention to things” just increasing curiosity about them.
In reality, however, this kind of censorship is ineffective. You do not protect your children’s faith (whatever faith that is) by hiding them from any other ideas.
A faith which can only be sustained in the absence of any alternative ideas is a shallow faith indeed.
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Well I, am an “admitted Catholic”… and I completely agree with what you just said.
I’m also an aspiring journalist and I read the same story. I thought “Why would anyone label someone that way?” As a practicing Catholic, I believe in God and subscribe to the teachings of the Catholic Church, however, I’d like to point out the irony in the fact that the book has been around for 8 years, in Catholic schools no less. And those certain groups have the audacity to attack it now? Now that a movie is being made about it? I role my eyes at them.
I’m happy to note that a Catholic bishop has pointed out the fallacy in this, by saying that by bringing so much negative attention to it, this group is only making people more curious to see it.
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