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I claim no religious affiliation whatsoever. I have no religious upbringing either. But I am just interested in what people do in cultures different than my own. My library has this cool resource called CultureGrams, where it provides basic information and even interviews with people from different countries! Think of this thread like CultureGrams!
I know a little about Sunday school from reading here and there and visiting a neighborhood church or two. In the United States, there are usually several churches in every neighborhood. I know what they do, generally speaking.
Don't be intimidated by my whopping list of questions about Sunday school. You don't have to answer each and every one. You may just write a couple of paragraphs detailing your personal experiences (good and bad) in Sunday school. I'm just asking out of curiosity.
1. How old were you when you got enrolled in Sunday school for the very first time?
2. How long (in terms of years) was Sunday school? That is, when did it end?
3. How many kids were there in Sunday school? Were they separated by grade levels at your church?
4. How old were you when you became confirmed?
5. How was Sunday school classes different from confirmation classes?
6. What motivations or incentives did you have while going to Sunday school or confirmation class?
7. Were you a good student (A), a fair student (B), a mediocre student (C), or a poor student (D or below)?
8. Did you have a favorite Sunday schoolteacher? Who was your favorite?
9. Did you have a least favorite Sunday schoolteacher? Who was your least favorite? (No need to spell out names here; just a description would be okay.)
10. Did you take Sunday school before, during, or after the liturgical service?
11. What was the structure of the Sunday school day? That is, what did you do from beginning to end in the Sunday school class? How did class begin? What was the middle? How did class end?
12. Did you talk about Sunday school teachings with your parents/guardians?
13. What type of Christian were/are you? (Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Quaker, Unitarian, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Anglican, etc.)
14. Were/are you a practicing Christian or non-practicing Christian? (A non-practicing Christian is a baptized individual who is raised Christian but does not practice Christianity anymore and explicitly acknowledges so.)
From my observation, being raised Baptist, it was called Sunday school and I remember enjoying it. I don't have a particular favorite or least favorite teacher I remember but I enjoyed it as a kid, more so than regular church.....maybe because the teachers spoke and taught on my level whereas the pastor spoke more on an adult level. Now that I'm older and now a practicing Christian Lutheran, they call it Bible study and not Sunday school. Both are the same.....more of a teaching class.
I went through confirmation several months ago, as that's what the Lutherans require. The difference between Sunday school and confirmation is that Sunday school teaches different things from the Bible, all kinds of stories. Confirmation teaches the commandments, baptism, salvation, communion, the more 'important' and basic things.
As children, we were separated by age. As adults, it's all together.
Not sure exactly of your comment in question 14 about non practicing Christians. There's really no such thing. You're either a Christian and practice Christianity or you're not a Christian. A Christian is defined as believing in Christ and what he has done for us. More to it than the baptism. If one is baptized as an infant, like the Catholics and Lutherans do, and raised to believe in Jesus, that's one thing but being baptized as an infant and being raised as an unbeliever or agnostic, is something entirely different.
I've taught youth, young adult and adult Sunday School classes in various churches over the years, but, sadly, have found that classes seem to be waning, in favor of various small groups with no Bible focus. I've always taught and preached 'expositionally' or directly from the Bible and have found that the thing folks most appreciate about SS is the opportunity to discuss and comment on what is being taught.
Surprisingly, youth Sunday School is often more challenging and interesting than adult Sunday School. The reason is that kids will ask anything at anytime, whereas, adults often suppress their desire to ask questions that they think might make them appear less 'spiritual' or knowledgeable than others. The grandkids still attend Sunday School and we often talk about what they are learning or discussing.
Perhaps because video/TV seem to have largely replaced 'book reading', many are woefully ignorant when it comes to the Bible. Even more believe they 'know what is in the Bible', based perhaps on childhood Sunday School, but, really have no idea what the Bible really says or how various teachings fit together. Thus, at a time when Sunday School/Bible Study is most needed, it is seemingly being discarded by many churches.
Perhaps because video/TV seem to have largely replaced 'book reading', many are woefully ignorant when it comes to the Bible. Even more believe they 'know what is in the Bible', based perhaps on childhood Sunday School, but, really have no idea what the Bible really says or how various teachings fit together. Thus, at a time when Sunday School/Bible Study is most needed, it is seemingly being discarded by many churches.
That doesn't sound like much growing in faith.
In the parable of the sower, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seeds fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
The parable of the sower is used to explain one's commitment in discipleship to God. If the Bible is believed to be inspired by God, holding inerrant and infallible truth, and people do not know what the Bible says or are not engaged in Sunday school, then there is no or little commitment in discipleship to God.
Interesting question. Out of curiosity, have you thought abbout attending various denominations of churches to experience this first hand? It might give you a better perspective than the survey format...
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Originally Posted by McDweller
1. How old were you when you got enrolled in Sunday school for the very first time?
Whatever age they kick you out of the church nursery Probably 3 or 4...
2. How long (in terms of years) was Sunday school? That is, when did it end?
It ended when I left the faith about ~30 years later. Sunday School, at least in all the various Evangelical Protestant denominations I attended was life long.
3. How many kids were there in Sunday school? Were they separated by grade levels at your church?
The size varied from church to church, based on the over all size of the congregation and demographics. Most of mine were small, as I rarely attended churches with over ~150 members. Usually they not split in individual grades, but ranges based on either age or life status (Middle school, high school, young adult singles, young married, seniors, etc...)
4. How old were you when you became confirmed?
Most Evangelicals don't do confirmation. I was never confirmed.
5. How was Sunday school classes different from confirmation classes?
Couldn't say...
6. What motivations or incentives did you have while going to Sunday school or confirmation class?
To learn about God, and how to pursue a life of holiness based on the saving grace given to me upon accepting Christ as my savior. You don't get grades or marks in Sunday School.
7. Were you a good student (A), a fair student (B), a mediocre student (C), or a poor student (D or below)?
I was a pretty good student, but Sunday School is less like school than you seem to imagine. Academic knowledge was a byproduct but was not the point.
8. Did you have a favorite Sunday schoolteacher? Who was your favorite?
Probably a youth pastor I had when I was 12 or so. I was a precocious youngster and he was willing to do more than just go through the Baptist Sunday School board material.
9. Did you have a least favorite Sunday schoolteacher? Who was your least favorite? (No need to spell out names here; just a description would be okay.)
Dunno in particular. Pretty much any of them that made us stick to the Sunday School Board approved material...
10. Did you take Sunday school before, during, or after the liturgical service?
We had Sunday School before worship. I know this is specifically about Sunday School, but we also had Training Union, which was another set of classes before the Sunday evening service, and often Wednesday night Bible study / Prayer meeting. Sometimes the names were different but usually there were at least 3 study classes per week.
11. What was the structure of the Sunday school day? That is, what did you do from beginning to end in the Sunday school class? How did class begin? What was the middle? How did class end?
It was only an hour, and generally there was not a formal structure. Often it began and ended with a prayer. That's all I got for this one...
12. Did you talk about Sunday school teachings with your parents/guardians?
Yes, I got a lot more religious instruction from my parents than through any church programs. For years we had daily family bible reading and prayers, my parents read aloud to us from various books like "Character Sketches", we participated in BMA together, We did the 50 Day Spiritual Adventure together as a family every year, and that is really just the tip of the iceberg...
13. What type of Christian were/are you? (Catholic, Orthodox, Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Quaker, Unitarian, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Anglican, etc.)
I was essentially a generic Fundamentalist Evangelical Protestant. I have been a member of Southern Baptist, Reformed Baptist, Evangelical Free Church, and Assemblies of God congregations, and worshipped at various Charismatic Baptist, Pentecostal Holiness, Church of God churches as well as several non traditional home church groups.
14. Were/are you a practicing Christian or non-practicing Christian? (A non-practicing Christian is a baptized individual who is raised Christian but does not practice Christianity anymore and explicitly acknowledges so.)
I am neither. I am an ex-Christian, as I have consciously and deliberately left the Church and do not believe any longer. The Evangelical traditions I was part of do not have a concept of someone who is "non-practicing". Either you are a Christian, based on your belief and faith in Christ regardless of church attendance and religious activity, or you are not. There is a long of theological wrangling between different traditions concerning whether I was one a Christian, but I am confident that I am currently not one, pretty much regardless of where one falls on the Calvin - Arminius continuum.
One of the best churches that Jesus has is one that preaches the gospel , has evidence of Holy Spirit , and has a large Sunday school , see many churches can be dried up and only elderly people go there ..... So if there is a youth then they know the truth , and it is best to go where the truth is ..... Went to Sunday School in my youth, but no body in the whole church had a witness of Lord Jesus , so there was no evidence of Holy Spirit , so when it turned eighteen years old there was no God so I graduated from church and left for good ,.............. until 22 years later when my home became haunted by the spirit of fear , then Lord Jesus Christ came and showed Him self and then I repented and I got converted to Christ .... The New Church I started had a New beginners classes which I attended three different courses which brought Here the baptism of Holy Spirit , which Jesus has a new purpose
I'm 46 years old and I went through 10 years of catechism until I was confirmed in the 10th grade. The next couple of years were mostly "Youth Group" and not very structured but still awesome fellowship and growth towards Christ. In college my attendance in services began to dwindle and continued a couple years into my marriage. Once we had a child, we realized the need to get back to church. Have been attending and presenting at our adult ed class after 9 AM Mass ever since. Not formal. Not structured. Ages range from 18 to 80. Usually we decide a few months in advance what we want to study and discuss and then assign a member to do the studying and prepare a presentation. Often we rely on our pastor and deacons for input on our presentations. And often they give presentations of their own.
Interesting question. Out of curiosity, have you thought about attending various denominations of churches to experience this first hand? It might give you a better perspective than the survey format.
Nah... It's just easier to ask on the Internet.
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Whatever age they kick you out of the church nursery Probably 3 or 4...
What's the nursery for? Babysitting?
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It ended when I left the faith about ~30 years later. Sunday School, at least in all the various Evangelical Protestant denominations I attended was life long.
I swear the Wikipedia version said it was for kids. Eh... Wikipedia is always misleading. I should have known.
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4. How old were you when you became confirmed?
Most Evangelicals don't do confirmation. I was never confirmed.
Why they don't do confirmations, even though the essence of the confirmation class is to teach the most important doctrines?
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We had Sunday School before worship. I know this is specifically about Sunday School, but we also had Training Union, which was another set of classes before the Sunday evening service, and often Wednesday night Bible study / Prayer meeting. Sometimes the names were different but usually there were at least 3 study classes per week.
How is Training Union different from Sunday School? Why is there a Sunday evening service? How late is "evening"? Why do you have Bible Study on Wednesday and not, say, Friday (Christ's death) or Sunday (the Lord's day)? What is the significance of Wednesday? Are the three study classes held on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays more often than other days of the week?
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It was only an hour, and generally there was not a formal structure. Often it began and ended with a prayer. That's all I got for this one.
What is the format of the opening prayer? What is the format of the closing prayer? Did the Sunday school class go like this, roughly speaking?
Opening Prayer
Reading from the Lectionary
Bible Study or Devotional
Commentaries
Closing Prayer
By the way, did you ever got the chance to read the Bible in the original languages in Sunday school?
I mean, if you had been Jewish, then you would learn biblical Hebrew.
If you had been Muslim, then you would learn quranic Arabic.
If you had been Taoist, then you would learn Classical Chinese. And so on.
I go to Sabbath school. Being Christian is NOT a practice. Being a true Christian is a relationship with Jesus. The true church has nothing to do with buildings.
I never went to Sunday School growing up because I never went to church. Before I went to Christian College my wife and I took discipleship classes at the church we attended. Today our church is using Joyful Life's Sunday School graded curriculum from age 2- grade 12. Sunday School and Adult Bible Study meet from 9:15-10:15. We also have two Children's Church groups (age 4-Grade 2) and (Grade 3-5) during our regular 10:30 service. Wednesday evenings we have three "Patch the Pirate" classes: Peanut (ages 4 & 5), Pee Wee (Grades 1 & 2), and "Patch the Pirate" (Grades 3-6).
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