Over two decades ago my Muslim parents sent me to a pre-school program in a church because it's what they could afford and it just made sense at the time. It isn't all that uncommon either lol, I've had cousins go to private catholic schools just because the education / opportunities are better, and these schools hand out scholarships and subsidize the costs like crazy.

[–] alexei_1917@hexbear.net 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

We weren't practicing Catholics, but my mum was raised Catholic and she had her kids baptized Catholic too. Mostly so that we could go to Catholic school. It was uncomfortable, it was sectarian, the broader institution was homophobic and transphobic, it bloody sucked, but the Catholic schools were allowed to punish for "values based" issues public weren't (not that sexual harrassment was ever punished besides blaming the girl and telling her to say yes the first time and not drive the boys to public outbursts, but they sure as hell put a stop to heresy!), and they had far less of a juvenile delinquents and kids of known criminals problem.

There's a reason the novel I'm writing loosely based on my own time in the Roman Catholic School District has an antagonist named "Bishop McCarthy". When they weren't being stuck in the Protestant Reformation, stuck in the Great Schism, or stuck in the 50s on gender and perceived sexuality matters, they were stuck in the 50s in a way that really fucking sucked for a kid who was first called a commie, accurately, when he was five. Not that I ever admitted to anything besides thinking people should share more than most of us do and thinking the Book of Acts had some neat parts that are still super relevant. Not that that mattered. They thought I was a communist, and they already didn't like me because I was a girl who wore boys' clothes to school and didn't hide that I viewed the other girls pretty much about the same way the other boys viewed them. But of course, the other boys could make rude comments or even grab my ass and I'd get the lecture, not him, if I just looked at another girl too long I'd get the lecture, not her.

But if your particular local Catholics are more interested in ecumenism than sectarianism, you can pass for a practicing Christian of some description, you're cis and straight, and either they have no reason to think you're a communist (not that they need one, the tiniest breadcrumb will send them flying off the handle) or you aren't dealing with the really nutty conservative-area Crusader guys, it can be really awesome. And it was probably less awful than public school. At least the older kids out for random tormenting, and same age boys confused and frustrated by my gender presentation and the fact they found me attractive, only ever attacked me with words and bare hands, no one carried knives or brass knuckles or anything. Meanwhile there were reports of knife fights and massive brawls at the public middle school and high school way too often.

Catholic schools are different everywhere. Some are awesome. Mine were crap. You hear way more stories of the craphole ones.