At Smithville Methodist Church

I think that this is a good poem to discuss in this class because we recently have completed an analysis of the movie “Religulous”. This poem is based upon a parents experience and reaction to their child being introduced to religion. At the beginning of the poem it is somewhat unclear what the poet is trying to express. The idea that church activities are simply just for fun and entertainment is strongly hinted. The poem describes how the child seems to be so joyful about church activities. Its as if the parent realizes that there is no easy way to handle their children in this situation the way that they truly desire. I can relate this back to my own experiences with religion as a child. Its as if bible stories seem to be created especially for children. I remember thinking that Sunday school was so interesting when I was younger. I’m assuming that this is due to the fact that the majority of the time at church was spent singing songs, doing crafts, or eating food. I think that it is so much easier to convince a child of something. A parent in this situation like in the poem has merely no choice but to let their child “have fun” with it. I believe that when it comes to religion a person should be at a certain age before they truly decide on their beliefs. I can say that personally I have definitely altered in some ways my beliefs since those days in bible school.