Is America's public schools anti-Christian?

[Deja Q]

Poll question: Is America's public schools anti-Christian?

Why or why not?

Is being open about non-Biblical concepts anti-Christian?

How about pointing out all of the Bible's contradictions, some of which aren't funny?

I say both don't make America's public schools anti-Christian.

Why not give the idiots some fair time to pro-Christianity combined with fair time for reality so everybody will shut the freep up and get on with life? x(

[wyldwolf]

1. to fundamentalists, if it ain't about Jesus, it's against Jesus.

[Warpy]

2. Evangelicals shriek that anything that isn't

all Christian all the time is anti Christian. They simply don't recognize a neutral environment. If it doesn't push their narrow agenda, then it is necessarily fighting against them.

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. Public schools are NEUTRAL...

as they should be.

[fdr_hst_fan]

7. I went to

a public school that taught us about the various and sundry religions of the world WITHOUT trying to push any particular on on us; it was rather interesting.

[in_cog_ni_to]

17. That IS interesting.

Our "Halloween" parties are called "Harvest" parties. Our Christmas programs and parties are called "Winter" program/party. They DO invite different parents in to read maybe a Christmas book at Christmas time and one time my son's 3rd grade teacher asked my husband (who's Jewish) to read a Channukah story to the class. They do Kwanza stories if there's a African American child in the class who celebrates it. It all depends on the particular teacher though as to whether or not they wish to expose the children to all the different religious holidays in that way. That's it for religion though. Our schools don't even recognize Roshashana or Yom Kippur....the 2 most important Jewish holidays. They both count as "absent" days when my son takes them off. He'll never have a perfect attendance because of those 2 holidays. He's the ONLY Jewish child in the entire district....which can be challenging sometimes with the anti-Jewish slurs thrown his way.

[MAlibdem]

23. hmmm...that is difficult...

we do an awkward (and probably unconstitutional) trade off where the christians get off good friday and us jews get Rosh Hashana OR Yom Kippur off (they alternate)

[Walt Starr]

4. Not only no, but FUCK NO

In fact, it's biased in favor of Christianity!

[lazarus]

5. one Scandinavian country

had a great resolution to the "prayer in schools" dilemma.

They set up a rotating schedule. Any religion was allowed in the rotation, as well as the local atheists' organization.

Funny thing; nobody signed up once the atheists said they'd stay out if everyone else did. Guess they're really not interested in equal time?

[Mountainman]

6. You could have an elective class on comparative religions

You can teach about Christianity but not teach Christianity.

[Nikia]

8. I think not touching religion or being neutral is best

I don't think that it is a public schools job to make judgements about religion either way. That is better left to the child's family, friends, and religious organizations/houses of worship. If religion is taught, it should be from a purely historical point of view or perhaps culturually in a good way. Religion shouldn't be taught in a way that would promote a religion or discouage any student from practicing their religion.

[doni_georgia]

9. As a teacher, I can say that in my class I am religion neutral

I am not there to endorse any religion. I do teach about various religious beliefs in the course of teaching American history (as prescribed through our curriculum). I teach about Puritans, and Quakers, etc. when teaching about the colonies. Also, teach about some of the Native American beliefs. Last year my students wanted to learn about Islam, because they were hearing so much about it in the news, so I taught them about some of the core beliefs. I treat religion as a "just the facts" thing. My students know that I have a policy in my class that all beliefs are to be respected, whether someone is a Buddhist, Christian, Pagan, Jew, etc. They also know that I will not discuss my religious beliefs with them. Most of the kids in my school are Christians, and of the variety that thinks automatically that if you are born an American you HAVE to be a Christian. They are usually pretty shocked when I teach the Constitution and teach about how people in America have the right to be any religion they want or no religion at all.

[killbotfactory]

10. Only if you think not allowing religious nutjobs to force children

to worship Christ is anti-christian.

[Darranar]

11. No, certainly not...

they should be MORE secular, not less.

Being anti-Christain would mean discriminating against Christians, not not preaching Christianity.

Btw, it's "ARE America's public schools anti-Christian?" ;)

[radwriter0555]

12. I sure hope so. Or just NON-ANY religion.

No point in teaching religion in schools or condoning it.

[James T. Kirk]

13. Neutral, to the point of avoidance.

I went to public school in the 1970s and 1980s and in my opinion, the education on religion was not very good. They taught us very little about the basics of the world religions, including Christianity. I learned more about the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians than I did about the religious history that led to America's founding.

In retrospect, it seems that the teachers were afraid to go into it too much, both out of a lack of understanding of the subject and an unwillingness to take the risk of offending anyone.

[tjwash]

14. I went to school in the fifties and sixties...

...in Tennessee, and we were forced to pray in the morning, at lunch, before football and basketball games, and risked getting beaten by the teachers or principal if we didn't go along with it.

No thanks, those jagoffs taught me all I needed to know about Christianity.

[James T. Kirk]

16. Wow. Times change.

I forgot to mention that I went to school in New Jersey.

The teachers I had never hit anyone in our schools. People would have flipped out if that happened.

[LWolf]

24. The avoidance is real.

I think comparative religion should be part of social studies every year; too much of the world's history is impacted by religion, or can't be fully understood outside the context of religion to leave it out. It helps to relate to the rest of the world if you have an understanding of the similarities and differences between faiths and cultures. I leave religion almost totally out. First because my students are younger. Second because I don't need the grief. If you teach in a right-wing fundamentalist stronghold, and you already know that there are many activists and church leaders in your community "gunning for bear," so to speak, you don't give them ammunition. I don't want to put myself, or the kids in my class, at the center of school board meetings, letters to the editor, lawsuits, etc. that would result if one of the parents decided that mentioning religion made me an available target.

I gave testimony in a situation like this 12 or 13 years ago; it left a strong impression on me. Parents of a student in my son's 8th grade classroom were angry with the teacher. It started small; their daughter didn't get the part she wanted when she auditioned. She didn't get the semester award they thought she deserved. She didn't win the science fair. She wasn't getting all A's. They were unhappy, and started verbally criticizing the teacher. Publicly. Other than creating a tense atmosphere, it didn't go anywhere until they started reading a district-approved novel; Dandelion Wine. Apparently, Dandelion Wine is not appropriate and should be banned. The parents went berserk. They sued the district and teacher over the book. Their pastor got involved, on their side. The teacher was removed from the classroom while the lawyers wrangled, leaving a substitute in charge. A different sub every day. One of whom heard my son discussing a D&D game with his friends and told them that D&D was "Satan worship." That sub, while not invited back to the campus, was not fired. Then the classroom teacher was allowed back, with a different parent in class at all times to witness "what was going on." Meanwhile, the parents involved started giving public interviews to local media, proclaiming that they would not only get the teacher fired, but "have her credential as well." Their pastor, the mayor of a neighboring town, supported them publicly in the media. He used it to further his own agenda; banning "anti-christian" literature. In the end, the lawsuit failed, and the teacher's countersuit won. But it was a hellish year for the kids in that class. I know; one of them was mine.

I don't want any part of that.

[Az]

15. Yes

To be specific it teaches many things that some Christians sects claim to be different. It teaches equality for homosexuals. It teaches evolution. It teaches respect women. It teaches science.

The problem is one of who determines the truth. The sects that decry the current scholastic situation find themself at odds with what our society has determined to be the fairest and most honest approach to teaching our children.

[Tansy_Gold]

18. ARE ARE ARE

ARE America's schools anti-Christian!

(Whether they're anti-Christian or not, at least one of them certainly hasn't been very effective in teaching SOMEONE how to get her/his nouns and verbs to agree in number!!!)


Tansy Gold, grammar nazi and proud of it

[Az]

19. Sux syntax

Fi on you grammar nazi!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

25. Is our children learning?

.

[SemperEadem]

20. no

which Christian belief is supposed to be taught in schools? Souther Baptist? Methodist? Catholic? Apostolic-Pentacostal? Church of God in Christ? AME? Episcopal? Anglican? Gallican? Mormon?

If one refuses to accept the belief, are they charged with heresy? What is the punishment for heresy? Is heresy constitutional?

[MAlibdem]

21. I just graduated high school...

In one class we had a rational discussion (and class readings representing a spectrum of differing, coherent views) on "Intelligent Design" (the last refuge of Creationists) and Evolution.

It was an interesting series of discussions. unfortunately, when the debate came we had an incompetent (oratorically at least) biology teacher who was participating for the first time vs an experienced history teacher who had been doing the debate for 6 years. So evolution got smoked (the fossil record is incomplete, the fossil record is incomplete!)...

...I still love that history teacher, but I don't go to him for advice on science...

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. I say no, but then as a liberal Christian

I cherish separation of Church and State.

Would Jesus love a liberal? You bet!
http://www.geocities.com/greenpartyvoter/liberalchristians.htm

[LittleApple81]

26. Hypno: do you still have time to change your heading? the grammar

is not correct. It really sounds weird, especially when talking about schools.