Recently, there has been much talk and many news articles about religion in schools. This isn't a new issue. I remember hearing bits and pieces of these type stories when I was in Elementary school. That was 15 years ago.
Today, the debate seems to be centered around putting the 10 Commandments (a Bible-based document) in schools. I guess people think this will curb the violence we are seeing in today's schools. But here are some questions to ponder: What will it do to the self-esteem of children who aren't Christian? How will affect those children's view of "freedom of religion"? Why is the Christian creed seemingly held so much higher in the public's eye?
What will it do to the self-esteem of children who are non-Christian?
Let's think about it for a second. The 10 Commandments state "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." and "Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth."
Those two commandments are against any religion other than Christianity. Therefore a child who is not Christian certainly won't feel very good. In essence, to put the 10 Commandments in schools would be upholding Christianity as the "appropriate" religion.
Those families who choose to follow another religion will feel almost unwelcome in public schools. They, too, are the "public", are they not? Why then should they be so openly excluded?
How will it affect those children's view of "freedom of religion"?
When our great country was founded, the founding fathers made sure that the people of this country, both then, and in the future, wouldn't experience the injustices they had endured. (Or what they perceived as injustices.) These included, among others, the freedom of religion.
Exactly what does that particular freedom allow us, though? Clearly, it allows the freedom to worship and believe as we choose. However, it DOES NOT allow for the mingling of religion with government funded programs. (See Separation of Church and State.) And since public schools are funded by the taxes that are paid to the government, that would include them.
Now that we've determined what freedom of religion is SUPPOSED to mean, let's determine what it will SEEM to mean to children who aren't of the Christian persuasion.
In school, they will be taught the things mentioned above, while they see something totally different in real life. They will see that the government seems to be praising one religion over others. And the "Do as I say, not as I do." saying simply won't work here. This isn't trying to keep a child from doing what he/she sees one or two people doing. This would be trying to keep children from being prejudiced toward people for their beliefs. And that is basically what the government will be teaching our children.
So, our children will learn that "freedom of religion" means freedom of the religion of the majority? Or freedom of the religion for the religion that has the most money?
Why is the Christian creed seemingly held so much higher in the public's eye?
The only answer I can think of is simply because the majority holds close to them the Christian beliefs. Here's my question: Why not everyone sit down and think of good lessons for our children to learn, that EXCLUDE religion all together?
Some Examples: (many from religious teachings, but none that try to say what deity a person should worship/accept)
*Do unto others as you would have them do to you. *An harm ye none, do what ye will. *Be ever mindful of the threefold law. (For those who aren't familiar, the threefold law states that what you do, good or bad, will come back to you three times. Also known as Karma.) *What goes around comes around. *All are equal and should be treated as such. *Don't judge a person before you know them. *Listen quietly, and you will learn great things. ("Listen quietly...", I guess we can only wish children would learn this one?) *Show great respect to all living things. *All live under the same sky and on the same great earth.
I'm sure with co-operation, there could be many, many more thought of, and we could extinguish what so many feel is the NEED for religion in school.
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