My initial stance on the issue of religion in schools is that I believe religion should not be included in public schools. Even as a Christian, I believe that religion is a choice and to bring it into the classroom seems to be forcing students to believe one thing or another, which could confuse the students when they hear conflicting views from their teachers and families. If, for instance, Christianity was taught in schools and a teacher was an out-spoken atheist who revealed her ideals about her 'religion' to her students, the students who grew up to believe in God (or gods) would be greatly confused. I wouldn't want a religion that I didn't believe in to be taught in a school, therefore, I don't think Christianity should be taught in schools because it doesn't give the students the right to choose to believe what they want to believe in.
After reading the two articles, I am reminded of the great heights people will to go in order to stick to what they believe in. Both articles deal with people wanting the right to choose to partake in activity that was enforced by the law. In one case a moment of silence and the other case the recitation of the pledge of allegiance. In the first article, a high school girl does not want to participate in the ‘moment of silence’ that her school has enforced. In Illinois, the state law required public school students to observe a ‘moment of silence’ meant for prayer or personal reflection at the start of each school day.
I found this particular article very interesting because I grew up in Illinois and I didn’t recall ever starting out the day with a moment of silence. (I do however, remember having a moment of silence on 9/11, but that‘s a different story). I researched to find out that the law was passed October 2007 (http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=55754) I guess that’s why I never remembered partaking in such actions).
I think one can argue that ‘reflection’ does not have to be necessarily ‘prayer.’ In fact, the law allows students to reflect on the day's activities rather than pray if that is their choice. Defenders of the law have said it therefore doesn't force religion on anyone. But after thinking about this, I couldn’t see how teachers were to instruct their pupils about prayer and its meaning as well as the limitations on their 'reflection’ and not mention their views about what they (the teachers) pray and reflect about. Think about a first-grade classroom with a lot of precocious children who ask their teacher, “What does it mean to ‘reflect?’” (What would you say to this child? It’s a very difficult concept to explain to a six year old) If the teacher wasn’t prepared for such a question, he/she might answer: “Well, you can pray…I pray to God and Jesus.” All of a sudden it’s no longer a simple moment of silence anymore. Because small children are so impressionable, if they hear that their teacher prays to Jesus (or any other god or gods) that six-year old might be inclined to pray as the teacher does.
I am pleased with Judge Robert Gettleman’s ruling when he said the law was an unconstitutional breach of the separation of church and state. I think that no matter how hard teachers try to give the students the right to choose to pray or reflect, it would be too difficult for those teachers to be unbiased about what they ‘pray’ or ‘reflect’ about.
In the second article, two children chose not to recite the pledge of allegiance because it conflicted with their religious views. The court eventually ruled that the government does not have the authority to require the saluting of the American flag or recitation of the pledge of allegiance. Whether or not I believe that the Jehovah Witness boy’s view of the flag being a form of idolatry or not, I do believe that he should be given the choice to recite the pledge of allegiance or not.
During elementary school, my next-door neighbors were practicing Jehovah Witnesses and one of the children was in the same grade as me. I remember her standing up while the rest of the class would recite the pledge of allegiance, and I remember children asking her from time to time why she didn’t say anything. I remember one time she replied, “because I don’t believe it.” Why should it be the government’s decision to tell us what we can and cannot believe in?
All in all, I am still against religion being separated from school. If families are religious, I think it’s their responsibility to find time to practice what they believe in. If they want the right to believe what they want to believe, they have to respect that others want the same (whether those people have the same of different views)
I found an interesting news story on NPR about A fifth-grade teacher there claims school officials have quite him when he tries to teach his students about the role that Christianity played in the American Revolution. Many parents in the community feel he has overstepped his bounds. Despite my views on the separation of church and state, I do not feel that religions should be left out of history lessons. Religion is and has been an enormous role many countries and societies. For students to fully understand the history of those countries and societies, religion must be covered. Why is the American Revolution and different? Here’s the audio of the NPR story http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4224577
References:
Illinois Moment of Silence in Schools Ruled Unconstitutional - Local News News Articles National News US News - FOXNews.com. (n.d.). Breaking News Latest News Current News - FOXNews.com. Retrieved June 17, 2010, from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,481427,00.html
NPR Debate over Religion in California School. (n.d.). Debate over Religion in California School. Retrieved June 16, 2010, from www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4224577
Patterson, J. (n.d.). Daily Herald New law requiring moment of silence in Illinois schools starts today . Daily Herald Home Page. Retrieved June 17, 2010, from http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=55754
https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms/content/viewer/main_frame.d2l?ou=1439730&tId=14284087
https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms/content/viewer/main_frame.d2l?ou=1439730&tId=14284088
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