Religion in the School?

Nine years ago, a friend sent me an email regarding religion in our public schools. He specifically questioned about prayer, religious instructions and the Pledge of Allegiance. I replied by sending him a somewhat lengthy note. To my surprise, he recently provided me with an unsolicited copy of what I had written. He had saved it and I present it here in another format. I do not have his initial question, but the reply is self-explanatory:

People, including students, can and do recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Schools can and do teach the difference between right and wrong. People may not use the power of the state, any power, to force their religion on another. I was raised in a small community in which the Baptist Church was prominent. There were only three families that did not belong to the local Baptist Church; ours was one of them. The school gave property and a building to the Baptists to use as a church. We were forced to listen to that drivel on a regular basis. It was not all that uncommon to be treated as if you were ignorant, sinful and worthless if you did not belong to that church. I had to listen to more than one of their preachers engage me in religious discussion. To the surprise of no one, he could out argue a grade school kid and make him look silly. My dad was forced to resign from the school board because he would not go along with the gift of the building and the land to the Baptists.

My son recites the Pledge of Allegiance daily in Kindergarten. Washington is a small town which is also predominantly Baptist. That is fine with me. I appreciate the teachers there and the values they have and attempt to communicate. But, if I ever hear of their diminishing him or his sister as a person because they are not Baptists, you better believe I will raise hell with the school. I lived that and they will not.

People make such a cry over “taking God out of the schools.” That little purple hair prayer is no more than political rhetoric based on nothing more than hot air. My question would be, What have the parents done to assure that God is not taken out of their home? Do they pray at home? Do they discuss the Bible at home? Do they attend worship services as a family? Do they actively participate in the functions of the church? Do they stress the golden rule? The first and second commandments?

It is not the school’s job to teach religion to my children. That’s my job. With the help of the church in which we worship, I take on that responsibility. If the school interferes with my job, I will address the problem. If the school tries to take over my job, I will address that problem as well. And, if the school helps me with my job, I will be grateful.

This erosion of the separation of church and state scares me. The Taliban [this was written in 2002] is the extreme. While we deplore the Taliban, there are some “Christians” who would like to have that kind of control here in America. I do not want the church, any church, controlling the state. Equally important, I do not want the state controlling the church. This is something these people who advocate removal of this wall of separation do not realize. The wall is there for the protection of both entities.