Religion in Schools: The debate continues...

The last time I checked, we lived in a nation that was founded upon Christian principles.  The pledge of Allegiance clearly states “One nation, under God...”   However, the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment calls for a separation of the church and state.  In Thomas Jefferson’s 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association he states:

“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god, [the people, in the 1st Amendment,] declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between church and state.”

Let’s shift our focus to the part that says “..or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..” I interpret this as respecting all forms of religion and worship.  I must admit that I am somewhat biased on this topic.  I am a Christian woman who takes my relationship with God very seriously… but I am respectful to other religions and I feel as if the school system has been as well.  Muslim students are allowed to observe Ramadan, the holy month of prayer and fasting, in public schools across the nation.  Accommodations are in place such as allowing the students the ability to go to a designated area during their lunch time for prayer, and in some areas footbaths have been installed in restrooms to allow them to carry out their prayer rituals.   I grew up attending culturally diverse schools where I was constantly exposed to other forms of religion.  Exposing children to different religions can be instrumental in teaching them respect for all.

The Religion in Schools article raised some very valuable and interesting points.   A federal judge in Illinois ruled against a state law requiring students to observe a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.  It is difficult for me to understand why people are against this.  It was never a requirement that students had to pray or do anything during that allotted time, other than be silent.  Many non-Christian use that time for their personal individual religious purposes as well.  What really gets me is that the lawsuit was filed by an Atheist and his daughter, who at the time was a high school student.  It seems as if Atheists want respect for their religious (or lack thereof) practices, but aren’t willing to accept Christian practices.   In Texas, Biologist and social conservatives went to the extent of attempting to revise the state's science curriculum so that it would be more difficult for teachers to discuss possible weaknesses to Darwin’s theory of evolution.  Their argument being that there are no scientifically verifiable weaknesses to Darwin's theory of evolution.  To my understanding, theories existed to be questioned and debated?  I thought this was part of the education process…

As long as it is organized and controlled, as in the “moment of silence”, children should be able to worship, pray, nap, stare into space, or whatever they so choose while in school.

References:

Calefati, J. (2009). Religion in Schools Debate Heats Up. U.S. News and Education. Retrieved from https://elearn.mtsu.edu/d2l/lms/content/viewer/main_frame.d2l?ou=2975445&tId=19133302.

Ramadan in Public Schools. Retrieved from: http://www.religionlink.com/tip_070917.php

http://www.usconstitution.net/consttop_reli.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States