How does separation of church and state relate to public school curriculum?

Question

Why do we have to assume that schools are an offshoot of government and therefore religion cannot be taught there? Is this necessarily a good idea. Politics, religion, history, geography, english, mathematics are all integral areas of study to increase one's knowledge and awareness of meaningful concepts in life. Why leave out religion?

Answer 1

I will clarify what separation of state and religion means, and you can come to your own conclusions.

Prior to the Revolutionary War and Independence the colonies fell under English Law. Well, England did not have separation of church and state. The state regulated which church you would be a part of....and that was that. While the upper leaders of the church were influencial in the government, they did not have much power.

When our constitution was written, the mandate for separation of church and state was implemented as a religious freedom for people to choose for themselves which religion (if any) they wanted to persue and how they would persue it. Government no longer could control religion.

It had nothing to do with hanging the Ten Commandments outside of a court house or putting a manora in the House of Representatives. It was about taking the government restrictions from religion away. It has been perverted over the years (by the Legislative Branch...which shouldn't be making Law) to mean what it means now.....Religion Out of Everything Period.

Good luck with the rest of your answer......and yes I agree with you. Anything potentially (or otherwise) educational and positively informative should be offered in the school system. I say offered because it should be an elective not mandatory, otherwise you are forcing a belief system potentially on someone.

Answer 2

There is no assuming about public schools being an off-shoot of the government. Public schools are an off-shoot of the government because the government pays for public schools through tax-payers dollars. However, there are private schools that teach religion because the private schools are not paid for by the government. Thats why they are so expensive to get into.

A lot of conservatives think religion should be taught in school, which is fine, but they need to move to Europe if they want religion in school. Separation of church and state is one of the things that makes America different from any other country. Other countries force their religions into their school systems - this is why our founding fathers left Europe to start their own nation - they wanted to get out from underneath the religious thumb. They wanted freedom.

Answer 3

Personally, I think that everyone of each religion should get together and we should segregate the public schools according to the students' beliefs. So instead of having a public school for people in one certain area of a city, have a public school for Christians, one for Jews, one for Muslims, etc.

I don't see how it's possible to teach ANYthing without including God in it somewhere. God played an important role in history. He plays a HUGE role in science. He can be left out of math and grammar, but not literature because so much literature is about Him. I went to a private Christian academy most of my life, but spent 2 years in a public school. This was in the 80's when it was still okay to at least mention God and one's beliefs. It was hard even then for Christian teachers to teach and completely hide their faith.

Better yet, close all the schools and bring kids home to be educated like it has been done throughout history. Christian children are being cheated in public schools.

As for separation of church and state. I think it's good to an extent. The way things are now, there are too many religions, too many churches and if the government wasn't seperate from the churches we'd have an even bigger mess than we have now. But then there's the fact that we have freedom OF religion, not freedom FROM religion. And the fact that the founding fathers did believe in God. He obviously wasn't kept completely out of government then. I say we just get rid of the ACLU and then things will be all better. : )

Answer 4

Because public schools are just that, public. It means you have a school population of religiously diverse students. Religion is a personal and private matter that government has no place in. Government has a great deal to do with public schooling! Separation of church and state is an integral part of our society and our government. Would you rather live in a theocracy? Be careful how you answer, it might not be your chosen religion that is in control.

The choice here is simple. If you feel that your church cannot handle the religious education you want your child to have, then you are free to send your child to a private school run by whatever religious denomination you choose. Our founders were well acquainted with the horrors of theocratic governments and they took great pains to make sure this country did not go down that road.

Answer 5

I am going to be US-Centric, and assume you are speaking about schools in the USA.

Public schools are run by the government and funded by tax dollars. Therefore, any religion being taught in schools would be being funded by tax dollars and propogated by the government, a step towards the establishment of a state religion, which is forbidden by the Bill of Rights.

Religion can be freely taught in private schools that receive no funding via tax dollars or control from the government.

I am going to take a stab in the dark and guess that you are Christian. How would you feel if they were teaching Judaism? Islam? Wicca? How about My guess is you would not like at least one of these, so when you talk about wanting religion in the schools, remember that your tax dollars would be used in such a way that even these religions would have to be allowed.

The reason all these religions would have to be allowed is because the government cannot favor one religion over another, as that would lean towards the establishment of a governmental religion-something forbid via the Bill of Rights. (The first ten amendments of the US Constitution, which were added because the majority of states who ratified the constitution did so on the condition that a bill of rights be added.)

Answer 6

public schools are supported by tax dollars collected by the govt, therefore they are an extension of the govt.

public schools SHOULD teach ABOUT religion, but no proselytizing. no required prayers, no faculty organized religious activity or groups. students should learn aboit all religions and mythology in general and they ARE allowed to discuss religion among themselves already.

Neither god nor prayer has been taken form school, either. the ACLU has DEFENDED xian STUDENTS who were denied their right to pray. what Brown did was stop the school from forcing prayer on students, a group known as a captive audience. ditto graduations and athletics.

the rub is that some xians want an equivalent of sunday school class rather than comparitive classes. they know deep dpwn that if presented all the choices and the history - or evolution - of religion, kids may not continue to accept xianity. that's why it's sooo important to then to get little children in church as early as possible and not give any credence to any other belief so the brainwashing can set in. this is very simila to MLMs like Amway (aka Quixtar), where nothing "negative" is allowed and you're surrounded by people telling you how wonderful and awesome the "business" is. MLMs and religions operate fundamentally on the same psychological techiniques.

Answer 7

Because religion is not an integral area of study to increase one's knowledge and awareness of meaningful concepts in life.

Actually, separation of Church and State was originally more about keeping the State out of your religion, than keeping the Religion out of your state. When you ask questions like this, think about how you would like it if the government decided what you could talk about in your Church...

Answer 8

Schools are not an offshoot of government. Public schools are government run. We elect members to the school boards. We pay taxes to the districts. How do you think that schools aren't government run? I don't want my tax money used to teach strange religious ideas. Therefore let parents teach their children about matters of faith at home and in the churches. I am a christian, I believe I am a man of God, His child though the blood of Christ. But I am also an American. I am proud of my country. I want freedom to believe the way I want and allow all others the same right. Don't use my tax dollars to insult my faith...

Answer 9

Public tax supported schools are part of government. However, if you read the Federalist Papers, the letters of Jefferson, Adams and Washington as well as the writings of Franklin The separation of church and state meant that no specific religion would get direct support and no religion would need government permission to exist. All the founding fathers were not orthodox Christian but they were all dieists.

Answer 10

Schools are an offshoot of government because tax dollars pay for schools.

An overview of world religions would be absolutely fine in schools. But that's not what the Right-Wing Neocon Fundies are pushing for. They want THEIR religion specifically taught. THAT'S a violation of the Constitution.