isnt it time to pas laws so that religion is completely seperate from the state and not taught in schools.....

Question

you dont have magicians and astrologers influencing political decisions and having their wishy washy hocus pocus being taught in schools, so why religion?

if you want to learn about old fairy tales, you can do it in your own time. school is a place for LEARNING. knowing every chapter of the bible wont help you in the real world, whereas a biology A level is needed to get into uni to train to be a doctor

until religion and state are completely divorced the world will always be a violent mess

justin c

i dont think so mate. policy should be based on objective evidence, not middle eastern superstition. thats not bigotry, thats bloody common sense

Answer 1

There should be a law on here to ban trolls, and yes you are one.

Answer 2

Teaching religion in schools is a match to an oily rag. It is fraught with potential problems. Instead, the schools should teach religious awareness classes to educate young students on the basic tenets of each doctrine and the customs which are adhered to by the members.

Religion is a fascinating subject if taught from a humanitarian perspective as opposed to instilling the belief mechanisms into a child, that is the job of the family and religious community.

I suspect that the pupils would benefit enormously from learning about all the religious groups and become knowledgeable enough to understand the differences and similarities and be able to comment upon them in an educated manner rather than having a one sided, closed-minded theological argument.

Answer 3

I dont think that religion should be completely separate from school. I DO NOT believe that religion should influence school at all or what is taught in it, but having a class about different religions of the world and learning information about many religions in an unbiased way is an excellent way to learn about different cultures of the world and help you respect them. Do you know the difference between a Shi'a and Sunni muslim? If you dont, then you are uninformed about a major part of Islamic culture and knowing more information about that religion and its sects will help you better understand the world today.

Answer 4

Separation of church and state is a political and legal idea usually identified with the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof… The phrase building a wall of separation between church and state was written by Thomas Jefferson in a January 1, 1802 letter to the Danbury Baptist Association. Thomas Jefferson was the author of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom.

Meaning that the government cannot force the people to only beleive in one religion.

I suggest you read "Rediscovering God in America" by Newt Gingrich. This book explains alot about our founding fathers.

Answer 5

That would be unconstitutional, since congress shall make no laws inhibiting the free practice of religious beliefs. I would challenge you to show us exactly where in the constitution it says we have an obligation to completely separate church and state. Because, I know what the constitution says, and I know it says nothing to that effect. Separation of church and State is a liberal agenda only brought on within the last couple decades by liberal judges and lawyers who would be audacious enough to try to legislate from the courtrooms. Thomas Jefferson, the one who coined the phrase in a PRIVATE (It wasn't his OFFICIAL position) letter to the Danbury Baptists, even after writing the letter, went on to use federal dollars and lands to build churches and print bibles, and while acting as Superintendent of Schools in DC, made the bible required reading for all students in DC public schools. Does this sound like a guy whose official position was to completely separate church and state? The only thing our constitution says on the matter is that congress shall pass no laws that establish a national religion which all citizens would be forced to practice. They knew the effects of such a thing. So, they vowed never to establish a national religion that all citizens would be forced legally to practice. instead, they llowed citizens to have the choice of which religion to practice, and congress would have no authority to inhibit the free exercise of any religion. that's what it says. And, that's ALL it says on the whole matter. The FACT is, this country, from its founding, has always endorsed christianity, and there is no question christianity is woven into the fabric of this nation's heritage. It's undeniable. The offcial position of this country has always been, allow the free exercise of any religion belief, but PROMOTE christianity as the religion of choice. And we see this everywhere throughout the study of U.S. history. It's only recently, liberals want to deny this history. Just look at some supreme Court decisions, look at some presidential speeches. You should read president George Washington's speech about the tradition of celebrating Thanksgiving. You'll see how christianity, and Jesus Christ, is officially endorsed by this president, and many presidents to follow, even up to the last couple decades.

Answer 6

In my Canadian province, religion as such is not taught in schools, except for private schools run by various religious groups.
The younger grades had something called 'community values' and our high school offered an 'ethics' course and a course called 'World Religions', which examined the beliefs and structures of all the major religions.
It always seemed to me that the place for any religious instruction is through home and church, where parents may pass their beliefs on to their children without imposing them on anyone else.

Answer 7

Religion can't be COMPLETELY removed from public schools because religious beliefs, understandings, etc. are part of who we are as people. It is nearly impossible to study or understand history and culture without at least a rudimentary understanding of religion(s). Furthermore, the US Constitution doesn't exactly separate church and state, it requires the state to stay out of religion. ("The congress shall pass no law...") Public schools may not promote religion or a religion, but they are free to include it in discussions and in lessons where it applies. (e.g. How do you read anything by George Washington without hearing about god or the creator. If one is to exclude readings from Washington because of his references to the creator, the students are left ignorant of history and the teacher of history is forced to engage in intolerance or prejudice. Should schools also exclude writings or lessons about George Washington Carver for similar reasons -- or most Enlightenment scientists?)

Western scientific principles centering on empirical data and observation flowed from the Christian understanding of a creator giving us a reasonable mind and senses and that the world was created in a way that is not arbitrary and does not play tricks on us. -- To study the world was an act of worship, seeing how well the world is created and to appreciate it more deeply. (Note: the atheist Hume's argument AGAINST Christianity and creation was that one could NOT rely on one's senses to reveal truth about the world. Saying that nature and nature's laws are evidence of an orderly, creating god were invalid according to Hume since human minds and senses cannot (according to Hume) be relied on. The evolutionist explanation for the validity of the human senses to correctly sense and the human mind to understand the world in a non-arbitrary manner is a bit circular and non-satisfying.

Removing Christianity from culture will NOT help science it will help SUPERSTITION. The same superstitious nature worship that Christianity replaced in Northern Europe is now on the rise with the waning of Christianity in that part of the world. In the post modern world, in which there is little basis for truth, Christianity most likely will be the strongest support for the reliability and importance of reason and truth vs superstition. (You do not see many Christians dancing around Stonehenge or attending UFO conferences or going to a psychic.)

If you remove all religion, people will find another way to answer the basic questions of WHY am I here and what is good and true in life. RARELY do people turn truly to science to answer such questions. Usually the replacement is some superstitious silliness. Does anyone not remember the late 70's & early 80's? -- Pop psychology, UFO's, Loch Ness, Yeti, Sasquatch, etc. -- all become popular during that time as people were throwing off the Old Religion as passe. Christianity is not the enemy of science -- laziness, stupidity, and a lack of appreciation for the real world are the true enemies.

Answer 8

Hi Julia,
Our Public schools are not permitted to teach any type of religious material. We are not supposed to even speak of GOD or any reference to prayer as a school employee. I see nothing wrong with this policy but I am a Christian and if a student has a Bible or any other religious material on them that they wish to study on their own time, that is and should be their business. Have a wonderful weekend.
Thanks,

Edit:
Lucid,
It is NOT illegal to teach Intelligent Design however most public schools choose not to present it as an alternative to the evolutionary theory.
Eds


.

Answer 9

You said...'you don't have magicians and astrologers influencing political decisions'.

I say, 'I 100% agree with you.'

If people want kids to believe that Santa, the tooth fairy and God are real, they can brainwash them at home. I have signed the Humanist petition to end the 'daily act of Christian worship' in the UK, and I'm looking for ways to end state funding of religious schools. Being separated won't make people integrate better, and religious schools only do better because they select out stupid pupils.

Answer 10

The state and religion cannot be completely separated as long as; 1) The faithful vote, and 2) The state reserves the right to enforce separation (which is in itself crossing the wall).

It is blatant support by the state for one form of religion that is to be dealt with. Any use of the word God is not neutral, since not all religions are theistic.

Answer 11

I'm not sure what country you are in, but here in America it is separate. We teach evolution only in science as our origin, it is illegal to teach Intelligent Design. We do not reference Christ or even say MerryChristmas during the Christmas season in schools (Winterfest, Holiday, etc.) We certainly dont have religious classes taught either in any grade K-12.

EDIT: Eds you would know more than myself with your backround, of course. I had done some research and I had seen in many places where even if there isnt some official legislation, it is considered "illegal" in the fact that no school would ever touch it or include it in its official curriculum.