If we don’t teach religion in schools, Americans will never understand the rest of the world - Quartz

In the first week of my undergraduate course on world religions, I give students a “fill-in-the blank” sheet relating to eight major religions.

Students can give any response they want to the prompts, “Muslims are…” “Christians are…” et cetera. Responses are anonymous and students are encouraged to be as candid as they want. These data give me a baseline for the religious literacy of my students and allow me to tailor my lessons to whatever information (or misinformation) they already know. Their responses are often wildly inaccurate. My students have responded that Hindus make a pilgrimage to Mecca, that Daoists worship Winnie the Pooh, and that Judaism is an odd sect within Christianity.

My students are not dumb. In the United States, the level of religious literacy displayed in this exercise is par for the course.

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There is an assumption that studying world religion is like studying poetry—a garnish used to round out the “serious” subjects of a college education. But religious literacy is serious because religion is not a discrete and ahistorical phenomenon.

Religious beliefs and practices are embedded in the fabric of human culture, and religious literacy goes beyond the ability to appreciate Dante or Shakespeare. Religious ideas affect politics, economics, and law. Without knowledge of the world’s religions, students will not understand the traditions and values of their neighbors and coworkers. They will be ill-equipped to compete in a global marketplace. Most critically, they will have no framework with which to assess claims about religion made by politicians and the media.

If we don’t teach religion in schools, Americans will never understand the rest of the world - Quartz

The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children, by Katherine Stewart

The Good News Club is making headlines once again, so I thought it important to blow the dust off this 2012 book release notice. It is n my ever growing list of books to read.

In 2009, the Good News Club came to the public elementary school where journalist Katherine Stewart sent her children. The Club, which is sponsored by the Child Evangelism Fellowship, bills itself as an after-school program of “Bible study.” But Stewart soon discovered that the Club’s real mission is to convert children to fundamentalist Christianity and encourage them to proselytize to their “unchurched” peers, all the while promoting the natural but false impression among the children that its activities are endorsed by the school.

The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children, by Katherine Stewart

Boy Claimed His Teacher Banned Him From Reading the Bible — but the Principal Said There’s a Major Problem With His Story | TheBlaze.com

As usual in incidents such as these, the resolution has come before I could even post about the initial "outrage." Another story of "never let the facts get in the way of good propaganda."

I will be curious to see if Alliance Defending Freedom jumps in on this one for their fifteen minutes,,,

A public school principal in Missouri pushed back against a middle school student’s claim that a teacher banned him from reading the Bible in school, claiming that the incident did not unfold as was alleged and that students are more than welcome to read their Bibles in school.

Lance Tobin, principal of Bueker Middle School in Marshall, Missouri, told TheBlaze on Friday that claims made by Loyal Grandstaff, a 7th grader at the school, had not been substantiated when a local outlet published them and that the situation has since been resolved.

“We just all agreed and we talked about school and religion,” Tobin said. “And I wanted to make sure that they were comfortable understanding that their child could have the Bible at school and could read the Bible at school.”

Tobin, who declined to go into specific detail when asked why the family alleged that a teacher had banned the 12 year old from reading the book if that story wasn’t accurate, said that going public with the claims was likely “something that [the family] felt like they needed to do at the time.”

When asked how the teacher accused of banning the Bible is faring in light of the attention the situation has been given, the principal added, “There is no teacher involved whatsoever.”

Boy Claimed His Teacher Banned Him From Reading the Bible — but the Principal Said There’s a Major Problem With His Story | TheBlaze.com

Okla. school district rejects Hobby Lobby bible class - Freedom From Religion Foundation

My initial post concerning this debacle is http://interestinghmm.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-good-book-taught-badly-okla-school.html here,,,

Mustang Public Schools is canceling plans to conduct a bible course developed by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green, a zealous evangelical Christian advocate.

The district's announcement came in response to a follow-up open records request to the Oklahoma school district from FFRF Staff Attorney Andrew Seidel, in conjunction with Americans United Senior Litigation Counsel Greg Lipper, ACLU of Oklahoma Legal Director Brady Henderson and Daniel Mach of the ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief.
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"In summary, the topic of a Bible course in the Mustang School District is no longer a discussion item nor is there a plan to provide such a course in the foreseeable future," wrote Superintendent Sean McDaniel in his emailed response.

FFRF led the charge against the proposed class in April when the Mustang school board voted to approve Green's curriculum. FFRF pointed out numerous flaws with the course, entitled "The Book, the Bible's History, Narrative and Impact of the World's Best-selling Book." The course in the Mustang school district was to be the first in what Green intended to be implemented in school districts around the country. Americans United and ACLU later also wrote letters, and teamed up with FFRF for the most recent open records request.

McDaniel said two "non-negotiables" the school had requested from Hobby Lobby were not met, namely that the district be permitted to review the final curriculum before introducing it, and that Hobby Lobby commit to providing legal coverage to the district.

FFRF's concern from the beginning was that Green and his staff were using the Mustang School District for their own ends, persuading it to adopt an unconstitutional curriculum for which the Mustang taxpayers, not Green, would ultimately pay the court costs for the inevitable court battle.

Okla. school district rejects Hobby Lobby bible class - Freedom From Religion Foundation

The Good Book Taught Badly?: Okla. School District Approves Hobby Lobby Owner’s Bible Course | Americans United

That’s our goal, so that we can reintroduce this book to this nation. This nation is in danger because of its ignorance of what God has taught, ~ Steve Green
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An Oklahoma school district has approved the use of a Bible curriculum designed by Steve Green, the controversial owner of Hobby Lobby. The Mustang public schools will begin offering the curriculum next academic year.

As reported by Religion News Service, Green’s curriculum is designed to correspond with his planned Museum of the Bible, which is currently under construction in Washington, D.C. Jerry Pattengale, who heads the Green Scholars Initiative and is overseeing the curriculum’s development, said the ultimate goal is put the curriculum in “thousands” of schools.

Little is known publicly about the details of the curriculum. However, in a 2013 speech he delivered to the National Bible Association, Green explained that it’s divided into three sections: the history of the Bible, the story of the Bible, and the impact of the Bible.

Classes about the Bible don’t necessarily violate the separation of church and state. It all depends on what is taught and how it’s taught. Green’s speech indicates that he may have ulterior motives.

It appears that Green doesn’t intend to simply teach students history.

“The history is to show the reliability of this book,” he told his audience, and added, “When you present the evidence, the evidence is overwhelming.”

The Good Book Taught Badly?: Okla. School District Approves Hobby Lobby Owner’s Bible Course | Americans United

See also: 

Curricular Controversy: Hobby Lobby President Proposes Bible Elective in Okla. Public School

,,,but Green also has strong ties to Bill Gothard, the leader of an extremist Christian fundamentalist sect roiling with allegations of child abuse.

Gothard’s religious empire includes a homeschool curriculum popular with fundamentalist families, and a nationwide network of training centers and youth programs that exclusively rely on Gothard’s teachings.

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In 2002, Green, acting through his family trust, purchased and then leased a vacant college campus to Gothard’s ministry. A year later, Green, this time acting through Hobby Lobby itself, purchased a shuttered hospital in Little Rock, Ark., and donated it to Gothard for the purposes of building a local training center.

These weren’t mere business transactions, either. The website of one of Gothard’s many ministries features video of Steve Green describing Hobby Lobby’s “desire to share Christ and Disciple others.” And in a review of Gothard’s book, The Amazing Way, David Green, father of Steve Green and founder of Hobby Lobby, wrote that, “Through the example and teachings of Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Life Principles, we have benefited both as a family and in our business. It is as we take those lessons from God s Word that Bill clearly articulates that we live the full life that God intends.”

Virginia Senate OKs bill allowing students’ religious speech - Roanoke Times: News

Another example of wasted taxpayer time and money. I say that because I agree with the assessment made by Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty: "Students expressive rights are well-protected under current law. Allowing school administrators the discretion to control the content of official school events not only protects the school from charges of promoting religion, it helps school's protect students from being subjected to unwanted proselytizing from their peers. Is there a sufficient reason to upset that balance?"

This piece of legislation is redundant and necessary:

Sen. John Edwards, D-Roanoke, said Carrico’s bill would create “a patchwork quilt” of local policies and would invite lawsuits. He said the state already has guidelines for school divisions to follow to protect religious expression.

“If this bill is passed, it almost guarantees litigation,” Edwards said. “Do we really need to spend time and money and effort litigating different school districts’ policies that are established under this bill?”

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The Virginia Senate has passed legislation designed to protect the rights of public school students to voluntarily pray and participate in religious activities on school grounds, despite objections from lawmakers who said the proposal would invite lawsuits.

The Senate’s 20-18 vote Tuesday was a victory for Sen. Bill Carrico, R-Grayson County, one of the General Assembly’s most persistent advocates for allowing prayer and religious expression in public settings. The final vote broke largely along party lines. Just one Democrat, Sen. Phillip Puckett of Russell County, supported the bill. Sen. John Watkins of Powhatan was the only Republican to oppose it.
click here

Carrico’s SB 236 now goes to the Republican-dominated House of Delegates, where he expects it to get a friendly reception.

“Now we’ll see how the governor reacts to it,” Carrico said after Tuesday’s floor vote.

Virginia Senate OKs bill allowing students’ religious speech - Roanoke Times: News

Algona Upper Des Moines > Archives > Opinion > Editorials & Columns > Ask the pastor: What about prayer in schools?

As I was reading though I was struck by a thought, make that 2 thoughts; err, 2 thoughts that are related (does that make it only one thought then?). First, "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." (Matt 6:5-6, KJV)

And second, why would they want prayer in schools in the first place? Now mind you I am not referring to student led "clubs" that may meet prior to classes or praying before a meal or an after school Bible study club. I am talking full ,on morning announcement type prayer. Or prayer at an assembly of some type, like a pre-game situation. Seriously do they get up in the morning thinking I have to get to school so I can pray?

My only caveat in regards to Peterson's Op, atheists are not trying to take away Christians’ right to pray. We just want to stop the overreach of religion, like when teachers or administrators attempt to proselytize to students. Or worse, what is transpiring in Louisiana.
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Interesting to note is that it is not only atheists or religious minorities who oppose school-sponsored prayer. Rather, many Christians actually oppose prayer in the public schools as well, usually because they do not desire that their children be led in prayers which might contradict the doctrinal position of their church…

In the wake of the school prayer prohibitions, there then occurred an overcorrection of sorts. Many citizens who were uninformed about the legal reasoning involved began to mistakenly conclude that all religious speech and action are forbidden in public schools. On the contrary, courts have consistently held that it is acceptable to read various scriptures as world literature or to describe religion in the context of history and the social sciences.

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Of course, in such an emotionally-charged topic as religion, there will be occasions where the rules are abused, manipulated, or ignored, but Christians should resist the temptation to engage in such tactics. Instead, the Christian is called to defend their rights as a religious citizen, while at the same time doing so in a legal, ethical, and non-malicious manner.

The first step should always be to seek to work with the school and its officials to ensure students’ rights are protected, and even if such efforts fail, to pursue the defense of their rights without spitefulness or a desire for revenge, but instead in the interest of protecting the liberty of their neighbors and community.

Algona Upper Des Moines > Archives > Opinion > Editorials & Columns > Ask the pastor: What about prayer in schools?

Arkansas Legislature Wants Academic Study Of The Bible In Public Schools | Addicting Info

If all ancient sacred texts were included leaving "religion" out of the equation,,,But in reality think this would boil down to a pissing contest  of comparing "my" religion to "yours" and which is better,,,

These classes would also be electives; they would not be required curriculum. There are many people who believe that such a class is a good idea, provided that it’s in a non-religious format; a study of the history of the books of the Bible and correlating those to events discussed in other historical texts, perhaps studying different translations and discussing those differences, and other avenues of study that don’t include preaching.

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In 2007, then-chief religion writer of Time Magazine, David Van Biema, published an article that supports the teaching of the Bible in public schools, calling it “the most influential book ever written,” and noting that it is a best-seller every single year. Religious and non-religious leaders throughout U.S. history have quoted it, and whether the secular among us like it or not, it has influenced our society in a big way.

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Bruce Wilson of Talk2Action.org, however, has a different take on the issue. He believes that Bible classes in school would ultimately serve to create a national religion by teaching one holy book over others. Even as an elective, and even though it’s open to all students and students of all belief systems, including atheist students, have been taking these courses in places like Texas, it still advances one religion without really giving the same opportunity for people to learn about other religions that have influenced Western culture and history.

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Nobody can argue the Bible’s influence on U.S. and Western culture. But the argument can be made that the holy books of other religions are just as influential and essential to understanding other cultures, particularly, in recent history, Islam. Given that the U.S. is a melting pot, would it not be to our benefit to offer courses on the holy books of all the major cultures represented in our population?

Arkansas Legislature Wants Academic Study Of The Bible In Public Schools | Addicting Info

Illinois lawmaker advocates for official worship, religious shrines in public schools

Ford told a group of ministers: “I also urge the ministers here to fight to get prayer back in schools. That’s a mission that we need to do. We need to make sure that we get prayer back in schools in some form or fashion,” KMOX, the CBS radio affiliate in St. Louis, reported.

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For someone who believes so strongly in social justice and equality, why is he willing to ignore the rights of a growing segment of our population, the non-believers, atheists and humanists — as well as all of those religious people who oppose mandated and coercive prayer in public schools?

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Public school students still have the right to pray individually or in groups and study the Bible, provided they do so in an unofficial capacity and without infringing on the rights of other students or disrupting school activities. The Supreme Court didn’t kick religion out of public schools – it just placed limits on schools’ ability to sponsor religious activities,,,Ford, of course, doesn’t see things that way. And to make matters worse, he went a step further during his remarks, saying students also need a place to go “when they feel weak,” and that schools should be able to put up shrines or religious symbols.

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As for the religious symbols, which ones, exactly, would Ford want to see in schools? Would he feel comfortable with symbols from Islam, Hinduism, Wicca or other minority traditions? Seems unlikely, and any attempts by a public school to honor one faith over others would be an obvious violation of the First Amendment.

Illinois lawmaker advocates for official worship, religious shrines in public schools