I saw this question and thought it would be good to address one of the side points mentioned in this person's question. Religion and the Bible in education.
Recently in states such as Alabama and the various other states surrounding it, bills have been proposed to force the Bible back into the PUBLIC school system. I'm not talking about parochial schools or even somewhat religious institutions, like my own. I attend an Episcopalian private school where they teach one religion oriented class, World Religions. They do not use the Bible as a means to educate children. Then, on Wednesdays, we attend Chapel, a Christian service where I go to relax. They do not force Christianity on us. In fact, we have a large Jewish population that is very comfortable.
What I would like to believe is the Alabama school system's approach is on forced religion in school:
They believe that the moral system introduced by the Bible will help to educate the children on how to make appropriate choices in their adult lives. Then, after introducing religion in elementary school, they intend to bring religion throughout the middle and high school, Upon completion of the senior year, the students will be sufficiently pious and have the proper morals to live a prosperous life.
What I believe is the actual goal behind forcing religion in school:
The religious education may raise up some very nice people. But, the school system will most likely take the approach of teaching their own version of Christianity that denounces homosexuality, questioning the world, and in the end, is more of a hate driven education than the Bible actually promotes. It'll be just like raising a whole generation of bigoted assholes.
What would be the proper approach if religion was forced back into schools:
Teach the students what Jesus actually preached about: Love and kindness. Doing things for the poor and needy. Teaching others what it's like to be a good human and a contributing part of society. If they actually taught students what the Bible actually tells us, then perhaps I would be more partial towards letting the Bible be taught in school.
Teach the students what Jesus actually preached about: Love and kindness. Doing things for the poor and needy. Teaching others what it's like to be a good human and a contributing part of society. If they actually taught students what the Bible actually tells us, then perhaps I would be more partial towards letting the Bible be taught in school.
Until the zealots get it, it's probably a good idea to keep religion out of school. Let's promote a loving and caring society, not one that promotes hatred.
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