Religious politics - Fight for the schools, part II (Jesus, ritual)

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

Secular Schools are Hostile to Religion: You're Attacking Christianity if You're Not Actively Endorsing Christianity

http://atheism.about.com/od/religiou...ty-Schools.htm

A popular claim made by many Christian Nationalists is that the absence of any explicit endorsement of their religion by public schools - or indeed by government generally - represents an expression of hostility towards their religion. In particular, it is their position that the failure of schools to promote creationism, Bible reading, Christian prayers, and other examples of Christian beliefs means that the schools are effectively denigrating those beliefs.

Thus the fact that schools don't explicitly endorse Jesus, either through images of Jesus hanging in schools or in school lessons, is treated as though schools were actually trying to take Jesus away from children.

A popular claim made by many Christian Nationalists is that the absence of any explicit endorsement of their religion by public schools - or indeed by government generally - represents an expression of hostility towards their religion. In particular, it is their position that the failure of schools to promote creationism, Bible reading, Christian prayers, and other examples of Christian beliefs means that the schools are effectively denigrating those beliefs.

Thus the fact that schools don't explicitly endorse Jesus, either through images of Jesus hanging in schools or in school lessons, is treated as though schools were actually trying to take Jesus away from children.

Does the absence of a positive statement mean there are negative thoughts and/or motives?

[Mike182]

Originally Posted by Pah

Does the absence of a positive statement mean there are negative thoughts and/or motives?

no, a neutral stance is just what is required for the people to make up their own minds.... after all, Christ would want us to choose him for ourselves, would he not? (that is a rhetorical question)

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Pah

Secular Schools are Hostile to Religion: You're Attacking Christianity if You're Not Actively Endorsing Christianity

http://atheism.about.com/od/religiou...ty-Schools.htm

Does the absence of a positive statement mean there are negative thoughts and/or motives?

I don't think so. Although I do think it is a real phonemenon.

If you ever criticized blacks, homosexuals, or whatever in some of my college class it was shuned upon (rightly so). But if you wanted to make fun of Christianity, it was an open door policy.

Perhaps southern california is truly another world.

[Random]

I view this sort of development as an inevitable reaction to the percieved growing hostility of Secular/Atheistic beliefs towards Religion and spirituality in general. They want rid of all believers and the worrying thing is they actually DO want this, actively speaking.

I recall a quote from Daniel C. Dennett:

"For thousands of years, human beings have lived in a sort of culturally induced trance, subjugating their wills to invisible beings and forces ... How can the astringent world of science compete with the reassuring warmth of communally shared secrets and ceremonies, the spine-tingling beauties of religious ecstacy? People want their lives to be decorated with mystery, punctuated by magic, spiced with adventures of "the spirit." Shouldn't they be allowed to dream on in peace? I'm afraid not. The stakes are too high, and we can no longer allow the entranced to impose their follies on the rest of us."

If this is going to become the prevailing attitude amongst power-brokers and the political world, you can expect fundamentalist reponses to become more and more stringent, demanding and untennable. A terrible, fraught time we live in, indeed.

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

Originally Posted by Victor

I don't think so. Although I do think it is a real phonemenon.

If you ever criticized blacks, homosexuals, or whatever in some of my college class it was shuned upon (rightly so). But if you wanted to make fun of Christianity, it was an open door policy.

Perhaps southern california is truly another world.

I think the question applies to High School and below. There is not a politized push for Christianity in the college classroom.

[Bright-ness' Shadow]

Originally Posted by Godlike

I view this sort of development as an inevitable reaction to the percieved growing hostility of Secular/Atheistic beliefs towards Religion and spirituality in general. They want rid of all believers and the worrying thing is they actually DO want this, actively speaking.

I recall a quote from Daniel C. Dennett:

"For thousands of years, human beings have lived in a sort of culturally induced trance, subjugating their wills to invisible beings and forces ... How can the astringent world of science compete with the reassuring warmth of communally shared secrets and ceremonies, the spine-tingling beauties of religious ecstacy? People want their lives to be decorated with mystery, punctuated by magic, spiced with adventures of "the spirit." Shouldn't they be allowed to dream on in peace? I'm afraid not. The stakes are too high, and we can no longer allow the entranced to impose their follies on the rest of us."

If this is going to become the prevailing attitude amongst power-brokers and the political world, you can expect fundamentalist reponses to become more and more stringent, demanding and untennable. A terrible, fraught time we live in, indeed.

Since Dennett speaks of science it is a scientific view certainly not an atheist/agnoistic view nor even a secular/humanist view. The power brokers have lately been those very same people crying persecuted victim (it helps keep them in power)

[Victor]

Originally Posted by Pah

I think the question applies to High School and below. There is not a politized push for Christianity in the college classroom.

Then that's a whole other ball of wax. The freedoms for HS teachers are not as much there as in college professors.

I'm perfectly fine with them making it feasible for all in this regard.

[Random]

Originally Posted by Pah

Since Dennett speaks of science it is a scientific view certainly not an atheist/agnoistic view nor even a secular/humanist view. The power brokers have lately been those very same people crying persecuted victim (it helps keep them in power)

I agree, but you could reasonably subsitute "science" for atheist/agnostic or secular/humanist viewpoints without too much fuss. The sentiment of the quote as applicable to non-religious philosophies of all kinds is what struck me about it.