Religion Has No Place in School Programs (Page 1 of 1)

The recent report was brief, then disappeared. Representatives of the Franklin Graham Crusade, it said, had visited some local elementary schools the day before the Crusade opened. School administrators said the visits were not religious in 
nature — they were “character building.” It turns out that one of the groups on the entertainment bill for the Graham Crusade made the rounds of at least three local schools in April in the run-up to the crusade.

According to the Supreme Court, even the current conservative one, for the children in a community to be rounded up by the government (education is compulsory, after all) and indoctrinated into any set of religious beliefs — Buddhist, Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish — violates freedom of religion. The Supreme Court also recognizes in a land that protects everyone’s freedom, if you give the kids’ minds to one group, you have to give them to EVERY group, from the Weather Underground to the Ku Klux Klan.

The Supreme Court also recognizes that children are not adults and deserve special protections. The word they use is “inculcate,” a word I don’t use every day but a good word. It means that kids soak up knowledge of all kinds and lack filters to sort out the sensible from the nonsense, the true from the false. They receive what the teacher (or any authority figure in the front of the room) says as “true knowledge.” That’s why the teacher, an employee of the state, is not allowed to lead them in a prayer, or teach religious instruction.

A lot of things are inculcated into our children in schools besides book-learning. Social expectations like manners: “Clean up after yourself,” for instance. Civic responsibility, too — when kids say the pledge of allegiance every morning, even for those who are too young to have any idea what “indivisible” means or why they are saying it, civic responsibility is inculcated into them.

What is too controversial to be “inculcated” into our children in schools?

Partisan politics is a no-no, and it may be helpful to use it to think about religion and the Graham visit. You are [choose one] a) Democrat; b) Republican; c) Libertarian; d) Green; e) Independent; f) Something Else. First grade, your child has a teacher who is active in [Your Party Here], and has a “Vote For [Your Fave Here]” sign on the front of the desk and generally espouses the principles of [Your Party] to your child. Your child comes home talking just like you want. Great!

What are the chances that every teacher your child has in grades one through six is a member of Your Party? Uh-oh. We don’t read about schools getting sued for political instruction because it is so obviously bad that no one does it.

But some teachers/administrators think religion is so very, very important (saving people from the eternal fires of hell), they are tempted to cross the line.

In the case of the Graham Crusade — what an opportunity! A youth-oriented group to talk to a captive audience. Call it “character building” — who can be against character building? But in court cases, judges often apply this test: If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. My guess is whatever was fed to the children at Carter and Rocky Hill schools as “character building” would have a tricky time passing the duck test. It probably quacked a little bit religiously.

But, here’s the other thing — Franklin Graham on Islam: “It’s the teaching of Islam that is not tolerant of any other faith. It’s world domination. When they dominate an area, they’ll let other belief systems exist, but they’ll persecute them so that (people) convert to Islam, and there’s total domination. Once you’re in Islam you can’t get out of it. If you leave Islam you have 
to be killed.”

Seeing as though this is not true of mainstream Islam, Graham is either ignorant or he is twisting the truth — not great credentials for teaching “character building.” But Franklin does know intolerance: His brand of Christianity takes as its cornerstone this teaching of Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life, no man comes to the Father but by me.” Believe it, or burn in hell 
for eternity.

On NBC Nightly News in November 2001, Franklin Graham said: “The God of Islam is not the same God. He’s not the Son of God of the Christian or Judeo-Christian faith. It’s a different God, and I believe it is a very evil and wicked religion.” In the climate of November 2001, that was pretty close to hate speech — many people felt it crossed the line. It also lacks the virtue of veracity — the God of Islam is the God that Jews and Christians worship; the Christian Bible is considered sacred.

In 2006, on ABC’s Nightline, Graham said: “If people think Islam is such a wonderful religion, then go to Saudi Arabia and make it your home.”

This kind of talk does not reflect tolerance — which many parents would like to see as part of the character with which their children are endowed.

Me? I grew up in a Pentecostal Holiness religious tradition and lived in it fully, went on to become a Presbyterian minister and still am. My kids were baptized into the Christian faith and go to a Christian church. When my daughter Emma goes to school, I want her to learn math, spelling, social studies, geography, music, art and literature. Her teachers are wonderful, and her school is outstanding. I don’t want them to teach her their religion, even disguised as character building.

In fact, I’d put Emma’s views on tolerance alongside Franklin Graham’s any day of the week, and it wouldn’t be Emma who looked like she could stand a dose of “character building.” Because I believe, and I think Emma does, too, Franklin Graham’s God is a God whose love is far more broad and powerful than Franklin dares to imagine. That’s where my daughter’s character is rooted. I’m praying for Graham.