School prayer: 50 years after the ban, God and faith more present than ever

[rug]

School prayer was banned by the US Supreme Court 50 years ago, but there is probably more presence of religion in public school environments – through club ministries, classes, after-school and interfaith programs, and faith-based services – than ever.

By Lee Lawrence, Correspondent / June 16, 2013
Atlanta

At the adolescent-unfriendly hour of 7:10 on this rainy spring morning in tiny Loachapoka, Ala., classes won't start for another half hour in the public school. But already the science lab at Loachapoka High School is coming alive with the banter of 13 teens sloughing off backpacks and settling in to learn – not about chemistry or biology, but about faith.

"Who knows what happened this weekend?" asks Kevin Flannagan, regional director for Campus Life ministry.

Immediately, the teens quiet down to listen. "Easter," a boy volunteers.

"Jesus rose, yes," Mr. Flannagan says. Then, in a tone as gentle as it is friendly, he recaps the Bible story and asks, "So why is it called Good Friday?"

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/0616/School-prayer-50-years-after-the-ban-God-and-faith-more-present-than-ever

[MotherPetrie]

1. How sad.

[chervilant]

2. Thus, we continue to indoctrinate

our children to believe in a paternalistic deity, and to embrace a misogynistic mythology. How sad, indeed.

[dimbear]

3. A tiny country highschool in the heart of the Bible belt gets 4% of its students to come in early.

Be afraid, seculars, be very afraid.

[life long demo]

4. Having had 12 years of a religious school (Catholic)

I totally agree that there is no place in public schools for a religion/any religion. You don't need a religion when you speak about morality. I know in many areas of the US they would impose a specific religion. This would be wrong, it would be raising one religion over all others. If people want a religion based education, send the kids to a religious school or sunday school. I'm happy with my 12 years of catholic school, it was my parents choice, then my choice for high school. I often ask people who want prayer in school, "whose prayers". If you have Christian, then there should be Jewish, Sikh, Moslem, etc prayers also. Then there are the atheist, do we send those kids out into the hallway when praying. It just won't work. Just my opinion.

[rug]

5. +1

[LostOne4Ever]

6. All americans?

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2013/0616/School-prayer-50-years-after-the-ban-God-and-faith-more-present-than-ever/(page)/7[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]He believes all Americans should know the Bible and its influence.

Why should non-christians know the bible? Does he believe all americans should know the Dhammas as well? The Tripitaka? The Vedas? The Bhagavad-Gita? The Tao Te Ching? The Age of Reason? Battlefield Earth? I doubt he feels that way about those texts.

Its influences? You kind do that already just by studying history. You also cover the influence of SOME EUROPEAN pagan religions. If anything history needs to cover the influence of other religions, I dont seem to remember us covering much of anything on eastern religions, Zoroastrianism, Sikhs, Taoism, or Shinto; and barely touched hindu or buddhism. It was rather euro-centric and covered the impact of Christians quite well...does he really think the bible is not getting enough exposure?

Really?

[rug]

7. Most likely because it's common culture.

Across the country in New York, ninth-graders at Townsend Harris High School also learn about religions as part of a mandatory Advanced Placement World History class.

"I don't challenge whether Moses received the Ten Commandments from God or whether Jesus performed miracles," says history teacher Franco Scardino. "I ask the students to think through why this message takes hold and resonates. Or why monotheism evolves on the Arabian Peninsula in a nomadic society where polytheism is all around them."

His approach conforms with the 1963 Supreme Court decision that specifically encouraged "teaching about religion, as distinguished from the teaching of religion."

The ruling also approved the "non-devotional use of the Bible in public schools," which, Chancey explains, means "you're teaching factual material about what religious traditions believe." He believes all Americans should know the Bible and its influence. But, he cautions, "it is one thing to say 'Jews and Christians believe the Bible is inspired by God'; it is an entirely different thing to teach 'the Bible is inspired by God.' "

I know Townsend Harris High School. It's located in Queens and is one of the city's elite schools.

Which allows me to add that the public schools, only in Brooklyn and Queens, not Manhattan, the Bronx or Staten Island, have a school holiday called "Brooklyn-Queens Day". Cultures are what they are.

http://www.timesnewsweekly.com/news/2013-06-06/Front_Page/All_Invited_To_Shape_Up_At_Bushwick_March_Today.html

BTW, kudos on having read the article all the way to the end.

[LostOne4Ever]

8. It was an interesting read

Though I have to admit I only read the first 3 or so pages when you first posted this and finished it up when someone reposted the same article.

I had a conversation with a Christian friend and a non-believing Jewish friend about the recent Rick Perry Christmas bill which got us to talking about common culture. While I and my Christian friend agreed that Christmas had been secularized to the point that non christians could partake in it, my other friend VEHEMENTLY disagreed. He called it Christian culture.

After the conversation, I had to agree that he had a point. I get both sides of the debate, but its hard to call it common culture when many people don't partake in it. Majority culture would probably be a better expression. As for the comment that I snipped it smacks of religious privilege to me.

He feels ALL americans need to know of the bible, but I doubt he feels the same way about any other religion despite its influence on our culture. The American Indians had a monumental impact on our government and culture, but I doubt he wants every school child to know about the Great spirit.

Anyway, thanks for the interesting read (despite its repeated links to that "are you smarter than an atheist" quiz). I found the part about Catalyst rather worrisome...and the part about targeting kids and their parents especially worrying. Sounds like they are planning to intentionally cause problems so that they can "pressure" entire families.

>.>
<.<

Maybe im just paranoid.

Time!