Our substitute teacher asked if I had Jesus in my heart...

[vlyons]

1. These fundamentalists are just ignorant people

They mean well, but they are going about it entirely in an unattractive and unproductive way. It's a big big turn off to agnostics and atheists, to people of other religions, and even to other Christian denominations sometimes. I'm a Buddhist, and I was told by an old high lama not to try and convert people. Don't talk about Vajrayana Buddhism to non-Buddhists, because they won't understand and will probably get all kinds of crazy ideas about it. Don't proselytize, because it's a waste of time. People have to first ask for teachings from an authentic spiritual teacher. That way, you know they are ready to hear it and practice the teachings.

A much better and more effect approach is to teach kids about ethical morality and personal virtue. One doesn't have to be in a religion to practice honesty, truthfulness, civil and respectful discourse, civic responsibility, generosity, kindness toward others, mental focus, self-restraint, modesty, temperance, patience, courage, justice, etc. Are these qualities no longer taught?