Many years ago when this nation declared its independence from the British a declaration of independence was signed. After the war the basis for today’s modern government was in debate which eventually led to the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America. One of the keystones in the constitution is the separation of church and state, but this idea has been fought over by religious fanatics and those who believe that religion and schools should be kept free from one another many great men have believed in this ideal as well; including two presidents of this great nation “I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholic prelate would tell the president — should he be Catholic — how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference, and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him, or the people who might elect him.”- President John F. Kennedy, Sept. 12, 1960. “I believe that prayer in public schools should be voluntary. It is difficult for me to see how religious exercises can be a requirement in public schools, given our Constitutional requirement of separation of church and state.”- President Gerald Ford. These two men believed in the separation of church and state and at least one of them was very religious, this is another great debate of our time: Should religion be allowed in schools?
In Mesa County the religion debate is growing hot, because of various elected officials who are pushing church and state together in a literally unholy union. According to the website, the answer sheet. “It’s time both to acknowledge Christianity’s role in schools and society, and to incorporate other religions. Doing so will allow schools to offer students a more comprehensive and meaningful understanding of subjects from world history and literature to biology and—yes—current events.” And yes I agree that religion has been an incredibly major driving force in human history, and that one cannot properly teach a history of any nation or continent without involving religion, but that should be all the farther that it should go. If one violates the constitution with such a major thing as pushing religion in schools then it should not be done. If we encourage the pushing of religion in schools then what’s to stop more radicals from springing up to wreak havoc upon the world.
Secularism is a secular spirit or tendency, especially a system of political or social philosophy that rejects all forms of religious faith and worship. Our government that we have put so much faith in to protect us is supposed to be secular and free from religion. Now I understand that it cannot be completely purified from religion but it is as free from possible as we can currently get it, and that has taken countless years to pull the two apart. If you look back on all of the nations that have involved religion directly into their nation; like Great Britain and the Holy Roman Empire and The Roman Empire; although all of them rose to tremendous power; all of them either were destroyed or were reduced significantly in power. Many have protested the combination of church and state including people in one of the most notoriously religious states; Texas. “Dan Quinn, communications director for the Texas Freedom Network, an organization he says is dedicated to countering the conservative religious right in the state, said that what is being proposed is a direct violation of the separation of church and state.” So you see I do believe that religion has its place in the world but not in our American schools.
Thank you for reading my posts and although this will be my last I hope you visit the website more often for more posts by other students from my school.
Works Cited
“9 Historic Quotes That Show Religion Should Be Kept out of Public Schools.” Examiner.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.
FRIEDMAN, EMILY. “Texas Curriculum Review Sparks Debate About Religion.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 29 July 2009. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.
“Schools Should Teach Religion (now More than Ever).” The Answer Sheet -. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Feb. 2013.
“The Edge of the Frame.” The Edge of the Frame. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Feb. 2013.