Defending the Truth

The religious right would like to turn public schools into their own denominational daily Sunday School extension:

AlterNet: Rights and Liberties: The Religious Right's New Tactics for Invading Public SchoolsIn mid-August, Texas Gov. Rick Perry signed something called the "Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act" into law. Although the new law has an innocuous-sounding title, it's really a ticking time-bomb, opponents say.

The law requires every public school in the state to adopt a policy guaranteeing students' right to religious expression. It mandates that schools create "limited public forums" for religious and other types of speech. A student could, for example, read the morning announcements over a loudspeaker and then lapse into a prayer or mini-sermon.

Many people think the law is yet another effort to get around the Supreme Court's rulings on separation of church and state in public schools -- and they're expecting a torrent of litigation to result.....

The law is of dubious constitutionality, and some school officials in the state are exasperated. Charles Perkins, Abilene Independent School District's assistant superintendent, told the Abilene Reporter-News, "I really do feel like the state law has been very confusing. It's opened some doors that no one thought to go through."...

Frustrated, Religious Right advocates are adopting new strategies to bring state-sanctioned fundamentalist outreach into the schools. The Texas law, critics say, is merely a new twist on an old fight....

The Texas law reflects the Religious Right's latest ploy: drafting students as evangelists to preach to a captive audience of their peers. The groups hope that the courts will consider the prayers and sermons offered during the "limited public forum" as a form of free speech that is, technically, not sponsored by the school....
__________________

At last some common sense legislation so students who are believers can practice their faith. Children spend a third of their lives in school. On a whole parents have less time with their children than school teachers. Students have suffered at the hands of extreme hate mongers for years saying what they had a right to believe and not believe concerning their religion, faith and beliefs. They have not been allowed to use the one most important book of poetry and history ever written to even learn and study from in the past.

Children now have the right in Texas to learn about faith and religions throughout the world.

Some people would prefer to teach by force of saying, "You have no right to believe in God or that Bible here. This is a public school!"

Peaceful religions of every type throughout the world make prayers and supplications. Now students in Texas have these same rights.

Parents who have taught their own children at home due to the public schools refusals to allow their children to learn from their chosen books and pray through the day, now have an alternative. For those who cannot afford private school but wish to have their children learn from the Bible also now have a choice for their children.

Congradulations Texas you have spoken to protect the rights of faith for those who are young with faith and trust in God whatever their religion of choice may be.

We may consider moving to Texas. It is a very beautiful state.

that is not true

I hope that during those religious indoctrination sessions in the public school, they teach the kids that deceit and dishonesty are not hallmarks of the Christian religion.

There is no public school anywhere in America that can stop students from praying. As long as there are exams to be passed, football games to win, and pretty girls to ask to the prom, there will be prayers in school ... just as there always have been.

Of course, as it is now, prayers are as they are meant to be: silent communication with our God...not religious performance art which has little to do with God or prayer.

....even if other people in the audience have no desire to take part in that "practice?"

And I suppose equal time would be granted to devil worshippers and such?

Who made anyone arbiters of how people practice their religion. From rosary to kneeling a few times a day, it seems to be quite a wide variety of ways people do it. "Performance art" or no.

I didn't know "devil worship" was an actual religion.

Would it really matter in this case?

I find this claim rather dubious, not about Texas being beautiful, but about students supposedly being not allowed to talk about religion. Maybe it was just luck, but of the three public high schools I attended, not one of them forbade prayer or reading from the Bible, as long as it didn't interfere with the lesson plan. All three schools had either Bible studies before/after school, and/or some sort of religious student-run organization. I could pray on a break or pray at lunch at my leisure. Going through four years of high school I have never once heard of any student being denied their right to pray in private.

I'd be shocked if a state like Texas had teachers forbidding students from praying on their own free time. In fact in 34 states, including Texas, and in 160 schools, this book is being used as a classroom textbook:
(The Bible and its Influence)


Bible Literacy Project Resolves Fears About Teaching the Bible in Public Schools
BibleLiteracy.org: News and Information:TIME Magazine April 2, 2006
BibleLiteracy.org: An Educated Person is Familiar with the Bible: The Bible in Public Schools

Perhaps you have some personal horror stories to share?

I don't know if they limit the term "religion" to actual established recognized religions. Just because some group decides to "worship the devil" I'm not sure they should be allowed to do so.
I've never heard of the Satanistas. I don't know. But someone might worship their car, but I don't think that's a religion.