By: Cynthia Tyler

Cynthia Tyler — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 00:04:26 +0000

My first thought is “Oh, my G-d.” And then I realize, that is entirely the point
My G-d is MY G-d. Not yours, not theirs, and certainly not to be discussed
in a school that is public, and supposedly secular.
I think it is good for students to learn about all religions when they are in school.
It is an unfortunate fact that much of man’s history has been shaped by followers of one religious belief or another. Wars have been instigated by quests for land and its resources, or to quell the perceived threat posed by another religion, and very little else.
But religion has also been a primary source for much of the world’s artistic expression. If you know nothing of the Christian New Testament you’ll be ignorant of the meaning of thousands of paintings and sculptures produced from the beginning of the Common Era,
and well into the Renaissance.
One should learn about religions – all of them. Become educated about the beliefs of others. But there is a big difference between being taught the history of a religion’s development, its effect on political history, its expression in art, and being presented with the tenets of a single system of religious belief as the only truth. And this latter process has no right to a publicly funded classroom during mandated school hours.
As far as the founding fathers are concerned, while faith was important to many, the winds of Humanism still blew fiercely at that time. The creators of this great experiment we call America were not untouched by the wide-ranging philosophies that floated about
in the very air they breathed. Why are so many modern-day Christians unwilling to admit that?
A morally Christian beginning? Tell that to the people who were here first.
And, please, keep My G-d out of YOUR schools.

Comments on: Separation of Church and State – Where, oh where have you gone?

By: Cynthia Tyler