An interesting thing to think about here concerning segregation of church and state and freedom of religion.?
Posted on January 22nd, 2010 by admin
All I really want here is your opinions, there is no wrong or right answer, only ones with little or no thought:
Here are a few questions for you to ponder:
1. if a Muslim exchange student wishes to pray to Mecca should he be allowed in a public school?
2. if a Protestant child wants to pray to Jesus Christ should he be forbidden?
3. is it fair to discipline a school child who aligns himself with Anton LaVey’s concept of Satanism and freely speaks of it on school grounds?
4. should teachers refrain from uttering words like Buddhism in their teachings of ancient Asia?
think about those for a second first individually then collectively
then answer before you read the next and final paragraph…
ok if you answered no, yes, yes, yes then you probably are 100% for segregation of church and state; if you answered yes, no, no, no then you probably are 100% against it. now if you answered differently from these 2 combinations you obviously have bias! just think!
Why should it matter if a student is muslim or christian? You don’t seem to understand that the first amendment means freedom of religion, not freedom to practice only christian religion.
As the supreme court has determined NUMEROUS times, any student can be allowed to initiate their own prayers at school. This does not violate the concept of the establishment clause of the First Amendment (that the state shall not establish a religion). The problem arises when the school or state initiates the religious activity.
As a result,
1. Yes the student should be allowed to do his/her prayer, it is his/her right to practice his/her religion
2. No, this child should not be forbidden from praying to Jesus
3. A child should not be disciplined for speaking about Anton Lavey any more than a Child speaking about any other religion. There would only be a problem if someone is trying to incite violence.
4. No teachers should not refrain from mentioning Buddhism in a class on ancient asia. The fact is that isn’t establishing religion, it is discussing the religion in the context of the history of the area. Just like you can’t discuss the middle ages without understanding the impact that christianity had. Otherwise students aren’t being taught the correct history of the world.
Also, it is not SEGREGATION of church and state, it is SEPARATION of church and state. The purpose is to not have the government establishing a religion and trying to make its citizens practice that one religion. A student initiating a prayer at school, regardless of religion has nothing to do with what the state wants and the Supereme Court has stated this time and time again. As a result, your final paragraph shows your lack of understanding of the First Amendment’s Establishment clause as you seem to misunderstand what separation of church and state is. It is unconstitutional for a TEACHER to initiate prayer. It is perfectly alright for a student to do so.
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:34 am
I have one opinion about religion and public places.
There are certain tasks and things that religion should be seperated from. A public school is public, it is not for people to show their religion. Religion should be seperated from polictics and education.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 3:43 am
1. yes, but not as part of the school day if they wish to during lunch or breaks so be it.
2. no, as long as they do it silently, on there own time, or the class isn’t led by a teacher in a prayer to any specific religion.
3. No freedom of religion and speech. Speaking of it and practicing during actual class are two very different things.
4. No Buddhism can be part of the curriculum just as well as any other religion. Looking at religion from a point of unbiased study is important to understanding many parts of history for most parts of the world.
I’m all for freedom of religion for every person as long as it doesn’t interfere with that right for others. Promoting one religion over another in a public school interferes with the freedom of religion of some of the students, but the issue must be dealt with delicately. I have no problem with students who want to pray during the school day if it is silent or during times while students are free to do as they please like during the lunch period.
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January 23rd, 2010 at 4:21 am
The simple answer is, that students are free to exercise their religion in a public school as long as they do not disrupt school activities or interfere with the learning of others (i.e. if you pray loudly during the middle of an exam, that’s considered disruptive). Also, it is legal for a teacher to mention things about a religion as long as it’s within an educational and historical context (i.e. she mentions that Buddhism is a religion that was followed by eastern Asians in such and such a place during such and such a time, etc).
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January 23rd, 2010 at 4:48 am
(1)if you are asking if the student should be allowed to to pray to Mecca on school grounds the answer is NO. if asking to be allowed to attend school the answer is YES
(2) YES, a child is non secular until they are old enough to choose their own beliefs.
(3) YES school is not for religion or religious discussions.it is for the education of our youth.
(4) NO as long as it is part of the education process and not being used as a religious teaching.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:24 am
Why should it matter if a student is muslim or christian? You don’t seem to understand that the first amendment means freedom of religion, not freedom to practice only christian religion.
As the supreme court has determined NUMEROUS times, any student can be allowed to initiate their own prayers at school. This does not violate the concept of the establishment clause of the First Amendment (that the state shall not establish a religion). The problem arises when the school or state initiates the religious activity.
As a result,
1. Yes the student should be allowed to do his/her prayer, it is his/her right to practice his/her religion
2. No, this child should not be forbidden from praying to Jesus
3. A child should not be disciplined for speaking about Anton Lavey any more than a Child speaking about any other religion. There would only be a problem if someone is trying to incite violence.
4. No teachers should not refrain from mentioning Buddhism in a class on ancient asia. The fact is that isn’t establishing religion, it is discussing the religion in the context of the history of the area. Just like you can’t discuss the middle ages without understanding the impact that christianity had. Otherwise students aren’t being taught the correct history of the world.
Also, it is not SEGREGATION of church and state, it is SEPARATION of church and state. The purpose is to not have the government establishing a religion and trying to make its citizens practice that one religion. A student initiating a prayer at school, regardless of religion has nothing to do with what the state wants and the Supereme Court has stated this time and time again. As a result, your final paragraph shows your lack of understanding of the First Amendment’s Establishment clause as you seem to misunderstand what separation of church and state is. It is unconstitutional for a TEACHER to initiate prayer. It is perfectly alright for a student to do so.
References :
January 23rd, 2010 at 5:41 am
All of those things are constitutional. Students can do whatever they want on school grounds, provided they aren’t disrupting anyone. THE SCHOOL cannot engage in preaching religion.
On your list, only #4 involves the school doing something, so it is the only questionable one. However, merely uttering words doesn’t really count as indoctrinating people about religion, so it is fine.
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