Frivology

John Whitehead asks, “Why don’t you let religion into our schools?” … or, more accurately … “Why don’t you let CHRISTIANITY into our schools?”:

The first incident involves Wade, a fourth grader from Colorado. Wade’s class was given a “Hero” assignment, which required each student to pick a hero, research the person and write an essay. The student would then dress up and portray the chosen hero as part of a “live wax museum” and give an oral report in front of the class.

However, when the 9-year-old chose Jesus as his hero, school officials immediately insisted that he pick another hero. You have to wonder whether school officials would have objected had Wade chosen the Dalai Lama — or even the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — as his hero.

After Wade’s parents objected, the school proposed a compromise: Wade could write the essay on Jesus. He could even dress up like Jesus for the “wax museum.” However, he would have to present his oral report to his teacher in private, with no one else present, rather than in front of the classroom like the other students.

via Why is religion taboo in American schools? | Reporter-Times / MD Times.

I’ll answer with a story of my own.

When I was a Freshman in High School, I entered my first biology class with youthful glee.  Over the summer, I had purchased - through a church rummage sale - a used micrsocope kit and a used chemistry kit.  I spent a lot of time looking at everything I could find under the microscope and experimenting with all sorts of chemicals in the family garage.  I was excited to start off in biology, and it showed.  I even read ahead in my textbook and was pretty eager to give answers.

It wasn’t long before we were assigned our very first report - an oral one no less, so I can relate to the kid above who had to do an oral report.  Each of us would draw, from a hat, a piece of paper that had a part of human physiology on it.  My choice?  The immune system.  Now, this was back nearly twenty years ago.  The hot-button issue at the time was AIDS, and I, being a pretty media-savvy kid, had heard a lot about it.  I’d also heard about the fact that the religious didn’t want us to talk about AIDS and especially about ways to prevent AIDS.  Many had mentioned, in fact, that it was a disease given to us by god to punish homosexuals.  Being a young, bright scientist, I wanted to set the record straight, so I chose AIDS to do my report on.

My mom drove me to the public library and for a week I studied HIV and AIDS relentlessly.  By the time my first draft was ready, I knew the ins and outs of the history of AIDS, where it started, who it affected, and WHY it affected hose people in particular.  I knew all the ways it could be transmitted, what it did to the body, and how it ended up killing it’s victim.  Iwas ready to bring truth to the classroom… unfortunately, the classroom wasn’t ready to receive it.  Upon inspection of my first draft, my science teacher made one of those faces that one makes when stuck between a rock and a hard place - in his case a student who really wanted to learn and an admistration terrified by religion - he told me that he’d have to talk to the principal about whether or not I could give my report.

I was two things… crushed that my hard work was going to get shot down, and confused as to why it was so terribly controversial to talk about a disease.  If HIV had been transferred solely through blood transfusions or solely through saliva, it wouldn’t have been questioned at all.  It might have even gone under the radar if heterosexuals had been the ones to pass the virus through their communities - but because this particular disease spread through the homosexual communities first, it was taboo.  Taboo to talk about it’s history.  Taboo to talk about how one contracts the disease.  Taboo to talk about how to prevent the contraction.  Taboo to talk about what the virus does to the body.  Taboo because of religion.

I tried to fight the decision a little, but it rapidly became clear that I had no voice in this world.  The school was afraid of controversy and I was too small a fish to worry about.  My science teacher tried to get me interested in a new subject, but it wasn’t the same and as a result my interest in science waned because my school gave up on my rights to free speech, my right to learn, because they were afraid of what a church might do.  When I re-did my oral report, I picked a new part of the body - one which allowed me to explore sociopaths and deep depression - so I could tell the group exactly what sort of things lead one to suicide.

So I hope people like Mr. Whitehead will understand when I look upon poor little Wade without a single ounce of pity or remorse.   If the church is going to influence schools so much that they are afraid to allow students to learn about things not related to religion, then the church is going to have to suffer with the inevitable backlash - the rest of us not wanting the church anywhere near our schools.  If that means that Wade can’t tell his classmates about how Jesus Christ is his hero, then so be it.  Save that sort of thing for Sunday School, where it belongs.  If Wade had, instead, chosen Muhammad as his ‘hero’, what do you think Mr. Whitehead would have said?  Praise Allah?

Wow.  I noticed a link today in my RSS reader to an article stating rather boldly that "Conservative Groups Declare Obama’s Stimulus Bill a War on Prayer".  Now, rightfully, seeing that this was a link to Fox News, I probably should have avoided clicking on it all together, but silly me, I did.  It seems all of the fuss is over the fact that the bill *shock, horror*, obeys the constitution.

According to the bill, which the Democratic-controlled House passed despite unanimous Republican opposition, funds are prohibited from being used for the "modernization, renovation, or repair" of facilities that allow "sectarian instruction, religious worship or a school or department of divinity."

Critics say that could include public schools that permit religious groups to meet on campus. The House provided $20 billion for the infrastructure improvements, of which $6 billion would go to higher education facilities where the limitations would be applied.

Let’s get this straight.  First, the Neocons don’t want us to spend any money in the first place, because spending is bad (though Dubya didn’t seem to believe this).  Then, when it comes out that the stimulus bill actually includes text that obeys the constitution, they start whining that their base - the fundies - won’t be getting some of it.

As if this isn’t ridiculous enough on it’s face, there’s comments on the news story.

(continue reading…)