High school Christian club banned

[Captain Awesome]

Ok, I might have overreacted few pages back. I have rather strong opinions on religion, what can I say.

I still think having a Christian club in school is somewhat close to having official drug dealers opening a booth on school premises.

[GordonH]

Ok, I might have overreacted few pages back. I have rather strong opinions on religion, what can I say.

I still think having a Christian club in school is somewhat close to having official drug dealers opening a booth on school premises.

[steven lloyd]

Which leads to ......

Could I paraphrase all this as:
Student clubs that have religion as the subject are the thin end of a wedge that could be used to make further religious inroads into the education system and that banning these clubs would set the the education system on a firmer foundation of secularism?

May I be that bold?

Hmm .... almost, but not quite. I firmly believe that religions should be discussed at schools. In fact I strongly feel that religion should be thoroughly dissected, scrutinised and critically examined at the deepest levels; be it by moderated 'clubs', debates or objective classroom education. The practise(by groups) or proselytising(by anyone) of faiths at public schools is what I find wholly objectionable. Not only does it serve to isolate groups of students(yes, CHILDREN) based on rigidly exclusive ideologies/beliefs, it engenders at an early age that tribal mentality(which has served us primates well in an evolutionary sense) that is no longer is necessary nor appropriate in modern society.

Just for the record, I actually agree absolutely with this idea. I wish we did the same thing with political ideologies at the high school level. Again, beyond just the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic (as some would argue we should limit our high school curriculum to) I wish we would put more emphasis on having our students learn how to think critically and objectively.

In fact, I think a few of us already agreed on this idea ...

... I would love to see a comparative religion class in high schools ...

Agreed - along with a class in comparative ideolgies. Some people refer to these sort of additions to the school curriculum. I consider them opportunities to help students learn "how" to think - not to be confused with "what" to think. In addition, with greater understanding there is less fear.

Totally!! It would be a class with a curriculum and I like the "how to think" part; an overview of religion would likely lead to greater understanding and awareness, tearing down walls instead of building them.

Yup, I thought so.

I’m just not into the Christian bashing (or Muslim bashing, or women bashing, or old people bashing, or immigrant bashing, or welfare recipient bashing, etc.) It’s just such an ugly sport and really makes a person look ugly - no matter how they rationalize or justify what they are doing.

No matter how you cut it, these groups are by design inherently suited for conflict, distrust and fear of each other. At the very least, we are setting out the Petri dish for phobias and mistrust when penicillin is what is sorely needed. Another consideration is that once these parent-driven groups take root, it's only a short step to parent lobby groups proposing that 'Intelligent Design', '72 virgins', 'Creation Science' and 'flat earth' fantasies be included in the formal curricula to assuage pressure on particular doctrinal belief systems.

You make some fair points here, although I am still led to believe that your interest lies less in teaching students to be critical of religion than it is to teach them to criticise those who partake in or find meaning from religion. No?

(p.s. I am not religious)

[Born_again]

You make some fair points here, although I am still led to believe that your interest lies less in teaching students to be critical of religion than it is to teach them to criticise those who partake in or find meaning from religion. No?

No. Why would you think that? I would never use that approach when it comes to educating children as I class it as abuse. Nor do I know anybody that would even think in such a way, I hope!

If a student is taught how to critically examine the plethora of religions, or indeed political ideologies, I see no reason why there would be any need whatsoever to criticise the student for whichever 'choice' or lack of 'choice' the student follows. You would have already done your level-best to ensure the student was fully equipped to make choices best suited to their personal character, as opposed to just inheriting ideologies(political, religious or whatever) from their parents.

[Glacier]

I’m just not into the Christian bashing (or Muslim bashing, or women bashing, or old people bashing, or immigrant bashing, or welfare recipient bashing, etc.)It’s just such an ugly sport and really makes a person look ugly - no matter how they rationalize or justify what they are doing.

NOTE: etc. does not mean Campbell bashing, as that is a beautiful sport that really makes people look pretty - as a matter of fact, I have been able to rationalize and justify this type of bashing.

[steven lloyd]

I’m just not into the Christian bashing (or Muslim bashing, or women bashing, or old people bashing, or immigrant bashing, or welfare recipient bashing, etc.)It’s just such an ugly sport and really makes a person look ugly - no matter how they rationalize or justify what they are doing.

NOTE: etc. does not mean Campbell bashing, as that is a beautiful sport that really makes people look pretty - as a matter of fact, I have been able to rationalize and justify this type of bashing.

Absolutely acceptable. In fact, one's intelligence and reasoning has to be brought into question if they do not partake. Of course, bashing an individual for his traits of deceit and corruption is not the same thing at all as bashing individuals belonging to an identifiable group of people based on stereotype. The latter, no matter how you try to justify or rationalize it is called prejudice.

[Mr Danksworth]

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So I ran over and said, “Stop! Don’t do it!” “Why shouldn’t I?” he said. I said, “Well, there’s so much to live for!” He said, “Like what?” I said, “Well, are you religious or atheist?” He said, “Religious.” I said, “Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?” He said, “Christian.” I said, “Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?” He said, “Protestant.” I said, Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? He said, “Baptist!” I said, “Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? He said, Baptist Church of God!” I said, “Me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?” He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God!” I said, “Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?” He said, “Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!” I said, “Die, heretic scum!” and pushed him off.

CJ Werleman

[sobrohusfat]