God in School
Well there is no easing into this one I guess. I asked two of my friends the following:
“People are always complaining about someone keeping God out of school or conversely trying to put God in school. Why does this issue matter? Should it change?”
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Kyle:
“I’m not going to try to cover this up, because it is going to be pretty obvious, I’m an atheist. I haven’t believed in God for a very time. There are some obvious reasons “God” shouldn’t be in school aside from the obvious separation of church and state, so let’s look at those.
1. Forcing your beliefs on others.
Don’t roll your eyes and say suck it up. I actually don’t care about my kids being taught about “God” because it really has some nice lessons if you skip over the nasty parts of the Bible. Love your neighbors, give all your possessions to the poor, and a lot about just being content. So what’s my problem? Believe it or not us white middle class God fearin’ people won’t always be the majority. Eventually some towns will have higher populations of other religions that people here really look down on. What happens when these areas start teaching those religious doctrine instead of yours? Would you be okay with that? Not a chance, you wouldn’t even want them being in a Mormon area, uggg.
2. We don’t need make believe.
We have science now. The Earth isn’t built on four pillars like it says in that old book and we can answer questions. You shouldn’t just throw religion into cracks where we don’t have the answers yet. This is just crazy and it makes less room for your religion every time we answer another question.
3. Brainwashing
When a kid is little if you tell him a man lived in a giant fish he is going to believe it. He won’t be able to tell the difference between these stories and fairy tells, which is what they really are.
Religion doesn’t have anyplace in schools and it just ruins the foundation of education.”
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David:
“This country was build on the foundations of religion, not just any religion, but that of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Okay I’m just kidding I’m not going to be preachy for this argument. Let’s get into it.
When kids are young they need to learn how to act, plain and simple. If you look at the kids today no one can deny that the moral fabric of this country is falling apart. I believe in God and the positive power he brings. If you don’t, that is fine, but just look at the decline in kids since he has been taken away from them.
Sometimes people say that religion does bad things, but that just isn’t true for what religion has become here in the United States, We aren’t going on crusades and slaying the enemy anymore. We are a loving group of people that accept others, even if we don’t accept their actions. You can argue against religions in other parts of the world, but here it is positive. It doesn’t matter if you believe in it or not it is good for people.
Aside from being the whole reason we are here on Earth, the reasons for having him taught early are evident everywhere. If you are really letting some misguided pride (God doesn’t like pride) keep you fighting to keep morals and love away from kids you need to reexamine your life. Thanks for reading and God bless!”
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I want to thank Kyle and David for helping me out with this and being mostly respectful along the way.
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First, the moral fabric of the country is not falling apart. Such a statement implies that it was at some point in the past all together. This is patently untrue, though it is true that the highest rates of teen pregnancy are in the most religious areas. It is true that the most money raised to oppress other citizens is from religious groups. It is true that the poorest and most uneducated portions of the country are the most religious. If religion had anything to do with the moral fabric of society it would seem to have a negative correlation.
Religion in the US _DOES_ do bad things. Mainstream religion in the US is actively spending tax free dollars to oppress GLBTQ citizens and deprive them of well deserved rights. Evangelical organizations in the US are sending money and support to groups on the African continent who are burning witches and killing homosexuals. Religious organizations in these United States are working with vigor to deprive workers of medical insurance for certain types of coverage; working with vigor to weaken science education and promote their faith so as to be encoded into the law in violation of the Constitution. Monotheism in the US is a very harmful thing. Denying that is to be either ignorant of the news or a liar.
Lemme see here. Religions think that sex is not something that can be taught to an 8 year old, but that same 8 year old can make a decision about whether gods exist or not? Go ahead, pull the other one. Such thinking is not only insulting, it’s downright dangerous and those that pretend that it is not are the very danger that society needs to carve away from itself.
Does that make all religious people bad though? Painting everyone with such a broad brush is never fair. I wouldn’t lump you in wish other atheists who have done terrible things.