One religion in school would further divide us
In response to Pastor Nicholson’s letter published on Nov. 7, our country was and is made up from people of diverse cultures and beliefs. Wisely, the writers of the Constitution made no reference to Christianity or Judaism as being the basis for our laws, our culture, or our public education.
For many years, public schools did incorporate Christian prayer and holidays into the classroom with little to no regard to the families of other faiths or beliefs. This forced children to violate their own beliefs to join in or to remain silent and be ostracized during choir programs and class parties, as well as the daily recital of the Lord’s prayer.
If religion is to be brought back into public schools, it needs to be an overview of all of the world’s major religions. The class could show the similarities and differences of the religions, the history and evolving of the religions, and the parts of the world where each is predominate. The class would show that almost every religion has a version of the “Golden Rule” which covers the ethical, moral, and respectful behavior standard that all adults and children need to be following much better than we do today.
Not only would picking any one particular religion to teach in public schools be a violation of the separation of church and state amendment, it would serve to further divide our diverse society.
Deborah Mains
Uniontown