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Date: 9/27/2003 6:36:00 PM
From Authorid: 55903
Unfortunate but very true.  |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:34:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
" Now I sit me down at school, Where praying is against the rule." WHAT THE LAW REALLY SAYS: Praying in school is not against the law. In fact, the U.S. Constitution guarantees students the right to pray in public schools; it is a protected form of free speech. A student can pray on the school bus, in the corridors, in the cafeteria, in their student-run Bible club, at the flagpole, sports stadium, and elsewhere on school grounds. They can even pray silently before and after class in the classroom. They are not allowed to pray solely Christian prayers as an organized part of the school schedule. However, they may be able to hear or read prayers from a variety of religious traditions and inspiring statements from secular sources. Prayers cannot solely be from a SINGLE religious faith group.  |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:37:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"For this great nation under God, Finds mention of Him very odd" This is also untrue. On average, Americans are quite religious. Church attendance is higher than in any other industrialized nation. Attendance in the US is twice that of Canada and four times that of many European countries. However, in order to preserve the separation of church and state, there are a few restrictions on prayer in government facilities -- including PUBLIC schools. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:38:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"If Scripture now the class recites, It violates the Bill of Rights." Bible passages can be recited in class during the study of comparative religions. But they would have to be balanced by passages from OTHER religions and statements from ethical movements. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:47:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"God's name is prohibited by the state" It is not. One example is the national motto: "In God We Trust." God Bless America is said all over the place, In God we Trust is on our money; and Dubya and his faith based everything initiative, goverment officials sound more like church officials these days. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:50:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"We're allowed to cuss and dress like freaks, And pierce our noses, tongues and cheeks. They've outlawed guns, . . ." Students are allowed wide latitude in dress and jewelry, including religious clothing and accessories. It is true that schools do prohibit guns from the campus, for security reasons. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:52:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
". . but FIRST the Bible. To quote the Good book makes me liable". The Bible is not outlawed. The U.S. Constitution protects students' freedom of speech. They can quote freely from the Bible in their essays and projects. Passages from the Bible can even be read in the classroom, as part of a comparative religion class. But they have to be balanced with passages from the texts of other religions and from secular movements. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 7:55:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"We can elect a pregnant Senior Queen, And the "unwed daddy," our Senior King. It's "inappropriate" to teach right from wrong, We're taught that such "judgments" do not belong". In most schools, students have the right to democratically elect their Senior Queen & King. Ethics and morality can be taught in school. But they cannot be taught from the perspective of a single branch of a single religion. The full range of beliefs of right and wrong need to be included. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 8:00:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
"We can get our condoms and birth controls," Some schools do have condom dispensers and/or health clinics. These have been shown to be a very effective way of reducing unwanted pregnancy and STD transmission. "Study witchcraft, vampires and totem poles.">>>> True. Study of Witchcraft (a.k.a. Wicca) would be valid in a comparative religion course. So would totem poles, which are part of Native American spirituality. Vampire legends could form a part of history or sociology courses. "But the Ten Commandments are not allowed, No word of God must reach this crowd.">>>>>> This is wrong. The Ten Commandments can be taught; they can even be posted on the walls of public schools. However, they must not appear by themselves. Other religious rules of behavior and secular laws must accompany the Ten Commandments. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 8:02:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
""It's scary here I must confess, When chaos reigns the school's a mess. So, Lord, this silent plea I make: Should I be shot; My soul please take! Amen">>>>>> It is important to realize that schools are relatively safe places. An average of about two dozen students have been shot in U.S. schools annually in recent years. This compares with thousands shot OUTSIDE of school buildings each year. Major factors involved in past in-school shootings have been: • very serious mental illness on the part of the perpetrator(s), or • revenge for years of hate, marginalization, and rejection of the perpetrators by the school's social elite. If prayers from a single religion were re-introduced into public classrooms, they would provide one more criteria by which the majority could discriminate against and marginalize minorities. The end result would probably be more school violence, not less. |
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Date: 9/27/2003 8:08:00 PM
From Authorid: 24924
Concerning the teaching of ethics and morals: This is sometimes a delicate matter, prone to controversy: There are many moral and ethical topics about which a social consensus exists: e.g. abolition of slavery, racism, universal suffrage. These are taught freely in public schools with little objection. There are some topics about which a near consensus exists, but on which vocal minorities hold divergent views. For example: Over 99 percent of earth and biological scientists believe that the Theory of Evolution is accurate. Conservative Christians generally believe in a competing belief: Creation Science. Many educators feel that only Evolution should be taught in science class, because Creation Science is not really a science. But others argue that creation science can appropriately be taught in a comparative RELIGION class. Birth control is generally accepted in society, and is practiced by most sexually active, fertile couples who are married or who live together. Many educators feel that information on birth control is an important topic to teach; others feel that it is inappropriate to educate teens on this matter. It is sometimes difficult for teachers to reach a compromise on these topics. There are some legal topics about which no social consensus exists at all: access to abortion, spanking, physician assisted suicide, pre-marital sex, etc. Some argue that no education is complete unless a student examines all sides of these issues. Most educators believe that no single position on these topics should be taught as "right or wrong." |
Date: 9/28/2003 12:42:00 AM
From Authorid: 48877
Thinker, he's right. Get over it.  |
Date: 9/28/2003 1:04:00 AM
From Authorid: 59418
very true, and very sad...what has the world become????  |
Date: 9/28/2003 6:11:00 AM
From Authorid: 13297
I agree completely with Thinker and applaud her research and quoting statistical information rather than just putting an OPINION out there willy-nilly purported as fact. It is true that the state of affairs seem rather deplorable (but that is due to the biased media not reporting on the GOOD things that happen because the GOOD things don't sell [AND YES THEY ARE OUT THERE]). However, I must state, the I fear even more than the current state, a day when the religious right and all the fanatics out there get their way and people are forced to "pray" to a God that isn't theirs. I rue the day that the fundamentalists finally beat down the system and people "who don't believe like-them and as such are doomed to damnation" are subjected to ridicule, ostracising, or various other forms of hate for being different. I never studied religion in schools - period! That is the way it should be. We didn't learn about Witchcraft, Totem Poles or Muhammad or any other Gods / Religions (by the way that line is very condescending). In fact, we read the Narnia Chronicles which are very Christian based. I did a report on these books for my Junior Research Paper. I think people should be FREE to study WHATEVER religion they want when they want (just not in school). You go to school to get a broad-based, non-biased education. You go to church to get your religious education. That is as it should be, so noone has to have other beliefs forced on them. For those of you who still don't get it - imagine that for whatever reason the dominate religion became Islam and they believed that we should pray to Allah in school. So they sent their lobbyists to washington, they filed lawsuits to get the koran (forgive my spelling if it's incorrect) taught in schools and they made you spend five minutes praying to Allah every morning after the pledge of allegiance which by the way now says "one nation under Allah, with liberty and justice for all." How would you feel? I don't mind the word God being in the pledge, or on the money or otherwise. To me "God" is a generic term for a diety. God is non-descript >> my god may not be your god and vice-versa. The word god, describes the "force" out there that holds the universe together (for those that believe in a higher power) regardless of whether you call that "force": Allah, God, Jehovah, Buddha, Zeus, The Goddess, etc. I'm tired of people trying to push their beliefs on everyone else. If you want to pray in school - go ahead - you can pray to God anytime you want w/o anyone else even knowing about it. If is truly about YOUR RIGHT TO PRAY then no one should even have to know you do it and I honestly don't think anyone would stop you. If it about shoving your beliefs onto others and forcefully subjecting them to your belief system by making a prayer time - then ask yourselves if you are doing it for the right reasons. The Conquistadors put up statues of the saints in an effort to make the "savages" pray to their God and their Saints. The Mayan people just put figures of their own Gods inside those statues and continued to pray to their own Gods - fooling the Spaniards into thinking they were being converted. My point in this? People will always believe what is in their heart. The founding fathers weren't stupid - quit convoluting the message and just leave it alone.  |
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Date: 9/28/2003 7:16:00 AM
From Authorid: 24924
Frankenstein, why don't YOU offer facts to back up the statements made in this Christian "SPAM" e-mail that forever keeps turning up in all our inboxes, instead of proclaiming how "true" it is?The Frankenstein's can rant and rail, and stomp their feet, pound their chest and scream "It's true! It's true!" and "Get over it" until they are blue in the face, but I will simply say: "Here are the facts; YOU get over it". |
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Date: 9/28/2003 7:28:00 AM
From Authorid: 24924
We are the most religious nation in the world. I am fed up with the double standard that exists in our society. We non-theists are expected to tolerate the belief systems of the theists, to respect their views and not ridicule that which we find ridiculous. On the other hand, few theists respect or tolerate the views of the non-theist. All too often, they react with shock and outrage. They proselytize and preach and think nothing of our feelings. It is okay, for example, for them to blame atheists for everything, for former President Bush to say that he doesn't even think atheists should be considered citizens. But let an atheist challenge a Christian on their belief system in a rational way, let one atheist speak out against religious intrusion or elected officials who are bent on turning this country into a theocracy, and all of a sudden, out comes the Christian indignation. We are told we are unpatriotic, we don't matter; and that we aren't even considered citizens! How dare we speak up, criticize, and or defend ourselves!? Well, we have to dare something. We sure don't get to broadcast things the way Christians do. Our television programming is rife with such things as "documentaries" about angels and revolting shows like "Touched by an Angel." National news magazines have long articles on heaven and God. Religious dogma is force fed to us at every turn. "In God We Trust" is minted onto our currency. Our impressionable children recite the Pledge of Allegiance every day in school, proclaiming that we are "one nation under God." Non-theist boys are forbidden to be members of the Boy Scouts of America, a fact that most people don't know and almost no child understands. People need to put things in PERSPECTIVE and see just who is truly being persecuted here. Christians as a whole are pandered to in this country. There's no persecution of them that I can see. |
Date: 9/28/2003 11:19:00 AM
From Authorid: 36967
I saw this |
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27583 Category:(Human Interest) Created:(9/27/2003 6:31:00 PM)