Podcast Script:
Hello, my name is Jacob Johnson and today I would like to discuss the influence of Christianity in public schools. My English 1102 group decided to do our projects based on Christianity being oppressive to other religions. For my specific topic, I chose to explore the public school system and its history of Christian influence. For decades there has been a long, unfinished debate on whether or not public school systems should allow for a curriculum based influence of Christianity that students would have to follow. While most people are opposed to these policies, many in the Bible Belt and other parts of southern America are all for these policies. They believe that the Christian way will be beneficial to our youth, and many skeptics have since been putting in their opinions on the matter. In this podcast I’ll be discussing those in favor of the policies, the reasons those in favor have presented, how any connection to a religion in public schools is toxic to our society, as well as how those in the schools would be affected.
There’s a specific group pointed out by most researchers that are identified as evangelical Christians, those who are trying to advance the unfair policies. Evangelical Christians are Protestant Christians who carry a strong need to try and convert people and spread awareness of Christianity, and are those who are most commonly found lobbying for more Christian influence in public schools. These evangelical christians go by many names, some common ones being the Religious Right, conservative christians, and fundamentalists, among others Willaim Gribbin mentions (85, 86). These evangelicals have a similarity to fundamentalists, as stated by Benjamin Bindewald, in that they follow the script in the Bible very literally and think that by enforcing the rules of the script in schools, they are therefore helping us all achieve a more fulfilled life (94). This leads into my next topic, why the evangelicals are pushing for this influence in the schools.
According to Gribbin, “The best explanation for the Religious Right’s seeming ubiquity in local educational forums is values” (86). Many evangelical Christians believe that the Bible and other aspects of Christianity house the perfect lifestyle, and that society would be better if these lifestyle habits were implemented into early childhood and held throughout the student’s education. Essentially, these fundamentalist Christians are trying to raise the public youth with Christian beliefs and values. Some Christian morals and values could be beneficial to our society, such as the values preached about respecting neighbors, and always treating others fairly and with respect. But, America was built as a nation of freedom and equality for everyone, and throughout history we decided that things work better when everyone has their own rights to their preferred lifestyle. While the evangelical Christians want Christian ideals, others who partially agree include scholar Doret J. de Ruyter, who thinks that if schools included a diverse set of religious ideals then students can learn constructive ideals without religious influence (296). Regardless, the way evangelical Christians are trying to force Christianity into schools is incredibly toxic to our secular society here in America.
The First Amendment to The Constitution breaks down freedom of religion into two parts: 1) freedom to practice any religion and 2) the freedom from being tied to any particular religion. This essentially means that anyone can be of any religion, and that no one can be forced into any religion. This amendment also comes with the right to a government that requires a separation of church and state. This is very important to a secular society as if those governing base the laws on their own religion, minority groups could be greatly affected. In an awesome article by Charles C Haynes, he states “Public Schools can (and should) teach about religion…” (13). This is true, as a quality education includes diverse topics and subtopics. But, when politicians allow for a particular group to influence laws governing public schools with policies that allow for a tie to Christianity, they are essentially breaking the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of religion and the guarantee of a separation of church and state. In Bruce P. Merenstein’s article, he adds “...as one scholar noted: "[T]here is no place in American life where the Establishment Clause should be more clearly manifested than in America's public schools…” showing that the separation needs to be present (Merenstein). In any situation where a strong connection is allowed, the school is no longer teaching about religion, the schools are now teaching a particular religion. This is an awful exclusion of others, and the effects on others in schools is most definitely negative.
When the unlawful politicians allow for this, the influence of Christianity in public schools has a wide spread of effects. First, students of other religions or no religion may feel like outsiders. As explained by David R. Dupper, “...others [non-Christians] are exactly that, “other,” and perceived as deviant and inferior,” (37). They feel like their religion’ or their choice of no religion, is a less valuable/correct choice than that Christianity. This was something Dupper emphasized in his article, where he included multiple quotes from minority students expressing their unpleasant experiences. Second, those teachers who associate with any religion or who associate with a different religion will feel similar effects as those students with a different religion, and they may also feel excluded similarly to students that feel uncomfortable and even oppressed. All of this leads to a bad environment in schools, and one that is particularly unprofessional and unwelcoming.
In conclusion, across the nation and our history evangelical Christians have been trying to lobby for more Christian influence in public schools. These Christians have yet to be completely successful as todays public schools try to avoid any particular religion having more influence than others. Policies help keep religion out of schools, but it’s hard to do this while still being able to teach about religions. Finding a perfect balance between teaching about religion and avoiding glorification of any particular religion is tricky, but as time progresses more and more change is happening to ensure this balance. For more information on Christianity’s influence in public schools, feel free to search on the internet “Christianity’s influence in public schools” for further articles addressing the topic to get any additional information or views.
This has been Jacob Johnson, and I’d like to thank you all for listening!