Good article Dan. This movement is gaining ground and needs to be stopped. Public schools are made up of a wide variety of beliefs and religions. No religion should be in public schools. If they are going to be allowed, then every other religious group should start filing for permission to do the same. Again, no religion should be in public schools, but if one is going to be allowed, then every group should be there too.
Here's a thought. The "separation of church and state" means that the state cannot make laws about the church. Not the other way around. Why? Because the founding fathers knew that the church makes the world a better place.
Sadie, thank you so much for reading my column and taking the time to write a comment. There are many positive influences from the church on society...these are well documented. However, I would contend that the government cannot make laws and policy based on a religious viewpoint. Our system of government is mean to allow freedom for all people to practice their faith without government interference and the government is designed to function without the influence of any one religion. Thanks again for your comment.
“Separation of Church and State” does not exist in our constitution. The government cannot declare one “national” religion. As I see the gist of your piece, you equate students voluntarily attending religious classes as the state mandating a “national” religion. Simply, no true,
Dean, thank you so much for reading my column and taking the time to write a comment. I do appreciate it. You point is well taken. However, I did not equate students attending a religious class during the school day with mandating a national religion. Zorach states that this is an allowable accommodation for religious expression. My concern is the extreme practices of the LifeWise organization in pushing the boundaries that are set up by Zorach. In many Ohio schools where LifeWise has a large presence, the schools are actively promoting and working with LifeWise to recruit students. This is clearly a violation of the neutral stance that a public school should take. I'm concerned about the future implications of this type of pushing the envelope in Iowa. Thanks again for commenting.
This is alarming. I had not seen your previous articles, but will go back to read them. Thank you for all you are doing.
If you can't access them let me know.
Good article Dan. This movement is gaining ground and needs to be stopped. Public schools are made up of a wide variety of beliefs and religions. No religion should be in public schools. If they are going to be allowed, then every other religious group should start filing for permission to do the same. Again, no religion should be in public schools, but if one is going to be allowed, then every group should be there too.
Here's a thought. The "separation of church and state" means that the state cannot make laws about the church. Not the other way around. Why? Because the founding fathers knew that the church makes the world a better place.
Sadie, thank you so much for reading my column and taking the time to write a comment. There are many positive influences from the church on society...these are well documented. However, I would contend that the government cannot make laws and policy based on a religious viewpoint. Our system of government is mean to allow freedom for all people to practice their faith without government interference and the government is designed to function without the influence of any one religion. Thanks again for your comment.
“Separation of Church and State” does not exist in our constitution. The government cannot declare one “national” religion. As I see the gist of your piece, you equate students voluntarily attending religious classes as the state mandating a “national” religion. Simply, no true,
Dean, thank you so much for reading my column and taking the time to write a comment. I do appreciate it. You point is well taken. However, I did not equate students attending a religious class during the school day with mandating a national religion. Zorach states that this is an allowable accommodation for religious expression. My concern is the extreme practices of the LifeWise organization in pushing the boundaries that are set up by Zorach. In many Ohio schools where LifeWise has a large presence, the schools are actively promoting and working with LifeWise to recruit students. This is clearly a violation of the neutral stance that a public school should take. I'm concerned about the future implications of this type of pushing the envelope in Iowa. Thanks again for commenting.