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Teach the Ten Commandments in Virginia This week in Virginia, a judge is considering the legality of posting of the Ten Commandments in a public school. The Roanoke Times reports that Judge Michael Urbanski has indicated that he will order the case into mediation between the ACLU and the local school board because of the financial cost to the school district. He suggested a Solomon-like compromise whereby the two sides agree to censor the first four commandments, which are more explicitly religious, and leave the other six commandments. The 2008 Virginia academic standards for World History expect students to “demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations, including those of Mesopotamia, Egypt, the Indus River Valley, and China and the civilizations of the Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Nubians, by… [among other things] explaining the development of religious traditions, [and] describing the origins, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Judaism. That would pretty much cover the Ten Commandments (and a whole lot more). In addition to this, the Virginia Department of Education lists as “Essential Knowledge” that students are expected to know “the essential beliefs of Judaism” (WHI.3d.Q1) and how Judaism influenced Western civilization (WHI.3d.Q2). Additionally, students are to learn about “beliefs, traditions, and customs of Judaism” (WHI.3d.B) as well as the “Ten Commandments, which state moral and religious conduct” (WHI.3d.B.3). Virginia has 1,245,340 students. In the course of their education, ALL OF THEM are expected to learn the Ten Commandments! Symbolism can be wonderful. But, given the choice between symbolism and substance, I’ll take substance any day. Here’s my call to action: Every church in Virginia should make sure its local schools are actually teaching what is already expected regarding the Ten Commandments. In my experience, too many teachers are afraid to do it even though their academic standards expect it. Gateways to Better Education offers a three-hour professional development seminar that equips public school teachers, in every state, how to legally and appropriately teach about the Bible and Christianity across the curriculum. Click on the link for more information on bringing Faith, Freedom & Public Schools to your community. Eric Buehrer is the president of Gateways to Better Education and an occasional blogger at the BreakPoint Blog. |
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Comments:
In response to your comment, Kevin, (“Let's say you live in a district that becomes dominated by Muslims. Should they, just because they've become the majority, be able to indoctrinate your kids in the ways of Islam?”) the point of including a religious topic is not so people feel included but because it is academically relevant.
As for your comment, Carol, "teaching the Ten Commandments is fine, but what about the Five Pillars of Islam?" The fact of the matter is that Virginia State Standards do include this in its World History Standards:
"WHI.8 The student will demonstrate knowledge of Islamic civilization from about 600 to 1000 A.D.(C.E.) by describing the origin, beliefs, traditions, customs, and spread of Islam."
Unfortunately, many teachers feel more comfortable teaching about religions other than Judaism or Christianity because it aligns with a multicultural perspective. However, they feel like they are somehow proselytizing when teaching robustly about Judaism and Christianity.
Let's say you live in a district that becomes dominated by Muslims. Should they, just because they've become the majority, be able to indoctrinate your kids in the ways of Islam? Or what if you're an evangelical who lives in an area that becomes heavily populated by immigrants from the south, and one day your child comes home and reports that the teacher led the class in reciting the Rosary?
And the answer isn't "just move." That's not practical or affordable for everyone. Moreover, why should you have to move to avoid having a religion you don't believe in instilled in your kids? This is America.
Just as people ought to support the rights of suspects partly because any of us could be a suspect some day, we Christians need to support the establishment clause, if for no other reason than the fact that what we think ties our hands is also what protects us against violations such as the scenarios above.
We can't demand our constitutional rights while disrespecting someone else's.