RE: Why do far right Christian-Conservatives want to put Jesus in schools
January 22, 2017 at 4:45 pm
(January 22, 2017 at 4:33 pm)SteelCurtain Wrote:(January 21, 2017 at 10:31 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Why not ask them?
I have. My mother and sister are firmly in this camp. From what I gather, it comes down to the following:
1) They have whole heartedly bought into the narrative that there is real persecution for Christians in America. To quote my mother: "I am afraid that I will not be able to practice my faith freely in this country."
2) They get their biases confirmed by every example of public school teachers/coaches getting sanctioned for baptizing kids at football practice or leading team prayers. They don't grasp the nuance that it is not the prayer that is being outlawed at the school, but rather the fact that it is a school representative leading said prayer while acting in that role that is unconstitutional.
3) They equate the Pledge of Allegiance into this argument, somehow. The fact that students cannot be required to recite the Pledge is further proof that children are being unfairly secularized.
It is specifically a case of unchallenged biases. They are convinced that the gradual drawing back of privileges that they have been granted forever is a persecution of their right to freely practice their religion. I have asked everyone who has ever told me this to explain to me how, exactly, they are being persecuted---or how their ability to practice their religion has been restricted---and none of them has been able to give me a response that fits the bill. All of them give examples where they are simply no longer being given preference.
You hit this right on the nose. This is exactly the kind of reasoning I keep hearing from the Christians I personally know who keep displaying their ignorance about school prayer. None of them seem to understand that prayer was never banned in schools. Students can pray all they want so long as it isn't interfering with their education. School faculty just isn't allowed to show religious preference on the job. I've been able to explain this to some of them, but others still insist on acting like they are being persecuted.
