I had the privilege to ask a few questions to an elected official, who we will call John Smith, in regards to Religion in the schools. I asked Mr. Smith if he believed that the writers of the Constitution meant for religion to be an important part of the educational system. He believes that religion was, and should remain an important part of society. The First Amendment states that the government shall not establish a religion. It does not say that religion and government must remain separate. When asked about how he interpreted the First Amendment, he responded by saying that religion plays an important role in society and it is improper to try to completely separate religion and government. There is a balance, but he believed that the separation of church and state concept had gone too far. As a citizen he believes that it is impossible to completely remove religion from education as long as people practice religion. Students should not be indoctrinated or proselytized but as long as the issue is approached respectfully there is room for religion in the realm of education.
The idea of religion could be incorporated into education by comparing and contrasting the course on world religions, however, he does not feel a need for a censoring curriculum. If a historical issue was based in religion then it should be taught that way. Religious and private affiliated schools offer different perspectives on the issue of religion but for a personal choice of where to send his child, he believes that because most religious instruction should come from the home, he would consider placing his child in a private school if the public education got “too secular”. When asked about the economical view on the choices of choosing between public and parochial schools he feels that under the current policy the financial burden rests on those choosing parochial schools. Currently taxes from these families continue to be directed to the public schools that their children do not attend.
Mr. Smith’s personal opinion encompassed many issues. He felt that anyone can pray in schools currently. Personally, he has no problem with an organized prayer to start the day or reciting the Pledge daily as long as children are given the option to participate or not participate. Celebration of religious holidays should be celebrated and Christmas break should be called just that, not Winter Break.
His personal belief that the political community has a one-size fits all doesn’t fit all standard work in most circumstances. The community should be taken into account. In his community there are many denominations and religions. He has not heard of any real complaints or problems with current policy. Behavior within the school system, he remarks, begins at home. The behavior problems seen from the students in the classroom he feels may stem from a lack of focus on religious guidance.
When asked how he felt on how the United States measured up to other countries when it came to religion in the schools, he said that overall the United States level of religious freedom is very good. He has a problem though with the way that the rights of some individuals (sometimes a very few individuals) have an impact on the rights and practices of the majority of a community. (J. Smith, personal communication, February 14, 2012)
In response to my search for deeper understanding and perspectives I was honored once again by having a Legislative Assistant and a Legislative Aide provide me with a short statement from two leaders of our great nation. The anonymous Legislative Assistant for my first great leader states that "there should be opportunities for the Pledge of Allegiance, there should be opportunities for moments of silence and most break names are named not associated to religion.” (Ms. J. Doe, personal communication, March 13, 2012) The anonymous Legislative Aide replied that this leader “believes in upholding the Constitutional separation of Church and State.” (Ms. J. Smith, personal communication, March 15, 2012)