Religion and schools: It's not what you do, but why you do it

From Agape Press, March 5th, 2004...

After a number of concerned parents objected to the planned field trip to the Islamic Center of Greater Cincinnati, Edgewood Middle School teacher Debbie Weber dropped the idea. The trip for three seventh-grade social studies classes was intended to be part of their study of the world's five major religions.

Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Law Center, believes the decision to cancel the field trip was for the best. He says schools can adequately teach children about various religions without sending them on a mosque tour guided by Muslim leaders.

"There is no control over what these individuals might say," Thompson notes, "and by sending [students] to a particular mosque, it overemphasizes that particular religion and gives an imprimatur of approval for that religion. And I think people of other faiths such as Christians or Jews would take offense to that."...

According to the attorney, in a growing number of cases around the U.S., public schools are using alleged discrimination as a pretext for proselytizing for Islam. "Many Islamic organizations are using this idea that they are being discriminated against as a way to get schools to allow them more leeway to talk than Christians are allowed to talk about the Christian faith," he says.

Since public schools have become so blatantly anti-Christian, Christian parents simply do not trust them to teach any type of religion to their children.

This also from HomelandSecurityUS.com, June 7th, 2007...

The Williamsville, NY Public School District has angered a number of parents of Mill Middle School students and stirred controversy by scheduling a field trip to a local Mosque and Islamic Center as well as a Hindu Temple. A letter obtained Tuesday by talk radio host Tom Bauerle of the Tom Bauerle Show on WBEN AM 930 ...was sent home with the permission slips to be signed by the students’ parents on Monday, granting the students permission to attend Wednesday’s excursion to the Muslim mosque and Islamic Center and Hindu religious institutions to provide the students “a broader understanding of these religious beliefs and worship practices.”

Some parents, however, are suggesting duplicity by the school district with regard to religious exposure.... Parents speaking to WBEN note that the strongly secular Williamsville School District included no plans to visit a Catholic church or Jewish Synagogue.

Same problem. It's not that they want to silence and censor other religions, but they want all religions to be treated fairly. Don't believe me? Well check out this email I got from our local homeschooling group...

Field Trip Opportunity for Junior high and High School students

When: Nov. 9th on Friday, at noon

Where: Meet at Martin Regional East Library Conference room at 12:00, for briefing by our missionaries Todd and Jess Ahrend

What: Tour of a Mosque at 46th between Yale and Sheridan

Ends: Debriefing at Martin Regional by Todd and Jess, and prayer time for the Moslems. Over by 4:30

Dress: Women and girls wear long dresses and long sleeve blouses, and Scarves over heads, boys may wear long pants; no shorts.

A group of dedicated Christians are choosing to allow their children to tour a Mosque, dressed as the Moslems of the Mosque prefer them to dress and they don't feel it a violation of their rights because they know it's not an effort to undermine their own faith.

What a difference motivation makes.

Posted by Danny Carlton at November 7, 2007 6:57 AM