Have you heard about this case in Iran? Youcef Nadarkhani will be put to death for converting to Christianity.
I generally think Christians in the U.S. are nit wits when they start yelling about how prosecuted they are in our country due to our laws on separation of church and state. Mostly because I do not see Christians in this country as being persecuted in the least.
This last December GOP nominee-wannabe Rick Perry was crying “our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school.” And while I can agree that political correctness can sometimes be taken ridiculously far, I disagree that #1 Christmas is not allowed in schools and #2 Americans can really claim persecution if they can't lead students in the lord's prayer every morning at school. I mean, c'mon...this guy is being persecuted. Being murdered for your religion is persecution. Asking you not to impose your beliefs on others, that is so far removed from persecution, they wouldn't even be at the same family reunion.
"No prayer in school" does not mean prayer in school is illegal (you will not get killed or sent to jail, or even detention for praying in school), it just means no organized prayer in school. No mandated prayer in school. No one (teacher, principal, coach, etc) can force anyone to pray, thereby also pressing their personal religious beliefs on a child. Your child. Think about it...I have a colleague who is Muslim and is a social studies teacher at a local middle school. What do you think most Christians would do if SHE led a prayer in her class?! They'd freak the fuck out! Freak. The. FUCK. Out. They'd be picketing. Rioting. No, burning the freaking school down.
Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. A little.
But most Christians I know would be really upset about that. To say the least.
Every American public school, every morning during announcements (at least every school I've ever attended or taught at or visited for any other reason) observes a moment of silence. This is a moment (about a minute or so) set aside for both the students and staff to take a moment to relax, be calm, and reflect on their coming day. An opportunity for those who feel so inclined to say a prayer. And they can start it for themselves as "Dear God" "Our Heavenly Father" "My Creator" or "Dear Lord baby Jesus", or however else they personally feel compelled to pray. Because religion is, and should always be, a personal choice. A BELIEF if you will.
I attend and am a member of a Christian church. But occasionally, we attend other churches, most commonly my in-law's church. And even though both of our churches are Christian, I get uncomfortable during parts of their service and many of their prayers, because our churches just have such different interpretations of things. I often will block out what is being prayed and say my own, different, silent prayer in my head. One that fits my beliefs.
I can almost hear it now "well, children who believe differently or don't want to pray could do the same thing." But here is a huge difference: #1 I am choosing to be sitting in that church. No one forces me to go, not even my in-laws. Children do not have a choice to go to school. #2 I am a grown adult with formed beliefs, and those people in the pulpit of my in-laws church are not my role models or mentors or authority figures. I can easily distinguish between what they tell me and what I personally believe. Children are typically much more easily influenced than that. And bottom line is, if my children are praying, I want them to pray prayers that are meaningful to them and their beliefs, not their teachers, or classmates, or some government official somewhere hundreds of miles from their classroom.
So what do you think Sarah? Do you think American Christians are persecuted? Do you feel we should have prayer written into the American curriculum?
Amber,
To answer your questions:
Do you think American Christians are persecuted? --No, I do not
Do you feel we should have prayer written into the American curriculum?--Absolutely not, no freaking way!
American Christians are not persecuted, they may feel some back lash when they attempt to sermon or convert other Americans, but they are most certainly not persecuted perhaps pushed away and avoided. Non Christian Americans are less likely to openly accept the teachings of a Christian American, perhaps much less than they were 30 years ago, maybe even 20 years ago. I was raised by Atheists, we never went to church and were taught that people who feel the need to go to church are "weak and can't stand on their own two feet." My beliefs are ambiguous at this time, I choose to believe in nothing aside from myself and my family. At one point in my life I'd converted to Catholicism. I did so because my ex husband is Catholic and by converting made it easier to get married in a Catholic church. Well, we all know how that worked out.
I am vehemently against prayer in school! Like you mentioned, the moment of silence can be used as a time for students to pray to themseves. If parents want their children to have prayer in school, then they should send their children to a private-religious school. Or, how about their family should pray together in their own home? Dik and I already have enough difficulty answering questions about Jesus and religion when BTM comes home filled with curiousity. Like I said, at this time our religious beliefs are ambiguous, we're not attending church, not praying.
All we know is that we love each other and for now, that's enough.
No comments:
Post a Comment