|
. Those who have followed my work over the
years know I have been publicly critical of those who would prohibit teaching
about religion. I have just completed-at the request of the Bible Literacy project,
an affiliate of the American Bible Society- , vetting a text to teach about the
Bible and the religious beliefs it engenders. MY colleagues on that
project will, I am certain, testify that I did not shrink from insisting that the
authors explicate religious disputes about the Bible in that book. Plainly ,there are circumstance in
which religion can be taught to students, although even there a teacher probably
has to follow school guidelines. This teacher is not teaching about religion; he
is not teaching about Christian beliefs about the Resurrection and other matters.
He teaches the resurrection as historical fact, even though it is a
religious belief which I and millions of other Americans deny. His selection of
texts is designed to convey a religious message, not teach history. Liberals are sometimes suspicious of efforts
to teach about religion in the public schools. They are wrong to think that such
teaching is unconstitutional or unwise. But if Williams’ cases is an example
of what teaching about religion is about, then it cannot be taught in the
public schools. My remark was then not a humorous riposte as Jim would have it.
For all the hoopla, this is a frivolous case, Its prosecution will set
back efforts to teach religion in the schools in serious and constitutional
way. And it is a scary portend of what The Alliance Defense Fund thinks the law
is that it pursues this case. Marc Stern From:
[EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Marc's humorous riposte provides, I suppose, all the
analysis that he thinks the Williams' assignment justifies. Having
doubts, after laboring in the woodshed from time to time, that such humorous
but otherwise pointless posts add anything of substance to the discussion, I
will ask those who care to respond to it this question: Is there any circumstance in the American public schooling
context in which any of these assignments may properly be given to
students? If there are, what are they? If there are not, why
not? Jim Henderson Senior Counsel ACLJ |
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