Religion and government—two separate institutions that when
combined are the topic of controversy and center of much debate. Why?
Could it be because our nation lacks a state religion? Or perhaps it’s the result of heightened
discrimination against Christians in the public sphere? Maybe overwhelming violent acts against, as well
as the bullying of, God’s children are occurring more frequently in our public
schools? That’s what many Americans
believe. Atheists portrayed as iconoclasts,
out to destroy all that is holy--sinners
who want to crush the American way--menaces fighting faith. However,
the reality of the situation is quite the contrary and secularism is at the heart of the situation.
One of the most well-known outlets for such falsities seems
to be the television channel Fox News. “The Fight for Faith” was broadcasted last
week on the network’s Fox & Friends and
featured host Ainsley Earhardt with two guests via satellite, one of whom was a
pastor. The fight that Earhardt claimed
is on exists over plaques that are displayed on the walls of two elementary
schools, reading “Dedicated in the year of our lord 1997 to the education of
God’s children and to their faithful teachers in the name of the Holy Christian
Church Soli Deo Gloria (translation: Glory to God Alone).” Earhardt acknowledged that the “atheists”
responsible for the attack on the plaques are in Wisconsin, “more than a
thousand miles away” from Texas. She
failed to state that the organization wishing to see the plaques removed is the
Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)—a
detail that she perhaps deemed unnecessary.
Earhardt clarified why the “atheists” are attacking, summing up her
thoughts by saying, “I think growing up in the South, people in Wisconsin,
these atheists in other cities need to understand the culture in the South and
how church is a very integral part of our childhood and growing up, and it’s a
very important part for the southern culture.”
(Indeed one of the longest run-on sentences and grammatically incorrect
statements I may have ever heard spoken).
I had to pause and think back to something that was said about a month
ago by a different host of a different show on a different channel.
It was another generalization of life in the South, made after the news of Adrian Peterson’s child abuse charges. Former NBA-star Charles Barkley said, “…I’m from the South…whipping is, uh, we do that all the time…every black parent in the South...” After comparing the two generalizations made by Barkley and Earhardt, I found myself asking two obvious questions: Don’t southerners who stereotype themselves in these manners understand the impact that their statements have on America as a whole? Don’t they see that stereotyping Southern culture as one that bears both bibles and beatings does a disservice to the image of their society? And I couldn’t help but further contemplate: Is there still a stark societal difference between the North and the South? When asked what it means to be an American, would a New Yorker’s response be completely different from a Texan's? And does sectionalism—one of the underlying causes of our historic Civil War—still exist today, continuing to be the cause of strife beyond the Mason-Dixon Line? All questions worth asking.
Southerners’ views on today’s secular movement are often in
opposition, as well as hostile. According
to the pastor who Earhardt interviewed, he expressed that southerners felt as
though they are being bullied. The
pastor stated that they want to see Christ in their schools. They—meaning Texans? Christians?
Americans? All of the above? Forget separation of church and state;
completely disregard the millions of other theists in America who believe in a
supreme being other than a Christian God, not to mention atheists who are
comfortable in not believing at all.
Although it may be true that there are over six-million attendees every
weekend at megachurches (according to a recent MSNBC article), the religious
beliefs, or non-beliefs, of others should be respected according to the First Amendment to the Constitution. To
assume that every Texan, or every Southerner—or even every American—is a Christian
is not only moot, but ridiculous, as well.
How an individual identifies with religion need not matter to the public,
including in our public schools. I argue
that religion itself has no business in matters of government, unless the
rituals and practices cause emotional or physical harm to others. When interpreted properly, the First
Amendment protects religious freedoms, which include Satanists, Muslims, and
Atheists, whether opponents like it or not.
It’s a shame that this Fox
News report leads viewers to believe that atheists are attacking
Southerners’ righteous way of life. It's a shame to
think that an army of believers are pointing their fingers of blame at people
who simply don’t believe--at people who
want to see religion removed from the public sphere, from government, and from
our nation’s public schools, so that every individual’s beliefs and non-beliefs
are respected and their rights protected.
But what I'm finding that this more often than not is atheists who are under attack for not
believing--for not being comfortable
with saying the Pledge of Allegiance, not
because they aren’t patriotic, but because “under God” was added. If any group deserves the attention of the
media and citizens in this country it’s atheist. They are the ones, not Christians, who are
experiencing discrimination firsthand, in the South and elsewhere in America. If
only Fox News would have reported
about the lawsuit that was settled earlier this year, wherein a Louisiana
school district was found guilty of repeatedly discriminating against a student
who was Buddhist. A middle-school-aged
boy was harassed by his teacher and other school officials for his peaceful,
harmless beliefs.
Cases like this one in particular led me to become more and
more curious about the actual role of religion in the public sphere in the
South, especially the impact on students in public schools, which is why I
interviewed several parents who possess life-experience in the South--parents from all over the South: Maryland, North Carolina, Georgia, Louisiana,
and Texas. I asked these parents (whose
anonymity will be upheld as promised) a variety of questions about religion,
the experiences of their children, and about life in the South, including what
it’s really like in public schools. And
truth be told, I believe that all those interviewed are non-believers. The following opinions and details were shared
with me by parents and are about their children’s experiences in various public
schools and communities. I have done my
best to leave the statements “as-is” and am compelled to say that I found many
of these rather shocking and to be honest, very unfair:
-A teacher had a birthday cake on December 25 (in honor of
the birth of Jesus Christ).
-Bible verses and crosses displayed on teachers’ desks and
in a school office.
-A Good News Club
started in a school that just so happened to receive new equipment, donated by
a church.
-“God Bless America” placards viewable on classroom doors.
-Fifth graders heading to a Christian “sleep-away” camp.
-A preschooler ostracized (and switching preschools as a
result of it) for admitting he didn’t believe in Jesus, after his Preschool
teacher told students to thank Jesus for all he had done for them.
-Texas students barely taught evolution, not at all taught
sex-ed.
-Secular homeschooling as a preferred educational alternative
to public school.
-Teaching Creationism in a science classroom.
-State-mandated “Moment of Silence” every morning.
-One child, at the age of seven, was threatened by
neighborhood children after she said that God wasn’t real. She was called a witch and was the center of
a mock-stoning at a park, and she then had sand thrown at her.
So, Earhardt, the host of Fox & Friends, and her panel of guests may not be completely
inaccurate in their mutual claim to be fighting for their faith. If they mean fighting to keep up the two
plaques that have been up for over twenty years—displaying Christian messages
in public elementary schools—then they are correct. I support the FFRF for citing this example of
injustice and hope they succeed in removal of the plaques. Just because the plaques have been up for twenty
years does not mean that they are fair and just. Earhardt and her guests are probably right-on
when they say that “the majority” of Texans whose children go to these schools
have no problem with them. But not
every Texan is a Christian. The chance
that Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Atheists, and even Pantheists (and the list
goes on) reside in the Lone Star State is likely. Muslims pray to Allah. Buddhists believe in the Four Noble
Truths. Hindus live life with karma in
mind. Atheists usually prefer to leave
prayer out of it, and many prefer to side with science when it comes to
reason. And Pantheists who relate to
the ever-present energy around them and relish in what nature and the universe has
to offer.
What do these plaques have to offer non-Christians? Where do the students who do not consider
themselves “God’s children” fit in? And
what is the message to teachers who are non-believers--teachers who are non-religious and
non-believing who pass by those plaques every day, having to read what’s been
dedicated to “faithful teachers in the name of the Holy Christian Church”--what about them? Where’s their gratitude? Or shall public schools display separate
plaques thanking them for their presence and service? Or does their absence of piousness have a
negative impact on the level of appreciation that they deserve?
I conclude with a personal response to the picture Earhardt
painted of a Southern culture wherein church is an important part of childhood
(assumedly for all). All I can say is
that when I think of past cultural practices and the South, three examples come
to mind albeit very shameful, dark ones: slavery, paternalism, and the inhumane raping
of female African Americans by white males on plantations—in lieu of
anti-miscegenation laws. Just because a
symbol, song, or slogan once had cultural significance and was popular or
accepted among the majority of a culture doesn’t mean that it’s right. And history has provided us with an
overabundance of examples proving just that.
