As an Atheist Jew I would be furious if my classroom were forced by law to display any version of The Ten Commandments other than the one I have chosen to reject.
Also, it's a classroom. They're supposed to teach the kids to respect and to cite original sources.
Recall way back in the 70's as a primary school boy of hindu faith being asked if I could take religious (Christian) studies. My parents had no issues with that. We have gone backwards at an alarming rate
Are you really saying it's a good idea for public schools to perform religious indoctrination? That we should go back to a happier time when "everyone" was Christian and the kids that weren't could darned well suck it up?
You misunderstand. I had a choice to take scripture classes, participate in Easter and Christmas events. Some non Christian kids did not. My folks had no problems. Today faith based teaching in the UK and here in Australia is largely around Christian ideals. Opt out is not there any more
Oh. That sounds dreadful. I hadn't heard any English-speaking country had recently, as a regressive move, implemented mandatory religious instruction in public schools.
People aren't going to church (at least here in the US) in the numbers they used to. The church is declining in power and influence (tho it still has far more than some of us are comfortable with) and so the people who rely on religion as a lever for social control are panicked, (1/2)
flailing around in desperation to try and indoctrinate kids as fast and early as possible. They don't get that they're the ones holding shovel, digging their own graves. They don't see that they're the ones driving everyone away from church. They also don't care about the 1st Amendment (2/2)
Lifelong fascination with the US and your politics. The Constitution is such a central pillar but fit for purpose today? 1A and indeed 2A in particular. Judges and lawmakers in the Southern States seem hell bent on indoctrination aided by a conservative SCOTUS
The framers of the Constitution did their best at the time, with what they had available, and they had to make compromises, but they left us a framework to make changes and keep the document relevant.
The problem with conservatives is they don't like change, but they do like power.
Very true. Incursion by bodies such as SCOTUS into areas that religion had a hold on makes one very uncomfortable. At least with faith one can ignore but legislated imposts or judge made cannot.
Some of this is social control and manipulation, but it's also the scar tissue of colonialism. Christianity likes to pretend it's the only religion, or the one true faith, all other evidence to the contrary.
