Coercing Faith in Class

By Dave Haigler* – Jan= uary 2005

As a Christian, I don’t want to “bash” Fundamentalists. However, I want to confront an err= or dating from the 1963 School Prayer case, which some Fundamentalists (call t= hem “extremists”) claim “banned school prayer.”&= nbsp; The case merely prohibited state agents -- which school administrato= rs are -- from dictating prayers. And who wants bureaucrats telling us how to pray?

American Christians were, and still are, a majority religion, but extremists style themselves a persecuted minority. They claim society began to deteriorate with the “school prayer ban.”= ; The de-criminalization of abortion= and no-fault divorce, which came a decade after the “prayer ban,” <= span class=3DGramE>were caused by it, extremists claim. Forget their logical fallacy in as= suming something causes whatever follo= ws simply because it came beforehand!<= o:p>

I’ve written how Fundamentalism lost the culture wars, in “Cultural Irrelevance of Fundamentalism & Dispensationalism,” found at <= http://www.haigler.info/page11.html>, and won’t repeat that here.

Just note that this extremism feeds upon defeatism: attracting and keeping its follower= s by making them feel persecuted, whether t= hey are or not. I submit that the= se extremists are not persecuted, but rather opposed for misunderstanding the school prayer case, and misunderstanding h= ow faith itself originates.

Faith is better “caught than = taught.” This means that efforts to in= still faith by coercion are misguided. One would think we had learned that lesson from Roman Emperor Constantine’s attempt to force conversions at sword-point centuries ago. But some are still tryin= g: these extremists are the latest in = a long line of failures.

Why aren’t the extremists content to share faith in voluntary associations such as friendships formed in work, civic involvements and elsewhere? Why do they assume the forced teac= her/pupil association may be manipulated for proselytizing? It is the extremists trying to get around the school prayer ruling when they seek to use a publicly-funded ven= ue to coerce recitations of faith from unwilling audiences.

This is the background of the recent Cupertino, California case, where a 5<= sup>th grade teacher coerced American History students with recitations of the Chr= istian beliefs of some Founding Fathers. The Alliance Defense Fund, which says it supports the right of state employees = to “share the gospel” with those they serve, represented the teach= er. (See http://www.alliancedefensefund.org/issues/religiousfreedomvictories.p= hp “Swim Coach Allowed to Share His Faith…”) <= /strong>

            The Cupertino case received much extremist publicity and commentary, as though it excluded the Declaration of Independence (which was already pr= inted in the school’s textbooks). Or as though it involved debate over whether the Founding Fathers were overwhelmingly what we would today call evangelical Christians.

            I submit those are not the real issues in this case. Religious references are allowable= in public schools as historical records of most Founding Fathers’ belief= s. What is at issue is whether teache= rs may use historical references to religion, such as a discredited prayer book, supposedly George Washington’s, to proselytize in the classroom. The answer to this actual issue is= , no.

            The chronology was: Cupertino teacher Stephen Williams used= the historical documents as a wedge to impose his beliefs, some students informed their pa= rents and principal Patricia Vidm= ar, and she required Williams to present his lessons for advance approval. Some were disapproved, and he sued= . The issue was not the appropriaten= ess of the materials, but rather how they were used. What else could the principal do, = short of constantly monitoring this classroom to censor coercive behavior towards= students?

            Obviously, this is not a matter of outlawing religion, with police arresting people for illegal worship. Rather, this= is about teachers paid to teach designated curriculum, not to proselytize for their = own opinions or beliefs, whether theistic or secular.

        &= nbsp;   Teachers are free to share their faith with willing acquaintances and coworkers. But everyone should be free to ign= ore that information. Young classroom = children under teachers’ authority do not really have that freedom. Teachers without common sense must= be restrained. Such restraint ha= ppened in Cupertino, and this Christian thinks it was appropriate.

*Dave Haigler in an Abilene lawyer, mediator and securities arbitrator with the NASD. He is a life-group lea= der at Beltway <= st1:PlaceType w:st=3D"on">Park Baptist Church with his wif= e Becky, a Cooper High Spanish teacher. He serves as Taylor County Democratic Party Chair, a <= st1:address w:st=3D"on">Teen Court judge, and has been on numerous civic boards and committees.