What people are saying:

• Secular Education Association: We want to be very clear: SEA does not promote leaving public schools.

  We share stories like this because public schools are worth fighting for; and because families should not feel pushed out of them by religious pressure, exclusion, or unequal treatment.

  Public schools belong to everyone.

  Religious freedom requires neutral schools.

• Secular Education Association: Have you seen this kind of pressure in your community; released time programs, school events in churches, religious songs during the school day, or kids being socially excluded for not participating?

  You can share generally below, or message Secular Education Association if you need to stay anonymous.

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association yup
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association when I was in school everyone was handed out pocket bibles. This was in WV. We were forced to learn the Lord’s Prayer in 6th grade for the basketball team. Etc.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User we are so sorry that happened. Do you remember how it made you feel at the time; especially being connected to something like basketball?
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable and pressured. If you didn’t partake you weren’t allowed to play or partake. It was held against us. Honestly now as an adult I feel resentful.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User that is absolutely heartbreaking. We’re so sorry. Thank you so much for sharing this here. It’s important for people to understand that this has been happening for a long time, in different places all over our country. Would you be comfortable with us publishing your story here with no identifying information? If you’re comfortable sharing, what decade or year would this have been? state?
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association of course. WV. I was in school from 1998-2011. But I’d say 2003-2011 were the ones that hit the hardest when it came to religious indoctrination. It was brutal. I also know neighboring schools had it just as bad if not worse. They had abstinence speaker Pam Stenzel come and speak with required attendance (she actively compares girls who have sex to that of chewed gum). we at least did not have that.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User absolutely unacceptable. Brutal is exactly the word for it. Thank you again. And we are glad you are here, we hope you know you aren’t alone in your experience and there are other adults who not only share a similar experience; but are doing everything they can to ensure this doesn’t happen to any child in a public school ever again. 💜
• Facebook User: Secular parents need to find & support each other in every community/school district. The impact of being the minority voice with frequent subtle, often overt, exclusion tactics K-12 is real. All schools should form Secular Student Alliance clubs – if they can find a teacher brave enough to be the faculty advisor. At my daughter’s National Honor Society induction ceremony we had to listen to the NHS faculty advisor talk about his strong relgious (aka Christian) values; at graduation, all of the faculty & school board members got in their “god bless” messaging, and so many more examples of how the SD generally allows the lines to be blurred…
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Thank you for being here and for being part of this growing community. 💜

    We fully support and encourage Secular Student Alliances wherever students want them and can safely organize them.

    But we believe students should not have to carry this alone.

    Adults outside the school system – parents, grandparents, alumni, and community members — need to find each other, support each other, and work together to ensure public schools remain welcoming and neutral for every child.

    Religious freedom requires neutral schools. And neutrality only holds when communities show up to protect it. When adults give other adults the courage to speak up.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User when it’s happening at the national level daily, all of our so-called “leaders” and their Christian nationalism base, it’s no surprise this same behavior is working its way into public school systems. I don’t know how we fight this when it’s coming from the very top.💔
• Facebook User: I got upset one year because someone in the office insisted on blasting Christmas music over the loudspeakers repeatedly for like a week before the winter break. Not the generic instrumental stuff either- hymns with religious lyrics. Apparently I was the only one who had a problem with it.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We don’t believe you were the only one who had a problem with it. You may have just been the only one who felt safe enough or brave enough to say it out loud.

    And that’s exactly why neutrality matters. Public schools should not put students, families, or staff in the position of having to object just to be respected.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User they want you to feel like you’re alone in how you feel. That’s how they win. Find your people and fight back
• Facebook User: Religious freedom requires neutral schools.
• Facebook User: This is why it’s important to pay attention to local and state level politics rather than just focusing on federal politics. Local politics decide a lot of things for students and being in Ohio is depressing as it is.

  I was very uncomfortable when I saw Lifewise advertising at the school during kindergarten orientation. I don’t mind the more secular aspects of certain Christian holidays (present giving and charity at Christmas, Egg Hunting & chocolate during Easter, etc), but I draw the line at Christian indoctrination. It’s a very coercive religion. “But we just want to save your soul!” That is manipulative af and deserves to be called out as such. I’m not a fan of Evangelical Christianity and going to a private, conservative Christian school really messed me up. We were taught one thing (the philosophy of Jesus Christ), but everyone only wanted to enforce Leviticus or use the more hateful verses in the Bible to control others.

  • Facebook User: That being said, this really isn’t a reason to home school or attend private schools. It takes away tax dollars from a system that already wants public education to fail. Pay attention better to local and state politics and get involved with your community.

    I live in a rural area so Christian religion is kind of the bread and butter of the culture. I’m doing my best to raise my daughter in a secular environment, but there’s a lot of pressure from the community to only teach her Christian religion. I’m fine with being spiritual (I’m agnostic myself), but I have an issue with being evangelized to.

  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User You’re absolutely right about the importance of local and state-level engagement. So much of this is decided there, and it directly impacts students.

    And what you’re describing…that discomfort, that pressure -is exactly what we’re hearing from families across the country.

    There’s a real difference between cultural traditions and religious instruction or recruitment, especially when it shows up connected to the school day. That line matters.

    Public schools should be places where no child feels pressured to adopt a belief system just to fit in or fully participate.

    Thank you for speaking up about this , it helps others realize they’re not the only ones feeling it. 💜

• Facebook User: This is not an excuse to homeschool. It’s a reason to get more involved in your public schools. Run for school board. Volunteer. Build community, organize to build power and create change. Please do not promote homeschooling as an alternative.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User Absolutely and we agree that public schools are worth fighting for.

    We are not promoting homeschooling as the answer. We are saying that if we want families who value inclusion, neutrality, and safety to stay invested in public education, we have to make sure public schools are actually safe and welcoming for them.

    That means enforcing the law.
    That means protecting school neutrality.
    That means fixing the conditions that are pushing some families out.

    The answer is not abandoning public schools. The answer is making sure public schools truly belong to everyone.

  • Facebook User: Kay Pea I have run for school board, twice, in an overwhelmingly conservative district. I’m one of three residents who attends all board meetings. I’m also the one taking concerns to the microphone and being dismissed by the board, and gaslit by the superintendent. Yes, everyone needs to steel their spine and speak up. It can’t be done by a few. We get weary. And as a result of seeing how my district responds, obfuscates, covers for, and protects religion in school, I now feel the desire to take my kids out knowing that I have given it my ALL. Communities of concerned parents need to organize and fight together, openly.
• Facebook User: Leaving public schools contributes to their defunding and risks that important safety net. They aren’t Christian enough. They’re too Christian. Everybody seems to want some curated experience for their kids and public schools cannot do that. Not happy with a program? Don’t participate. That’s no more social exclusion than pulling them out entirely to homeschool bc no one, or no other family will share your exact beliefs or preferences. They are literally trying to create space for EVERYONE and then NO ONE is happy.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User this! I am horrified that secular humanist folks think homeschooling is the answer. Teach your kids to think critically and install your values so that they don’t fall for this stuff while you work to fight it.
  • Facebook User: Agree. The number of atheists who send their kids to private christian schools (bc they think it’s better despite the data). No issue. Lots of non-Baptists send their kids to conservative Baptists schools. Non-Catholics to Catholic schools….No issue. But Public Schools have a Christmas program or voluntary Bible study group? No way! – We gotta opt out 🙄. It’s exhausting bc Public Schools need community support and they are STILL the best answer for secular folks. Not perfect – but the most open and inclusive.
  • Facebook User: Facebook User The issue is the peer pressure associated with these programs. Evangelical Christianity is about recruiting new members and using manipulative tactics to do so (Threatening with Eternal Damnation was often used as a pressuring technique when I was a kid). I’ve felt more peer pressure to convert to Christianity than I did for drugs or alcohol. These programs count on kids to do their recruiting and teach them how to manipulate. If you wanna talk about grooming, start with Christianity.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We agree that public schools can’t be curated to match any one family’s beliefs…that’s exactly why neutrality matters.

    But “just don’t participate” isn’t always a real solution in practice. When something happens during the school day, is tied to peers, or affects how students are grouped or treated, opting out can still mean isolation, stigma, or lost opportunities.

    That’s not the same as choosing a different educational path; it’s navigating pressure inside a system that’s supposed to serve everyone equally.

    Public schools don’t have to make everyone happy. But they do have a responsibility to make sure no student is made to feel excluded, singled out, or less than because of religion.

    That’s not about creating a curated experience, it’s about maintaining a fair one.

  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We understand this instinct and yes, critical thinking matters.

    But families shouldn’t have to rely on their children being strong enough to withstand religious pressure inside a public school environment.

    That puts the burden on kids instead of on the institutions responsible for protecting them.

    We don’t believe homeschooling is the answer. We believe public schools are worth fighting for; and that means making sure they remain neutral, inclusive, and safe for every child.

  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We hear you. We agree that public schools are still the best, most inclusive option we have. That’s exactly why this matters so much.

    The difference is that private religious schools are explicitly religious, families are choosing into that environment.

    Public schools are different. They’re supposed to serve everyone. So when religious activity is embedded into the school day or school culture, “just opt out” doesn’t always feel neutral; it can feel isolating or stigmatizing, especially for kids.

    That’s not about wanting a curated experience. It’s about making sure public schools stay truly public. Where no student feels like an outsider for their beliefs.

    And we agree on the big picture: public schools need support. Part of supporting them is making sure they’re environments where all families feel they belong.

  • Facebook User: Facebook User 100%! And when the public schools close, the ONLY OPTION that will be left are the private, mostly religious schools. Pulling kids out of public schools is adding fuel to the fire that is destroying education.
  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association this is such a cop out. The burden to protect kids from religious peer pressure should not be on public schools. That is the responsibility of PARENTS. Public schools can only do what the law allows them to do, and the reality is that if they start getting involved in religious issues, they run the risk of getting sued. If you don’t like the situation, get off your A$@ and get involved. Go to school board meetings and get on your lawmakers to make the necessary changes!! Public schools are NOT to blame and they cannot solve this issue! They NEED PARENTS TO SUPPORT THEM.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User we couldn’t have gotten off our ass and gotten involved more if we tried. Your comment is rude and unnecessary. Also, please tell us HOW we as parents can protect our kids from religious pressure DURING THE SCHOOL DAY. When we aren’t there. When we aren’t being communicated with. We have NEVER stated it was the public schools fault or responsibility we are simply pointing out that THIS is a factor as well.
  • Facebook User: Peer pressure to participate in these programs isn’t cool. But it is a wonderful opportunity for conversation with your student(s). And a wonderful time to get involved in your kids school and board meeting to encourage boundaries.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User We agree that parents should talk with their children and be involved in school board meetings.

    But the burden should not be on children to withstand peer pressure, or on individual families to constantly defend neutral school time after the fact.

    Public schools have a responsibility to prevent these dynamics in the first place.

    Respectfully, families should not have to “encourage boundaries” around a First Amendment right their children already have.

    That means clear boundaries, neutral policies, and school-day practices that do not divide children by religious participation.

  • Facebook User: Secular Education Association I didn’t mean your organization – I didn’t communicate that very well. I am talking about all the people who pull their kids out of public schools instead of working toward a solution. I’m tired of people complaining about public schools, when they should be complaining TO lawmakers. Public schools are always expected to do more and more with less and less. And as I said before, if they start getting involved in religious matters, they risk getting slapped with lawsuits that they do not have the funds to defend. It’s all they can do right now to keep their doors open and pay their people!
• Facebook User: Yep! We are homeschooling because of this. I’m not happy. I want my children to have the freedom to learn without religion being forced down their throats.
• Facebook User: I believe you may have identified the actual source of the “indoctrination” some have accused traditional public schools of promoting.
  • Secular Education Association: Facebook User BINGO
• Facebook User: Yep