šReligious freedom is a right.
š«Religious access to someone elseās child is not.
You have every right to raise your child in your faith. š
Take them to church.
Pray with them.
Read scripture together.
Enroll them in religious education.
Teach them what you believe and why you believe it.
That is religious freedom. šŗšø
š But public schools are shared public institutions serving families with many different beliefs.
Christian families. Jewish families. Muslim families. Hindu families. Atheist families. Agnostic families. Families whose beliefs donāt fit neatly into any of those boxes.
None of them should have to surrender control over their childās religious upbringing simply because one religion is dominant in their community.
And no ā government neutrality toward religion is not hostility toward Christianity.
It is what protects everyoneās religious freedom.
šIt protects the Christian parent who doesnāt want someone else deciding what version of Christianity their child is taught.
šIt protects the Jewish or Muslim parent whose child may already be a tiny religious minority in their school.
šIt protects the nonreligious parent who does not want their child evangelized during the school day.
šššAnd it protects children from being divided into the kids who participate in the favored religion and the kids who donāt.
ā³ļø Your religious freedom gives you enormous authority over the religious upbringing of YOUR child.
It does not give you a claim on mine.
Public schools serve every faith ā and no faith.
PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT MISSION FIELDS.
What people are saying:
- Facebook User: Can I steal this…please?
- Secular Education Association: Facebook User sure thing! Itās sharable from here and you can just save the image and reshare.
- Facebook User: Secular Education Association thank you bunches
- Facebook User: I think our children should decide their own religion when they are old enough to understand what religion is and not have anyone’s forced on them, not even their parents religion.
- Facebook User: Well said!
- Facebook User: I agree with the majority of this except the part about raising oneās child.
At what age should a child be allowed to experiment with other religions/ denominations (I.e., by āchildā, is this referring to anyone who has not yet reached legal adulthood, is able to make their own decisions, etc.)?
Obviously, if a child chooses to (continue) practicing their parentsā religion/ system of thought, thatās perfectly acceptable as well.
Just my two cents, but I (personally) believe that the First Amendmentās āfreedom of religionā should apply to all US citizens, regardless of age.
And yesā¦ keep public schools secular!
- Secular Education Association: Facebook User We actually agree with much of this. Children absolutely have freedom of conscience, and their own beliefs and questions deserve increasing respect as they develop the capacity to understand and make those choices for themselves.
There isnāt a magic age when that suddenly happens, and we donāt think public schools should be in the business of deciding when it does.
Thatās really the point. Parents have the right to provide religious upbringing and instruction, children gradually develop their own beliefs and autonomy, and the government should remain neutral throughout that process.Keeping public schools secular protects all three things: parental rights, a childās developing freedom of conscience, and religious freedom itself.
- Facebook User: Secular Education Association . Freedom of religion and freedom FROM religion.
- Secular Education Association: Facebook User We actually agree with much of this. Children absolutely have freedom of conscience, and their own beliefs and questions deserve increasing respect as they develop the capacity to understand and make those choices for themselves.
- Facebook User: The UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child, which the US has signed, also affirms the rights of children to make decisions about their religious identity. Most of the worldās Muslim countries do not affirm this right.
- Facebook User: Facebook User the US signed but has never ratified it, all 195 other member nations have signed and ratified it. Including the worldās Muslim-majority countries.
- Facebook User: Children should not be raised in ANY religion. If they are curious, answer questions, educate them on different religions, sure. But forcing them into a religion is indoctrination any way you cut it.
- Facebook User: Keep your homo shit out of schools as well
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