We’ve all heard these old adages. “You can’t force a round peg into a square hole.” “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.”
But there are a lot of other things we shouldn’t try to force. We can’t force someone to think we’re handsome, beautiful, witty, or charming. We can’t force our kids to date or marry the one we choose, and we can’t force a Sushi hater to love eating Sushi.
In America, we can’t force someone to believe in one brand of religion or any religion at all just because that’s what the majority believes or that’s what politicians think would make them more popular.
But It’s happening.
Louisiana passed a law requiring every public-school kindergarten to university classroom to display the Ten Commandments in large easily readable font.
Oklahoma’s state superintendent, recently ordered the Bible to be taught in every public school saying, “Separating church and state is a myth.”
Project 2025 is a Heritage Foundation blueprint creating an authoritarian theocracy based on Christian values for the second Trump administration.
It’s easy to shrug and say, nothing to see here. After all, there have been groups trying to shatter the wall between church and state since the1962 Supreme Court’s decision in Engle v. Vitale banning organized public prayer in schools.
In 1963, Abington v. Schempp ruled corporate reading of the Bible unconstitutional. The 1980 Supreme Court ruled in Stone v. Graham, that posting the Ten Commandments in public classrooms had “No secular purpose,” and violated the Constitution.
So, why worry?
We don’t have the Supreme Court of the 1960’s or even the 1980’s. We have the Trump Court who overturned 50 years of precedent on abortion and who gave the President immunity from prosecution for official acts something never mentioned in the Constitution.
If recent Iowa legislative history is an indicator, Governor Kim Reynolds won’t resist matching or exceeding the religious extremism of Louisiana and Oklahoma.
But put aside court rulings and legislative pandering. Forcing religion on someone is just a bad idea. We should learn from history. It begins with violence and ends with rebellion. No one wins.
I know diversity has become the Right’s new dirty word. But public schools are meant to be welcoming to all students regardless of if a student has a religion or doesn’t.
I’m not sure why they want public school teachers to be their theologians. After all, they’ve accused them of being “groomers, pornographers and woke.” Wouldn’t they want parents to oversee religious education?
I taught both English and history and referred the Bible when it was relevant to what I was teaching. I also referenced TV shows, movies, and real life. That’s how you teach.
Mandating Bible teaching is force feeding kids one brand of religion. The same thing will happen that occurred when I was in third grade. The teacher on lunch duty thought it was a good idea to force me to eat stewed tomatoes. I warned her I couldn’t, but she forced the issue. Her reward was shoes covered with vomited stewed tomatoes.
I am a Christian, but not one who believes public school is public Sunday school. Those wanting public schools to be Christian better be careful what they wish for. There are a variety of Christian teachings, but denominations approach them differently. So, even if their wish came true, it might be the wrong Christian flavor for them. Also, literature teachers teach students how to critically analyze literature. That’s not what Christian fundamentalists want to have happen to their inerrant Bible.
Religion is a personal decision. It can be beautiful, and comforting, but if forced, the beauty and comfort disappears.
Bruce Lear of Sioux City taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until retiring. BruceLear2419@gmail.com
www.thegazette.com
But there are a lot of other things we shouldn’t try to force. We can’t force someone to think we’re handsome, beautiful, witty, or charming. We can’t force our kids to date or marry the one we choose, and we can’t force a Sushi hater to love eating Sushi.
In America, we can’t force someone to believe in one brand of religion or any religion at all just because that’s what the majority believes or that’s what politicians think would make them more popular.
But It’s happening.
Louisiana passed a law requiring every public-school kindergarten to university classroom to display the Ten Commandments in large easily readable font.
Oklahoma’s state superintendent, recently ordered the Bible to be taught in every public school saying, “Separating church and state is a myth.”
Project 2025 is a Heritage Foundation blueprint creating an authoritarian theocracy based on Christian values for the second Trump administration.
It’s easy to shrug and say, nothing to see here. After all, there have been groups trying to shatter the wall between church and state since the1962 Supreme Court’s decision in Engle v. Vitale banning organized public prayer in schools.
In 1963, Abington v. Schempp ruled corporate reading of the Bible unconstitutional. The 1980 Supreme Court ruled in Stone v. Graham, that posting the Ten Commandments in public classrooms had “No secular purpose,” and violated the Constitution.
So, why worry?
We don’t have the Supreme Court of the 1960’s or even the 1980’s. We have the Trump Court who overturned 50 years of precedent on abortion and who gave the President immunity from prosecution for official acts something never mentioned in the Constitution.
If recent Iowa legislative history is an indicator, Governor Kim Reynolds won’t resist matching or exceeding the religious extremism of Louisiana and Oklahoma.
But put aside court rulings and legislative pandering. Forcing religion on someone is just a bad idea. We should learn from history. It begins with violence and ends with rebellion. No one wins.
I know diversity has become the Right’s new dirty word. But public schools are meant to be welcoming to all students regardless of if a student has a religion or doesn’t.
I’m not sure why they want public school teachers to be their theologians. After all, they’ve accused them of being “groomers, pornographers and woke.” Wouldn’t they want parents to oversee religious education?
I taught both English and history and referred the Bible when it was relevant to what I was teaching. I also referenced TV shows, movies, and real life. That’s how you teach.
Mandating Bible teaching is force feeding kids one brand of religion. The same thing will happen that occurred when I was in third grade. The teacher on lunch duty thought it was a good idea to force me to eat stewed tomatoes. I warned her I couldn’t, but she forced the issue. Her reward was shoes covered with vomited stewed tomatoes.
I am a Christian, but not one who believes public school is public Sunday school. Those wanting public schools to be Christian better be careful what they wish for. There are a variety of Christian teachings, but denominations approach them differently. So, even if their wish came true, it might be the wrong Christian flavor for them. Also, literature teachers teach students how to critically analyze literature. That’s not what Christian fundamentalists want to have happen to their inerrant Bible.
Religion is a personal decision. It can be beautiful, and comforting, but if forced, the beauty and comfort disappears.
Bruce Lear of Sioux City taught for 11 years and represented educators as an Iowa State Education Association Regional Director for 27 years until retiring. BruceLear2419@gmail.com
Opinion: Forcing Religion on Public Schools is a Bad Idea
We can’force religion just because that’s what the majority believes or that’s what politicians think is popular
www.thegazette.com
