These days, you might receive a negative response if you wish someone a Merry Christmas. You can see news stories of individuals filing lawsuits because they encountered a Nativity scene or a Ten Commandments display. On a more personal note, a girl who attended my high school long after I graduated was assisted by her parents in suing the school because the choir department held a Christmas pageant. Noteworthy, in my opinion: no one was obligated to join the choir, and no one was forced to participate in the pageants.
Let's go back to when the subject did not result in such nutty reactions.
First, when/where I grew up, religion was considered important. For parents to give their kids a religion was considered almost as important as ensuring the kids had food, clothing, and shelter. It was considered so important, in fact, that couples who wanted to adopt a baby had to be members of the same religion as the birth mother.
Second, religion was considered a personal topic. Individuals did not argue about it, did not go around trying to convert others; it was one's own individual business or family business. Thinking back, of all the best friends I had throughout my growing-up years, I only knew one friend's religion- and that's because she attended Catholic school.
My own experiences: I was a member of the last class for whom any type of 'organized religion' was legal in American public schools. My experience was limited to our Kindergarten teacher leading students in (her words) 'saying grace' at lunchtime. By the time we started First Grade, this practice had been discontinued. We didn't really notice; and no one was negatively affected by its absence.
Yet, even without organized prayer, the subject was not banned from our school lives. We had little Christmas parties and Christmas concerts; and while 'religion' was not emphasized, Christmas carols certainly had references to Jesus.
The elementary school also had a practice in which students, with their parents' approval, could be released from school one afternoon each week to attend the local church of their choice. Staff referred to it as 'religious instruction,' but the kids called it 'church school.' However, students who did not wish to participate were not forced to do so, were not made to feel different or left out- instead, simply stayed in the classroom to read, chat, or play games.
How did it go from these acceptable practices to the anti-religion sentiment that's been occurring in recent years- trying to erase or ban every sign of it from everywhere?
From my viewpoint, there have been two causes of this radical change:
First, I never saw, heard of, or read about any negativity until a speech I encountered on t.v. The speaker was George H.W. Bush. I was more than miffed at his remarks: he stated it was not enough for children to be allowed to say a prayer in school, that prayer in school must be mandatory. He stated it is perfectly fine to ostracize students who do not comply, because, in his words, children 'need to learn it is not normal' to not have these particular beliefs.
Afterward, I started noticing bumper stickers proclaiming “CHILDREN NEED TO PRAY!” In other words, up on the bandwagon went likeminded individuals bent on changing the law and violating parents' and students' rights.
And from my POV, it'd not be too surprising if the over-the-top-extreme anti-religion sentiments occurring in recent years are nothing more nor less than over-the-top-extreme reactions to these individuals pushing to take away Americans' rights.
And there have been those who are not content with trying to change the law to suit their own beliefs, but go as far as to break the law. One example: a public elementary school that included Bible-reading in its curriculum. A second example: a youngster brought a graded quiz home from school, and the parent was stunned to see 'God' was the answer the teacher wanted to the statement 'Isn't it wonderful, everything (fill in blank) has made!” A third example: parents who were new to an area were actually advised to take their kids out of their new school and even consider leaving the area entirely because of religious differences.
While I believe this arrogance is the main reason, there is an additional approach: by modernistic viewpoint, it is no longer acceptable for parents to give their kids a religion or to teach them anything. Children are allegedly supposed to come into the world as fresh, clean slates, and then absorb all their beliefs, values, knowledge, etc., from virtually every place except their own homes and families. Parents who do not subscribe to this destructive approach are told they are 'telling their kids what to believe' and 'telling their kids what to think.'
Neither approach is o.k. Neither 'teach kids nothing so they're open to any nonsense that comes along,' nor outsiders insisting everyone else comply with what they personally believe, is a sensible approach. While the specifics of giving kids a religion varied from family to family, it was based in the right place. Before arrogant individuals decided to push their beliefs on others, there was not so much negativity over religion; and before parents started hearing they weren't supposed to teach their kids anything, the family was the main foundation and source of early education and values.
Let's go back to when the subject did not result in such nutty reactions.
First, when/where I grew up, religion was considered important. For parents to give their kids a religion was considered almost as important as ensuring the kids had food, clothing, and shelter. It was considered so important, in fact, that couples who wanted to adopt a baby had to be members of the same religion as the birth mother.
Second, religion was considered a personal topic. Individuals did not argue about it, did not go around trying to convert others; it was one's own individual business or family business. Thinking back, of all the best friends I had throughout my growing-up years, I only knew one friend's religion- and that's because she attended Catholic school.
My own experiences: I was a member of the last class for whom any type of 'organized religion' was legal in American public schools. My experience was limited to our Kindergarten teacher leading students in (her words) 'saying grace' at lunchtime. By the time we started First Grade, this practice had been discontinued. We didn't really notice; and no one was negatively affected by its absence.
Yet, even without organized prayer, the subject was not banned from our school lives. We had little Christmas parties and Christmas concerts; and while 'religion' was not emphasized, Christmas carols certainly had references to Jesus.
The elementary school also had a practice in which students, with their parents' approval, could be released from school one afternoon each week to attend the local church of their choice. Staff referred to it as 'religious instruction,' but the kids called it 'church school.' However, students who did not wish to participate were not forced to do so, were not made to feel different or left out- instead, simply stayed in the classroom to read, chat, or play games.
How did it go from these acceptable practices to the anti-religion sentiment that's been occurring in recent years- trying to erase or ban every sign of it from everywhere?
From my viewpoint, there have been two causes of this radical change:
First, I never saw, heard of, or read about any negativity until a speech I encountered on t.v. The speaker was George H.W. Bush. I was more than miffed at his remarks: he stated it was not enough for children to be allowed to say a prayer in school, that prayer in school must be mandatory. He stated it is perfectly fine to ostracize students who do not comply, because, in his words, children 'need to learn it is not normal' to not have these particular beliefs.
Afterward, I started noticing bumper stickers proclaiming “CHILDREN NEED TO PRAY!” In other words, up on the bandwagon went likeminded individuals bent on changing the law and violating parents' and students' rights.
And from my POV, it'd not be too surprising if the over-the-top-extreme anti-religion sentiments occurring in recent years are nothing more nor less than over-the-top-extreme reactions to these individuals pushing to take away Americans' rights.
And there have been those who are not content with trying to change the law to suit their own beliefs, but go as far as to break the law. One example: a public elementary school that included Bible-reading in its curriculum. A second example: a youngster brought a graded quiz home from school, and the parent was stunned to see 'God' was the answer the teacher wanted to the statement 'Isn't it wonderful, everything (fill in blank) has made!” A third example: parents who were new to an area were actually advised to take their kids out of their new school and even consider leaving the area entirely because of religious differences.
While I believe this arrogance is the main reason, there is an additional approach: by modernistic viewpoint, it is no longer acceptable for parents to give their kids a religion or to teach them anything. Children are allegedly supposed to come into the world as fresh, clean slates, and then absorb all their beliefs, values, knowledge, etc., from virtually every place except their own homes and families. Parents who do not subscribe to this destructive approach are told they are 'telling their kids what to believe' and 'telling their kids what to think.'
Neither approach is o.k. Neither 'teach kids nothing so they're open to any nonsense that comes along,' nor outsiders insisting everyone else comply with what they personally believe, is a sensible approach. While the specifics of giving kids a religion varied from family to family, it was based in the right place. Before arrogant individuals decided to push their beliefs on others, there was not so much negativity over religion; and before parents started hearing they weren't supposed to teach their kids anything, the family was the main foundation and source of early education and values.