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How sad it is to see someone who doesn't understand the meaning of "elective".
I understand perfectly well what elective means, electives on religious teachings do not belong in public high schools. So I take it you have no issue with religious themes being taught as long as they are not mandatory, using that logic they should also offer Islam, Buddhism and others to balance it out.
We are falling behind other countries in math and science not to mention languages and this is this takes on importance, please spare me.
Nooooo government should not be promoting any religion period, would you also be in favor of government supporting Muslims or Jews.
So, schools should not talk about the Ottoman Empire or the Holocaust?
This is a history course.
As much as you may want to you simply cannot teach history without mentioning religion.
Try presenting much of Western Civilization and never once referencing the Church or the Bible.
Do you want children to be ignorant about why things occur?
As the books of the three monotheistic religions that have greatly influenced the last 3000 or so years of human history, such electives for both the Bible and Quran should be offered to provide valuable indepth context.
Teaching the bible according to whom? Will a self anointed evangelical be teaching it, or a Catholic priest, or someone with a doctorate from a divinity school? You see where I'm going with this?
The bible is subject to interpretation. There is nothing wrong with using it as a piece of popular literature. If someone is an atheist, or a non Christian, what harm is learning about Christianity? I did not become a scientist, but I still had to study it in school.
This is an example of what I was talking about in a couple of the "OMG, Muslims will take over!!" threads. It is not currently Muslims weakening the protections against government interference in religion, it is Christians!
If we decide that a local school board can teach a religion, not as a religious history course, but as theology and apologetics, we must keep in mind that any school board can do this for any religion. So the Dearborn school board may also have elective classes in Islamic theology.
On top of this, you have additional issues of religious freedom. Who determines what content is taught in the religion class? Does the government have a right to regulate the religious teachings in the class? Can the teacher teach their own religious views or only those approved by the government? This is just kicking the door open to allowing the government to control religious teaching. Would everyone be ok with the class if it explicitly taught that salvation was only available through the Roman Catholic Church? Should the school district be required to teach every religion, or is it allowed to explicitly endorse one?
Fundamentally, this puts government in the business of establishing religion, and I don't know how any American can sleep at night advocating the destruction of one of their most fundamental freedoms this way. I am astounded that Christians want to allow the state control over religious education. Do you really trust government bureaucracy with the religous education of your children? Somehow, I don't think this is what Jesus had in mind when he said, "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's..."
Not in public schools when it comes to religion, I don't see that there are other religious elective choices by the way.
If there was a demand for other courses then they could be offerred.
School districts have budgets and if this course doesn't attract much interest it would have to be dropped.
You don't spend money wantonly by offering every elective under the sun.
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