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oraxx's avatar

I think a big part of why conservative Christians are so obsessed with forcing their religion into the public schools stems from just how badly churches have failed at pushing their message to the same age demographic. At the end of the day, the religious right simply does not believe in genuine education, let alone critical thinking.

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Jane in NC's avatar

The fact that people focus like a laser on the word 'satanic' and dismiss the actual content of the HAIL program shows 1) deeply prejudicial views of any religion other than christianity; 2) that this released time program is clearly designed to promote christianity by government in violation of the Establishment Clause; 3) that christians are a bunch of hypocrites whose privilege all these years causes them to view equal time for other belief systems as an infringement on their favored position.

All of which, it's important to point out, is why the First Amendment's Free Exercise and Establishment Clauses were added to our Constitution in the first place. Government, and that includes public schools, is supposed to remain neutral on religion. When it fails to do so, as the OH legislature has done here, it's only fair for other religious groups to take advantage of the same opportunity that was set aside for christians. And THAT's the real crux of the complaints: that other belief groups are asserting their right to take advantage of a privilege that was clearly designed to benefit christians and only christians.

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