President Trump tweeted tweeted last month that many states are offering Bible literacy classes in public schools. In his tweet he said, “Starting to make a turn back? Great!”.
Six U.S. states, including Indiana, have seen pushes for legislation offering these types of classes in schools. It’s best that religion is kept in churches. Government employees and teachers shouldn’t be responsible for interpreting the Bible.
It doesn’t make sense why Trump seems to continuously want to “make a turn back.” In this case it has to do with religion in schools, but this isn’t the first time he has suggested taking steps backward as opposed to more progressive movements.
At first glance, one might say this is a clear violation of the separation between church and the state. However, I think there’s much more to it. It almost feels like by calling it an educational and historical class, these lawmakers are seeking a loophole.
These classes would be completely optional for schools to offer, but even then, it's a tough thing to teach in a public school where those of other beliefs may feel as though they're being marginalized.
The argument is that the classes would be taught in an objective way, but that would be incredibly difficult given that the Bible itself is not exactly objective. Many people think it will cause confusion if a person working for the government is the one teaching the Bible and its history instead of those in a church or even a parent.
While I’m not entirely familiar with the Bible, there are aspects of it that can’t simply be taught by analyzing the book, as there are certain supernatural and seemingly unexplainable things that aren’t as simple as interpreting words on the page.
Our schools and our country should offer a sense of religious freedom, and unless we are willing to offer classes that teach other religion’s scriptures and their history, I don’t think it's in the best interest of our children to pick and choose.
Times are different, schools are more diverse and not everyone believes in God. That’s what church is for. They shouldn’t have to be subjected to these kinds of classes being offered in their state schools, optional or not.
Often, what goes on in schools is decided by people who hardly ever step foot into a school. This seems to be a similar situation because once again what gets taught in schools is being decided by people in the government.
Many Christians are not in favor of this happening. They fear it will not be taught in the right ways, for the right reasons or by the right people.
While proposing a bill doesn’t necessarily mean it will get passed and this all could end up being avoided anyway, it's not the first time this has been brought up, and it probably won’t be the last.
