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Page: Profile: Wren's Nest News Local
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Article: 9294
[Schools/Ed]
Date Posted:
3/4/2004
4:59:44 pm EST
Wvox Stats
Views: 6,454
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Comments: 9
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Bible Ban In Schools Irks Region's Gideons
Author: Jim Thomas Source: yorkregion.com (Canada)
Title: BIBLE BAN IN SCHOOLS IRKS REGION'S GIDEONS
The York Region District School Board, through its latest edict, has closed the door to the distribution of all religious information in its classrooms.
The announcement revises a statute approved in 1995, further tightening the noose.
The proclamation is particularly disturbing to The Gideons, principal distributors of New Testaments at elementary and secondary schools since 1946.
Murray Bennett, vice-president of The Gideons' Markham-Stouffville camp, said no testaments were circulated without parental approval and only to public school students in Grade 5. They agreed, he said, to provide this service only during lunch hour and recess. Principals, he noted were agreeable to this. Under the revised policy, "the board has closed the door pretty tight".
"The policy hasn't really changed," Mr. Bennett said, "it's just being enforced".
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Community Thoughts: There are 9 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Face It! | Mar 5th. at 8:34:42 am EST |
by Dove (Delmar, MD) - wc_xemail
Face it, if you want religion to be taught by someone else to your kids, you will just have to cough up the money and and your kids to a religious school. Other wise, just take them to a church of your choice on Sunday morning and they will get plenty of religion.
Dove
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| Waaaaa! | Mar 5th. at 2:18:59 am EST |
by KarEEna (Perth, Australia) - wc_xemail
"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA, we can't shove OUR ways down other peoples' childrens' throats!!!! We're so persecuted!"
Give me a frigging break. Religion has a place in church, synagogue, mosque, grove, etc, and/or at home. Religion has no place in public school unless its in a well balanced comparative religion sort of format. If you have a problem with it, send your kid to religious school or home school. Easy. Solved.
And its not just the Christians who are prone to this whining. Every other religion would be the same way if they had been allowed to dominate EVERY aspect of public life for oodles of years and then things started to change. Believe me, it'll be another group next and then another in a few hundred years or so, etc. I just don't understand why its so hard for individuals to practice their faith as they see fit without a) shoving it down EVERYONE'S throats (like handing out bibles to KIDS!) or b) having to ban every personal symbol of religion possible (like the draconian Muslim scarf ban in France) .
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| Stole My Idea | Mar 5th. at 12:59:15 am EST |
by David Eagan (Madison, WI) - wc_xemail
I got sick of the school board around here trying to ban books because some old man was mad fun of for being flatulant so I proposed we ban the Bible because it is violent, and intolerant, and has all kinds of sexual misbehavior and these things are often done by people that we are supposed to admire. BAN THE BOOK! That should get some right wingers riled up. after all we almost banned the pledge of alegence, we can ban anything.
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| The Bible Has A Place... | Mar 5th. at 12:24:34 am EST |
by Alpha Kilo (Clearwater, FL) - wc_xemail
but not in our public schools, being pushed on the captive audience. Religion belongs in the church or the home. A christian child should be allowed to carry a bible to school with them if they choose to study it on their free time. But absolutely no mass distribution should be tolerated. I remember being given a bible in boot camp. I'm curious if a muslim recruit would be allowed to have the Koran in their possession during those weeks of training. Does anybody know? Anyway, the Gideons need to know that they've been crossing a fine line for years, but soon the tides may change for them too.
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| I Have An Idea | Mar 4th. at 11:19:52 pm EST |
by DolphinSmile (Austin, TX) - wc_xemail
I'd like to get a bunch of copies of the Poetic Edda and hand them out. Maybe put them in hotel rooms too.
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| Gideons | Mar 4th. at 10:04:21 pm EST |
by Anna Helvie (New Bern, NC) - wc_xemail
It's all very well and nice for the Gideons to say they only do something with parents' permission and at recess and lunch. However, that is not true. There are recently documented cases in North Carolina where the Gideons offloaded a box of Bibles in the classroom during class and the teacher called students up to get them. One girl, raised by a Wiccan/Atheist couple, refused (politely) and was shunned by the rest of the students thereafter and also treated disrespectfully by the teacher.
If you go to the Americans United website (www.au.org) and do a search on "gideon" you will see all kinds of violations.
That notwithstanding, no group should be allowed to distribute any religious literature of any kind in a public school. Period. No exceptions. Having religious literature in the school library for research on comparative religions is great -- a wonderful goal. That is not the same as having the classroom invaded in the 5th grade to have New Testaments given out.
I remember getting my Gideon book, and the message seemed pretty clear: this is what The Authorities (parents, teachers, school, leaders in my community) wanted me to believe.
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| Relax | Mar 4th. at 7:23:34 pm EST |
by Sheree Naija (San Francisco, California) - wc_xemail
Take a zen moment ... deep breath ... exhale ... okay, now we can stop calling each other names.
The real problem with Gideons reaction is that it has little to do with faith and more to do with power. While I'm sure that plenty of people who distribute Bibles are very faithful and well meaning, the Gideons Company is upset because freebees now equal power later. As I recall, every version of the Bible is a little (or a lot) different from other published versions. If you want people to believe as you do, you have to control what they know/read.
"... on a downward spirial" I believe was the quote. That is true. And that is the other problem, that the practice of bugging kids while they are eating or playing isn't working anymore. No one wants to believe in something that is slowly dying. That's just human.
As I recall, I too cherished my Gideons as they suggested, but because as a kid I loved presents. I also cherished my copy of the Badgavad Gita (sp?) that a nice man gave me in the airport. Why? Because it was a book and a present.
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| Religion Does Have A Place . . . | Mar 4th. at 5:53:37 pm EST |
by Emily Alexandra (Santa Fe, NM) - wc_xemail
. . . in public schools. It has a place in every school. What do I mean? I mean that it is better in the long run for students to learn the actual basics of a variety of religions than it is to ban all religion as if it's something shameful. One of the most rewarding research projects I ever did in school was one where every student in the class was assigned a different religion to research and present to the class. It definitely broadened my horizons -- and those of my classmates.
Promoting one religion over the other is, of course, wrong, but so is banning religion from schools. Freedom of religion was established in this country so that the government wouldn't impose one religion, not so that it could ban all.
As for not wanting children to read a "woman-hating book", go back and reread the Bible. The gospels especially promote equality of men and women (which Paul later altered for his own purposes) . Besides, haven't we learned anything about banning books? It doesn't work. It's far more productive to discuss any book, especially religious ones, critically than it is to simply ban it.
Oh, but I forgot. Actively discussing ideas one isn't comfortable with takes courage, and that's (evidently) in short supply.
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| Oh Well! | Mar 4th. at 5:21:57 pm EST |
by Lady Olwen Moondancer (York Region, Ontario Canada) - wc_xemail
Well, I live in York Region and if I wanted my daughter to be given anything to read that demonises women, I might agree with handing out free bibles. As it stands, religion has no place in a public school system. And it's hogwash to say the "good book" improves children's behaviour. A lot of it has to do with the environment they grow up in at home.
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