[an amused spectator]

Note to self:

When the mean Christians call me bad names, I must remember that they don't want to cut my head off and post the video on the Internet.

[sageb1]

ping

[metmom]

ping

[jwalburg]

I know from experience that this situation is a difficult one. Not to excuse this district, but my kids have to be exposed to religious beliefs they oppose, too. That the industrialised countries are warming, and therefore destroying, the earth; that there is no "right answer" just "what you think is right"; that condoms are the best answer to AIDS; that tolerance is the greatest of all virtues; that human beings are nothing but cells,and, mostly,that promoting liberal values is the same as neutrality.

[Tired of Taxes]

I don't want to sign up for the NY Times, but I'll assume you're talking about this story.

I'd rather not debate this topic, but let me leave you with this little anecdote: At the dinner following my wedding in my husband's Presbyterian church, my mother-in-law took it upon herself to ask a family friend to say grace before the meal. He said a wonderful (and very Protestant) prayer. I stole a glance at my father - who had paid for the meal - and he didn't look too happy. He waited patiently for the prayer to finish, cleared his throat, and then said, "And now for the Catholic prayer," made the sign of the cross, and my side of the family launched into "Bless us, oh Lord..."

So, you see, in my experience, and that's only one of them, no one agrees on these things. All I know is that the person paying for the event should have some say in it. And that's all I'm going to say.

I'll give it a ping and maybe you'll receive other responses.

[Tired of Taxes]

Ping!

This Freeper is looking for some input from fellow Freepers on a topic that I know is near and dear to many here.

[Hound of the Baskervilles]

I am not registered to the Times but here is my view on prayer in schools. First let me say I am a Christian and I think there should never be of any kind prayer lead by a teacher or student during class time. NEVER. There should not any speeches made at graduation or other such gatherigns about Jesus or any Christian witnesssing. It is not the time and place for religious preaching or proclamation. It to me is the same kind of in your face stuff that movie stars pull when they go to accept an academy award then start pushing their politics in peoples faces. It's obnoxious. And no thanking Buddah or Krishna or Moloch either.

However any student of any denomination should be permitted to say grace over his or her lunch and join hands with others of like mind and say grace together. In addition students should be able to pray together on their own before school, around the flag pole if they agree to. There should be no bible study, no Koran study, no Torah study and no Upanishad study in any class room at any time wether lead by a teacher or by a student.

[American in Israel]

My take is that I prefer a free counry where people can worship as they please, not a country that is legaly restricted down to the lowest common denominator. After all in East Germany everyone could eat one type of sausage, drive the one type of car and say the one thought that was politicaly correct.

It seems pretty stupid to take a country that was founded on innovation and freedom and reduce it to a country ruled by fools and offense.

But the sheep like it that way...

[wintertime]

Government schools never were, never can be, and never will be religiously neutral! It is axiomatic.

There is NO way that any government school can meet the needs of both this Jewish mother and her son and those of other religions in the school.

If the government school bans all mention of religion, then the religious children are taught to think that religion is shameful and must be hidden like a bathroom activity.this is not religiously neutral. The government in this case would be establishing the religion of Secular Humanism and undermining that of religious believers.

Also, when did our Constitution say that we had a right to free expression of religion except during government school hours? Government schools violate free speech, free press, free expression of religion, and free assembly every minute of every school day.

The solution to this Jew mother and her Christian neighbor's religious conflict is to privatize universal K-12 education.