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Ok....Then describe a religiously neutral education. Please cover the following topics:
* Free speech: How do you allow a child to freely discuss his religion while at the same time protecting the other children from being influenced by it?
* Free press: How do you allow a child to freely publish and distribute material about his religion while at the same time protecting the other children from being religiously persuaded by it?
* Free practice of religious belief: How do you allow free practice of religion while at the same time protect other children from its influence?
* How do you resolve the conflict of allowing children to freely assembly with those of their worldview ( godless or God-centered) while having the government forceably assigning them to assemble with children not of their worldview? How do you keep the children from being proselytized by the other children into an opposing worldview either godless or God-centered?
* Holidays: Which cultural holidays of our highly diverse population will be honored with a day off? Which will merely be covered in the curriculum and will the religious origins and significance be thoroughly covered or ignored? Which holidays will be completely and totally ignored?
* Co-education or single sex: How does the government resolve the religious conflicts of either choice.? Is is possible to simultaneously have a single sex and coed school?
* Scheduling of events: Friday evening, Saturday, or Sunday. How does the government allow full opportunity for participation of all students from our diverse society without religious conflict?
* Foods: The younger the child the more abusive it is for the government to force them into an environment where they will be tempted by foods proscribed by their religion or family practices. This is especially true if they are tempted by the government employees or the government institution itself or by the other children with whom the government forces them to assemble.
*Dress: Are girls required to wear dresses with sleeves? Are slacks and shorts permitted. Are blouses sleeveless or with sleeves? Are some boys and girls forced by the government to assemble with students who tempt them to abandon family practices by wearing highly fashionable but proscribed clothing?
*Tattoos,certain jewelery, and hairstyles: Will children be forced by the government into assembly with children with skin or hair styles that tempt them to abandon their faith.
*Arts, theater: There are religions that abhor the depiction of animal or human form in art. Will your school both simultaneously allow and disallow this art? Is that possible? Which religious depictions will be allowed and how will you protect the other children from being religiously influenced by it? How can the government both allow full expression of religious belief in art and protect the other children from its influence?
*Music: What religious music be simultaneously allowed and disallowed? If allowed, and part of the curriculum, how do you protect the children from undue religious influence? Are the children permitted freedom of religious expression and allowed to sing religious songs and how do you protect the other children from being influenced by it? How do you resolve the free expression of religious belief through spoken and sung music with the protection of the other children from undue influence?
Curriculum: Will the curriculum both simultaneously acknowledge that God is the source of all that exists and have ( at the same time) promote a godless worldview?
HaHaThat'sVeryLogical you may choose to ignore these questions, or even insist that it is possible to resolve the impossible in a religiously neutral manner,...but....thoughtful readers will see that is it self evident. It is impossible to have a religiously neutral education!
Thankfully, the concept that education is **never** religiously neutral is now widely accepted among the conservatives who support free market education. Free market education is the **ONLY** possible way to resolve the many conflicts concerning government schools that are **continually** before the courts.
Government schools are fundamentally a freedom of conscience and First Amendment abomination!!! The solution is to begin the process of privatizing universal K-12 education.
1. A religiously neutral education ("education" meaning the instruction delivered by the agent of the government, i.e. the teacher) does not require preventing a child from discussing his religion with his fellow students, or "protecting" them from being influenced by it.
2. It's not the responsibility of the government to prevent your children from associating with other people you might not approve of, or from enforcing stricter rules than safety and the prevailing social norms require. If you're worried that associating with people with tattoos is going to tempt your child to abandon his faith, you'd better not let them ride the bus or go to the mall either.
3. If the "free practice of your religion" requires you to interfere with others' pursuits--if it requires you to disrupt a classroom or start preaching on a bus or shout Bible verses during "immoral" movies--you should stay home.
4. Some issues, like those around holidays, will require sensitive negotiation among people of good will, and the answers will probably vary from place to place.
Your questions make it seem like you think that if the government doesn't enforce your rules, it is actively working to undermine them. So I still wonder if you expect that in other areas of your interaction with public agencies. Do you expect the police to keep the tattooed, shorts-wearing public away from your kids in the town square? Do you expect the courthouse to drape the statue of Justice when you have jury duty?