Religion is a hard topic for me. Mostly because I don’t believe in it. It’s not my cup of tea. It doesn’t obey any of my “tests” for what is logical and correct and right. In my view, it’s poisonous. And has brought nothing but harm and (literally) bloodshed for thousand of years.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
No, seriously.
A topic piqued my interest recently in the news. It was about a Texas School Board meeting earlier this month where the main agenda centered around a proposal to include a reading list with Biblical stories in the state’s K-12 curriculum. You’ll get the gist from this quote found in the CBS News article:
“Our children need truth,” said Nathan Irving, a pastor and father of eight from Myrtle Springs, Texas. “Truth is the only currency that never devalues. Investing truth into our children is the most loving thing that we can do for them. This is the truth. This country and this state were founded upon a Christian worldview. Like it or not, it is true.”
Based on that statement alone, this gentleman is not necessarily wrong. Even saying that, though, the Constitutional bells started ringing loudly in my head. Research was needed. And off I went. Turns out (and I would even say to their credit), the Board allowed several speakers (such as that gentleman) to voice their views and opinions on the proposal, including speakers from several different religions. They even allowed an atheist speaker to share.
The central issue seemed to be the inclusion of Bible stories into the reading list. Which is interesting, because the Bible is one book. Yet, they mention multiple stories in the speakers’ statements and news article. I guess they’re teaching at the story level, just from different volumes.
Anyway, I’d like to start the atheist speaker. I found a clip on Instagram here (from what I can find, I think the speaker was Matilda Miller, but I can’t say for sure):
Your religion is not special. And you are not special for believing it. Your book has no authority over anyone except yourself. Between this mandatory reading list and the bills passed last year like SB-965, which would allow a teacher to preach these stories as if they were fact, it is clear that a special level of arrogance is in infesting the Texas government. Because it does take a truly special level of self delusion to think that you are so star-spangled special that your preferred interpretation of your preferred translation of your preferred unsubstantiated, unproven, un-falsifiable claim is correct to the point that you think you have the right to indoctrinate the next generation with it.
This is clearly a Christian supremacist agenda, if not evidenced enough by the fact that no other religions are on this list, then by the fact that you’ve had a parade of Christian supremacists at this podium openly stating that they believe their faith system is superior, supporting this list. This is not providing historical and cultural context. And to act like it is insulting to the intelligence of everyone here. Especially considering we’re talking about a religion that has done its best to erase history and wipe out other cultures in the places that they’ve colonized. And in a day when Texas government has removed restrictions on teaching these stories as if they were fact, we had a whole series of Supreme Court cases on teaching your religion’s objectively wrong claims as if they were equal to empirically verified facts and not once could Bible-thumpers provide any evidence better than magic.
The Earth is 4.5 billion years old, not 6000. Humans are not descended from a dirt man and a rib. There was never a global flood. And a person cannot survive in the belly of a whale for three days. I know that some of y’all are desperate to pull fact down to the level of religion by pretending evidence-based science is a religious idea. But like it or not, these are things that we can actually study and test and provide evidence for. Critical thinking, investigation, and the scientific method, encourage curiosity and learning. Whereas the Christian religion is happy to end any investigation with “accept God did it or burn for eternity”. This dogmatic sinking has led to centuries of hatred, genocide, and support for slavery. And to indoctrinate children into it is a direct harm.
What was even more interesting to me, though, is that a female Baptist pastor (Rev. Mara Bim) from Dallas also stood up and excoriated the Board:
After repeatedly speaking before you all in opposition to the Bluebonnet curriculum almost 2 years ago, I know too well some of y’all‘s really bad theology. I don’t trust any of you with my child’s religious education any more than some of you would trust me with yours because I’m a female pastor, and you are part of a faith community that says women should be silent in church.
Public schools are not Sunday schools. I do not want my child learning Bible stories from her teachers…Stop trying to force this warped un-Biblical version of Christianity on captive school children.
Now, my bias is showing here. I agree with these two people. I think it’s gross and arrogant to teach the Bible as if it’s fact (it’s not) and teach the lessons from Bible as if they are the only sense of moral judgment in the world.
Several days later, I heard David Plotz on April 9th’s episode of Slate’s Political Gabfest, where he said this on the matter:
So obviously, it is the other complaints are that there are no books from other religious traditions. Also, this curriculum would diminish the number of black and Hispanic writers. And also very much lean heavily into a kind of patriotic and uncritical view of American history. All the things that you’ve heard coming out of the Trump administration broadly and out of conservatives.
I think liberals become deeply annoying when they make a big deal out of this. The Bible is the most foundational work of literature for this country and ironically, even though because it wasn’t written in English, it is the most foundational work of English language literature. And the stories that would be taught in Texas are profoundly important as literature and morality. And when you act like America doesn’t have like this incredibly strong Christian tradition that shapes, yes, it is a religious tradition, but is a tradition that entirely shapes how the nation comes to be, exists, thrives, like what it is that that almost everyone has experienced in their lives. You sound kind of loo-loo.
It doesn’t mean that there aren’t key elements of other traditions in American culture, like (Emily, you and I) we are Jewish, there’s a stream of Jewish culture in America, and Islam, and Buddhism. But it is just a fact the overwhelming majority of Americans, for almost all of American history, have come out of a Christian tradition guided by the stories, language and stories, of the Bible as the foundational text. And of course kids should know what’s in it. And of course it should be taught. And of course we should talk about the moral lessons. I completely agree with the Christian conservatives on this. This is cultural literacy in America. And to discount it, and kind of to keep kids away from it, I think it’s stupid.
And I understand there will be an evangelical element to this. I absolutely understand that an evangelical element of the Bible is gonna be shoved down the throats of a lot of kids in Texas who are not Christian or who do not subscribe to it, I get that. That is gonna be an element. But I also think it is really important for the cultural literacy of everyone in this country to understand what the Bible is, what is has contributed, and how those stories (in fact) shape the thinking of the people who made the country and the thinking of the people who lead the country today. And I just don’t have any problem with it at all.
My jaw had dropped listening to that. To hear a Jewish man say that was…surprising. Now, later you learn that David was also schooled in a Christian-focused primary school. And let’s face it, Judaism and Christianity are not that far apart. But let’s imagine he was a Buddhist? Mormon? Hindu? Would he say the same thing? I don’t know.
The point is it made me zoom out a bit and think about what I think on this topic. And what I think is actually fairly simple in the context of the current structure of schools and their curriculum. Why can’t we just have a religious studies class?
Think about it. This class would involve teaching the modern (major) religions. It would incorporate their history, their values, what countries and cultures it has inspired, and give each of them a place in the world as compared to the other religions. When Christianity is taught, the “cultural literacy” aspect that David spoke about is ready and waiting. It will even allow the teaching of the Bible itself (in its proper context).
And with that class in place, history and social studies classes could be focused on, oh I don’t know, facts.
I still believe that the teaching of, and kids learning about, Christianity is perfectly fine and valid, if not needed. What I want is for it to be taught in the context of other religions. To say that these other religions are also valid and that Christianity is not the answer to the world’s political and moral problems. They may be for you, but you are not the only person in this world. My viewpoint matters, too. As does your neighbor’s. As does my neighbors’.
Rabbi Josh Fixler was also at the school board meeting (again, from the CBS News article), and said this:
There is a difference between teaching about religion and teaching religion, and this list will force teachers to cross that line.
Perfectly stated.
When the word inclusion is thrown around (more in the negative light these days), this is an example of that. Include the rest of these religions. Don’t sideline them or put them down. Don’t teach kids “Hinduism is not the way because it’s not Christianity”. Let kids (they are people, after all) decide what’s right for them. Let families raise their kids in whatever religion they see fit. It should never be the school’s (or the state’s) mandate that this religion is any better or worse than that religion.
(Look at me, the atheist, advocating for the teaching of more religion. How inclusive of me!)
