Do you think religious texts should be allowed in public school llibraries?
411677
if you want to put religious texts in schools you better make readily available all religious texts from all faiths and walks of life as to not discriminate.  I think if the school has the funds and means to keep a large section like that more power to them because its good for children to have access to material like this to better educate themselves.  If they had it then they could learn of other religions and cultures.  Ignorance is not bliss.  So if they had the means to educate themselves it would be all the better for every one.
180797
No there are some things that the parents should take responsibility for. Second it might be somewhat OK but I don't want people teaching my kids wrong morals. I think it's sad that parent can't sit down and talk to their kids. I don't want it cheapened by someone who doesn't have the same morals as me or the same beliefs.  Everything is being tainted now adays. They really need to stick with the education that will help them with college and getting the skills they need to go forward. There are also too many groups who would want to put there two cents in and I don't agree. You would have the heterosexual theme then the gay theme and everyone would want equal time given to their preferences. Lets stick to the basics of Reading Writting and arithmetic.
126372
Not exactly.  The school curricula are limited so as not to offend one group or another, because school boards don't like controversy--it isn't good for their continued employment.  A friend of mine who used to work for Holt, Rinehart & Winston talked every once in a while about everything they weren't allowed to put in the textbooks because someone in Kansas or somewhere might get upset--and since it's cheaper to publish one book for the whole country than it is to specialize them by state, the attitudes of people in one state can easily influence what goes into textbooks across the country.\n\nThis limits the amount of real education that takes place, which in turn can keep kids from being exposed to intelligent, reasoned debate.  This makes it harder for them to think clearly when they grow up, if they're not learning it at home.\n\nSo yes, history does appear to be badly taught in public schools, and part of it is intentional.  But I think the gullibility and mindless consumerism is a side effect, not the primary cause.
349441
Christianity is allowed in schools.  Any child can pray anytime and anywhere they want, as long as they don't disrupt class or otherwise break school rules.  What they cannot (and according the Thomas Jefferson and James Madison should not be allowed to do) is use their government funded public school to help establish their religion.  This is for the protection of both our Constitution and Bill of Rights as well as their religion.
406492
Putting aside whether it's legal, what would be the purpose of Bible classes in public schools?  Our education system is already struggling to teach basic literacy and math.  And there's no shortage of churches in the U.S.  So it does not seem like Bible classes would well serve the educational mission of public education.
297527
I'd love to say that the Parents and not the schools should be teaching ethics and morals, but alas, that's not a very dependable approach.  Children of all ages should be taught about tolerance for others, acceptance, kindness, duty and service (to anything: be it class, school, city, state, or country, they should be taught to contirbute to something other than themselves), intergrity and honesty (reardless of faith or lack of faith, all religions agree on this), and the legal rights and wrongs (regardless of whatever moral objections or not one may have- the law is the law).  Ethics and morals are best taught in the context of history and current afairs and should be an open dialouge, not a moral lesson to be preached from teh teacher's desk.  That's what religious services are for if one cooses to attend.
988692
It isn't.  Keeping religion out of schools promotes freedom of religion for *everyone*, of every religion and no religion.  It allows people to send their kids to school without worrying about whether they will be indoctrinated with religious beliefs that they don't agree with, presented as if they were facts.  That's why secular schooling is essential for everyone, religious and atheist alike.
309307
No.\n\nReligion should be taught by families and in churches, temples, mosques, etc. \n\nWhile I would like my children to have strong morals, faith and belief, I also want my children to have as much knowledge as possible. \n\nIn public schools, a comparative religions class is perfect (and necessary, I believe). Everyone should have a firm and accurate understanding of other religions (what they blieve, some traditions, explanations, how they are different and most imporantly how they are similar). Telling children which is religion is best or right, however, is not acceptable. Parents and Guardians have the right to raise their children as they see fit, but children also have the right to choose the religion they believe is best for them.\n\nWhat should be taught in public schools are things like reading, writing, arithmetic, history, language, philosophy, and science. Children go to school to gain knowledge (including knowledge of religion, for exmaple, in a comparative religions class), not to gain faith. I won't trust others to teach faith (and one cannot truly teach faith) to my children, and I don't think most people should. Not in a public school anyway.
131271
Yes. I also believe that there is a great deal of misconception in our world over what the bible says. Much of the bible is to be taken literally, however Jesus mostly spoke in parables. Figurative language was used frequently by the scribes and pharisees and thus a wonderful way for Jesus to address them,... in their own jargon. I think that we need to think about what the words meant in their own time and reflect that on todays time. The bible is meant for every man, every generation. \n\nI definetly believe prayer should be allowed in school. Christians are of Christ. We are to be in constant prayer. If we are not allowed to pray in our schools, we oppressed. Not surprisingly however. The bible tells us we will be.\n\nI think that religious symbols being placed in public places should not be deemed unconstitutional. This is a purely different issue that as of this day and age, we are still protected in this area by law of mans government. Maybe not for much longer....\n\nTolerant of other religions.... Depends on what you mean here exactly. If I am tolerant of people murdering unborn children..NO. If I am tolerant of the lies of gay rights activists telling our children that its okay and good and that God is okay with it and embraces it. NO. Jesus loves all even the adulterers and murderers. In fact the first person He revealed His deity to was the Samaritan woman who had five husbands and was living with a man whom she was not wed. He wants all to put away their sin. Like Him I must love all and encourage all to put away their sin.\n\nFree thinking. I consider myself one who derrives all thought from the character that I know of God throught the bible. That is my goal, however much I fail.\n\nFor your first Q?... here is a website that maybe will help you with the bible and statistics.   http://www.barna.org/FlexPage.aspx?Page=BarnaUpdateNarrow&BarnaUpdateID=194
455628
There are no good aspects to be argued that support requiring prayer in schools. Schools are public property supported by all taxpayers, and should not be used to proselytize or promote any religion.\n\nIt sounds like your report is supposed to be based on propaganda, not facts.\n\nAnd, if that's the case, make up whatever lies you want since facts aren't of any concern.
755436
Religion should only EVER be allowed in schools when ALL religions are being taught to ALL students.  Then perhaps people may understand another's point of view a little more readily.  Other than that, it's outright OFFENSIVE to force one religion onto all children in school.  This should never, ever happen in a "cilvilized" society...it's outrageous.
802287
No. Children should go to secular schools. Sunday school should be at the discretion of the parent. The state should favor not one religion over any other, and perhaps frown on religion itself if one of the parents is not religious.\n\nIn cases of divorce, the court should choose whoever the best parent is objectively, without preference to gender, religion, or any other discriminatory category.
530032
YES!! There needs to be prayer in schools! This is the FIRST generation growing up without prayer in schools and the removal of God from everything, look how it is turning out!\n\nThere is NO SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!\nthe only thing Jefferson was saying was the Government cannot impede on Church dealings or establish a religion or prohibit free exercise of religion, read the letter pple instead of jumping on a stupid band wagon not knowing anything about it!!!!!!!!! instead of using the Internet for dulling your mind use it for research now and again! read a book now and again pple.
981386
I think that books like the one you are talking about should be in public libraries where parents can check them out to read together with their child when the time is appropriate. It's better than banning them outright.  \nI'm coming at this question as a former librarian and a parent of two sons.  I get upset when some people want books banned just because they object to the content.  I believe that they have the right not to read the book or tell their children not to read the book, but not to keep others from having access.  In reality, many animals are homosexual, a fact that has been downplayed if not actually hidden by those in control of education.(See article in source.) If more children knew that things like that happen for real, maybe fewer of our young people would ruin thier lives instead of thinking they can never tell their parents if they happen to be gay.\n I believe in telling children the truth when they ask about a certain situation.  If they know enough to ask, they are old enough to understand a simplified version.  The first time my children asked about where babies came from, I told them the truth without graphic details.  As they grew up, I explained it to them more fully and bought them reference books to make sure they had the truth and not just what they heard from their friends.    Maybe if parents didn't condemn things out of hand, maybe their children would actually talk to them instead hiding everything.  I actually knew people who killed themselves rather than let their parents know they were gay and both of their parents were upset that their children hadn't felt they could confide their secret.
1001567
well, really, we should. we have it at my school. however, i think it's a combination of two things. the first is schools wanting to let parents decide what sort of information to give (or not give) their children on the subject. otherwise it's just the kind of people who think that it's better to tell your kids to abstain than give them condoms because you're just "asking for it".
1117780
Public school is not the place for God & religion to be taught or even presented.  How would the decision be made regarding exactly which religion should be presented?  It would be impossible to represent every religion in our country in our schools.  If you are going to do that, it would only be fair to represent athiests as well.  Think of it this way, would a Catholic family be happy if their childred are being taught Jewish beliefs and vice-versa?\n\nThere are alternatives for people who choose to have their children educated in a religious setting.  If that is something that is important to people they should use those options as opposed to trying to force their beliefs on people who do not share them.
783483
I guess so. Each individual author is free to write what he believes and shouldn't need permission from his religious headquarters.\nAre you referring to a particular book?\nIn a previous question of yours I referred to certain catholic books. I should have specified books used for worship.  I'm a little too lazy to go into heavy stuff by individual authors, lol.