The Rise of the Religious Right in the Republican Party


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Schools and Homophobia


"Children in the Christian schools of America are the Army that is going to take the future."
Joseph Morecraft, Christian educator, 1987

Last Update July, 2003

Christian schools and a strong home schooling movement have been central to the war on values. "We call for the abolition of the U.S. Department of Education" states the Texas GOP Platform, 2002, "and the prohibition of the transfer of any of its functions to any other federal agency."

The battle for control of public schools has been fought in the courts. During the past two decades, district court decisions required schools to remove books from shelves, mandate prayer, and teach creationism along with evolution. As these District Court victories were overturned in the higher courts, the strategy shifted.

Members of the Religious Right began getting themselves elected to local and state school boards. With a majority on the Texas State Board of Education, they have been able to decide which textbooks to purchase sending shock waves to publishing houses. As the second largest textbook market in the country, their motto is, "if it won't sell in Texas, they won't print it." The Kansas State Board of Education mandated that evolution be taken out of tests and standards. (That decision in the summer of 2000 was overturned in the higher courts.)

In the 1980's many court and legislative victories were overturned by higher courts that were upholding a separation of church and state. So the movement has been determined to gain control of the higher courts and remove the "wall" of separation between church and state. In Bush they have found an important ally in that endeavor.

Vouchers

The Religious Right won a major victory in June, 2002 when the Supreme Court decided school vouchers were constitutional. As a result, under the guise of "choice" for students, tax dollars can now pay for religious schools. Falwell says, "I hope to see the day when, as in the early days of our country, we don't have public schools. The churches will have taken them over again and Christians will be running them." America Can Be Saved, Jerry Falwell, 1979. This article from Church and State, February 2003, provides a thorough analysis and update of the impact of the Supreme Court decision. Click Here

While vouchers are supposed to give students a "choice," schools also have a "choice." Private schools have the right to not accept students for any number of reasons including race, religious background and learning disabilities.

Secular private schools will most likely become extremely competitive and difficult to gain admission to. Students labeled as "troublemakers" could end up rejected by all schools. This scenario adds up to a public school system, which is required to accept all students, gaining a percentage of difficult students, just as funds to work with those students is siphoned off into non-public schools. Church and State magazine has thoughtful articles on problems with school vouchers. Click Here An article by Rob Boston in the July/August issue of Church and State, 2003, "Washington State Scholarship Case At Supreme Court Could Rewrite Church-State Law In America." Click Here

On September 5, the House narrowly approved private school vouchers for poor Washington, D.C. students. The plan passed by a vote of 205 to 203. Click Here.

Ralph Naes and Nancy Keenan of People for the American Way, wrote about the school voucher experiment in Washington DC. "Republican leaders within Congress are once again trying to foist a voucher experiment on the District of Columbia, despite opposition from D.C. school board members and city residents." "Vouchers and the Hidden Agenda." Click Here.

Sex Education and Homosexuality

Programs in sex education have been of great concern to the Religious Right. Concerned Women for America offers their version of sex education: no sex before marriage, hands off one's own body, and homosexuality is a sin. Radio show host James Dobson of Focus on the Family was so upset with "homosexual propaganda" in the schools that, for the first time in twenty-five years of radio programming he is calling for his followers to pull their children out of the public schools.

The "homosexual propaganda" that Dobson is referring to is legislation in California that adds sexual orientation to a list of forms of discrimination that are banned in public schools. The legislation was designed to give schools new tools to combat bullying and harassment of gay students. This link provides a good, comprehensive article on the Religious Right and Homophobia by Jean Hardisty, founder of Political Research Associates. Click Here

On June 26, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Texas anti-sodomy laws are unconstitutional. On July 1, 2003, President Bush's comments at a press conference opposing gay marriage indicated that he was becoming open to a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

Secular Humanism

The battle in the public schools for the past two decades has been focused on secular humanism and evolution. Secular humanism is a catchword for all teaching that is not based on the Bible. According to Reverend Tim LaHaye, "Secular humanism is the greatest evil in the world today."

In a textbook written for fundamentalist Christian schools, America's Providential History, the authors ask us, "What was 'Biblical Scholarship' that formed the basis for all education in America for over two centuries? Simply stated, Biblical Scholarship is the ability to reason from Biblical principles and relate it to all of life. Not only did early American Christians reason from the Bible, but even non-Christians were trained in this manner and held to a Biblical worldview. This is quite the opposite of today, for both non-Christians and even many Christians view life from a man-centered, humanistic worldview."

"Briefly stated", according to America's Providential History, "the Principle Approach to education inculcates in individuals the ability to reason from the Bible to every aspect of life." In a court case in 1987, Judge Brevard Hand stated the same principal in his court opinion: "...this court must [also] purge from the classroom those things that serve to teach that salvation is through one's self rather than through a deity."

To purge secular humanism from the schools, Judge Hand ordered more than forty textbooks removed from shelves. He stated: "For purposes of the First Amendment, Secular Humanism is a religious belief system." Judge Hand's rulings were overturned in the higher courts, but with the kind of judges Bush is appointing to the higher courts, opinions such as those issued by Judge hand (he mandated school prayer in another opinion) may not be overturned in the future.

Among many other programs, Secular Humanism includes programs designed to enhance a student's self esteem. In addition, the Religious Right would ban programs that encourage self reflection such as the writing of autobiographies or engaging in small group discussions.

They oppose classes about international relations or global studies that support a one-world view. The Texas 2002 Republican Party Platform calls for the United States to rescind its membership in the United Nations, and remove the United Nations from U.S. soil.

Evolution

The battle to teach evolution has been going on for decades. In 1986 the State of Louisiana passed a law requiring creationism be given equal time with evolution. The Balanced Treatment Act, 1986, was overturned in the courts with Justice Scalia writing the dissenting opinion. In 1999 a State Board of Education Law in Kansas removing evolution from science tests and standards was also overturned. Efforts to remove evolution from tests or treat creationism equally are underway in several states. See report from People for the American Way. Click Here

This article from Salon.com, "A Textbook Case of Bad Science," Click Here, claims "Defenders of evolutionary theory in Texas say creation scientists are getting sneakier -- and more successful -- in getting their views into public school educational materials."

School Prayer

On Friday, February 7, 2003, the Department of Education issued a directive threatening that schools could lose federal funds if they don't comply with a mandate to allow students and teachers to pray outside the classrooms. The guidelines for the most part are not new. But what is new in these guidelines concerns student speech at school-sponsored functions such as assemblies or athletic events. Students may deliver religious (or anti-religious) speeches if selected by neutral, even-handed criteria, and if students retain control over the content of their expression. Also what's new is that the Department of Education will withold funds from any school that doesn't comply. An article from the Boston Globe discusses this new mandate. Click Here.

According to Barry Lynn, Executive Director of Americans United for a Separation of Church and State, "The Bush administration is clearly trying to push the envelope on behalf of prayer in public schools." Click Here Americans United is offering legal assistance to schools who want to challenge the mandate.

Two bills in the U.S. House of Representatives would enable teachers to lead prayers during classtime. One calls for a constitutional amendment that would overturn the 1962 U.S. Supreme Court ruling banning teacher-led school prayer in the classroom. Click Here.

For a history of the Istook bill calling for an amendment to allow school prayer Click Here.

On April 7, Secretary of Education, Roderick Paige wrote in the Baptist Press "all things equal, I would prefer to have a child in a school that has a strong appreciation for the values of the Christian community, where a child is taught to have a strong faith." The following link is Congressman George Miller's response to the Secretary of Education. Click Here

Gary North, a prolific writer for the Christian Reconstruction movement, stated frankly the ultimate goal of education in Christianity and Civilization, Spring, 1982: “So let us be blunt about it: we must use the doctrine of religious liberty to gain independence for Christian schools until we train up a generation of people who know that there is no religious neutrality, no neutral law, no neutral education, and no neutral civil government. Then they will get busy in constructing a Bible-based social, political and religious order which finally denies the religious liberty of the enemies of God. “

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