Should We Allow The Lord’s Prayer In Our Schools?
- jim Young 20080307/20200121
“Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.” -George Carlin
You’ve seen them. Emails abound that complain about taking the Lord’s Prayer out of our schools.
This is often done under the guise that we seem to be letting the minorities dictate our new policies.
One remedy seems to be to allow the students of different religious faiths to leave the room while Christian religious prayers are being held.
I remember when I was in High School we had a Jehovah’s Witness that was excused from the classroom for morning exercises each day while the rest of the class stood for O’ Canada and then recited the Lord’s Prayer. I felt sorry for her. I can only imagine the embarrassment that she must have endured having been singled out so. Isn’t this segregation? Is this what we really want for our children?
I didn’t agree with her religious beliefs at the time – but I always held a great degree of respect for this young lady for having the courage to not compromise her religious beliefs. Wasn’t it Voltaire who once said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”?
And in Canada today, if those of non-Christian faiths were excused from the classroom while the Lord’s Prayer was being recited, you might be surprised to see a mass exodus of the classroom while the halls were filled to capacity.
It’s very possible that in fact, Christians are the minority now.
And I don’t understand why Christians feel so threatened about these changes in the first place. Do they really think that removing The Lord's Prayer from the schools will remove their god from their hearts? Seems to me that they can’t be very secure in either their god OR their faith.
I have never agreed with the Separate School System. Catholics are permitted to have their school tax contributions diverted to support what is essentially a private school system for - Catholics.
A Canadian Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu that wants their child to attend a “separate” school of their faith is not afforded the same privilege. They must cover the full costs from their own resources while their school tax contribution still goes to either the public or separate school system.
Doesn’t it just seem fair that everyone should be permitted to have their portion of school taxes diverted to the private school of their choice, be it a religious or any other private school? And if this cannot be accommodated then ALL school taxes should go to a single public school system that is offered to all Canadians regardless of their religious or economic background.
But in the meantime, here’s a solution for the Christians that complain that god has been taken out of the schools. Send your children to a Catholic School. After all – the Catholics are Christians too, aren’t they? They can’t be all that bad.
Jeez – if the Christians can’t even work out their own differences and get along any better than that, what hope then, do we have for a united country that is respectful and tolerant of all cultures that make up what should be this great country we call Canada?
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“Religion is like a pair of shoes.....Find one that fits for you, but don't make me wear your shoes.” -George Carlin
This is often done under the guise that we seem to be letting the minorities dictate our new policies.
One remedy seems to be to allow the students of different religious faiths to leave the room while Christian religious prayers are being held.
I remember when I was in High School we had a Jehovah’s Witness that was excused from the classroom for morning exercises each day while the rest of the class stood for O’ Canada and then recited the Lord’s Prayer. I felt sorry for her. I can only imagine the embarrassment that she must have endured having been singled out so. Isn’t this segregation? Is this what we really want for our children?
I didn’t agree with her religious beliefs at the time – but I always held a great degree of respect for this young lady for having the courage to not compromise her religious beliefs. Wasn’t it Voltaire who once said, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”?
And in Canada today, if those of non-Christian faiths were excused from the classroom while the Lord’s Prayer was being recited, you might be surprised to see a mass exodus of the classroom while the halls were filled to capacity.
It’s very possible that in fact, Christians are the minority now.
And I don’t understand why Christians feel so threatened about these changes in the first place. Do they really think that removing The Lord's Prayer from the schools will remove their god from their hearts? Seems to me that they can’t be very secure in either their god OR their faith.
I have never agreed with the Separate School System. Catholics are permitted to have their school tax contributions diverted to support what is essentially a private school system for - Catholics.
A Canadian Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu that wants their child to attend a “separate” school of their faith is not afforded the same privilege. They must cover the full costs from their own resources while their school tax contribution still goes to either the public or separate school system.
Doesn’t it just seem fair that everyone should be permitted to have their portion of school taxes diverted to the private school of their choice, be it a religious or any other private school? And if this cannot be accommodated then ALL school taxes should go to a single public school system that is offered to all Canadians regardless of their religious or economic background.
But in the meantime, here’s a solution for the Christians that complain that god has been taken out of the schools. Send your children to a Catholic School. After all – the Catholics are Christians too, aren’t they? They can’t be all that bad.
Jeez – if the Christians can’t even work out their own differences and get along any better than that, what hope then, do we have for a united country that is respectful and tolerant of all cultures that make up what should be this great country we call Canada?
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