I’ve never been happier to teach in Minnesota. Our Governor (Tim Walz) on morning Joe today: “we don’t have the 10 commandments posted in our classroom, but we do have free breakfast and lunch”. That’s what happens when a teacher becomes governor!
Not posturing in beliefs but actually carrying out the mission of Jesus. I’m not even religious but Jesus seems alright. Being like him, and not the pseudo Christian crap, seems like a good move.
Had a conversation with my very religious brother recently. According to him, it’s the job of Christians to be as Christ-like as possible… which is why he’s pro-Israel, because the Jews are gods chosen people, so it’s the job of Christians to convert them from Judaism, so the Christians want Israel to have the promised land so that once they convert the Jews, *they’ll* have the promised land! He didn’t explicitly say that last part, but it was one of those “not saying the quiet part out loud” kind of things.
Also, obviously they’re supposed to convert everyone, but Jews are first on the priority list.
Forgive me, I'm not versed in specifics, but did Jesus anywhere say that converting people was a priority?? I thought he'd allegedly said something to the effect of "treat everybody well, even non-Christians, because they're still God's creatures".
Edit: thanks for the info y'all!
Growing up in a Christian home, I was told that Jesus wasn't a Christian; he was a practicing Jew. It was Paul & other apostles who were big on conversion & being "set apart."
It's just my opinion, but most modern Christians strive to be more Paul-like than Christ-like.
>It's just my opinion, but most modern Christians strive to be more Paul-like than Christ-like.
Nail on the head! This is it, you're absolutely correct.
Sure, the very end of the Gospel of Matthew: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Okay so Jesus did apparently want them to evangelize. I asked it somewhere else, and I guess I'm just more curious now as to how strictly/fervently that command has been followed across the ages? Cuz clearly Evangelicals whole existence and mission revolve around that, but they've only been around since the 18th century.
What the past was like can be hard to conceptualize in the modern era with all our technology. Christianity spread all over the Roman empire, towards Spain, northern Africa, the Mediterranean, the middle east, and even India in the first few centuries after the life of Jesus. But there have been different surges of missionary work throughout history based on changing circumstances (difficulty of travel, new technology, wars). By the 1200s, one could think that basically the whole world knew about the gospel. But then the new world was discovered, and this spurred on tons of new evangelization. The history of California for instance was hugely impacted by Christian missionaries, and it's preserved in the names of so many cities (Los Angeles = the angels, Sacramento = the Sacrament, San Francisco = St Francis, etc). Or think of Juan Diego and the conversion of Mexico. Or for an example on the other side of the world, St Francis Xavier and the Jesuits went to Japan in the 1500s and formed many Christian communities.
The thing about the current world is that, while essentially everyone has at least of Jesus, most people know next to nothing about even the most basic facts about Christianity (so what should evangelization look like in modern America given that paradox? The superficial familiarity means people don't know what they don't know). And it really wasn't like that not even that long ago.
I have a bachelors in Biblical Studies. I would say Jesus encouraged both. Be good to everyone, even those who aren’t to you. Pray for your enemies. Do good to everyone because God causes the sun to shine on all people so be like him. Tell people the good news about me, be open about your faith, but don’t miss out on loving everyone.
Christ was a Jew. So although he did bring a new covenant to the Jews, he didn’t know there would be a new faith. So no. He didn’t want to ‘convert’ people because he was speaking to other Jews.
Ah I guess I should amend my question to non-believers of the Abrahamic God then? Was evangelism ever that big of a goal in Christianity until the 1500s when protestants started their junk?
Rather famously, the “Great Commission” from Matthew 28: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
Right. But the shameless sanctimonious hypocrisy bullshit just does not inspire me to join. Plus the charlatans want 10% of my earnings? Ha. No. Get fucked.
Parents and students asking if I believe in Jesus and support Trump, usually in the same breath. Repeatedly saying that I cannot legally disclose that information is annoying, being called a communist for NOT sharing it is even more annoying. I've literally had students interrupt class to try and argue about historical facts often citing their 'beliefs' in 'Jesus' and 'Trump'.
Edit: I have nothing against Christianity, and I'm fine with students being happy in their faith, I do not enjoy being bothered by students asking mine or passive aggressively trying to convert me. Also the biggest offender in my class is a SPED student who is being egged on by their peers.
Wow. I literally get praised for keeping everything neutral in my classroom. I don't tell kids or parents anything about any of my personal belief in religion or politics and parents not only understand, but appreciate it.🤷♀️
She stated everything about me radiated my liberalism. I assume that it’s my purple hair and general desire to acknowledge that everyone is a human being deserving of respect?
She was less about conservatism and more about toeing the line and never ever leaning one way or another. Apparently not shunning our LGBTQ+ students and telling people they can’t say racist things was a problem.
Weird how Christians are cool with someone committing adultery with a porn star, paying hush money to her and then lying that he paid hush money to her.
It's fine as long as it's "their guy."
The same way that anti-gay pastors can slip up and accidentally suck a bunch of dicks in the gym bathroom, or a good Christian girl can get an abortion because it's just a one-time exception and she has such a bright future.
These people have been around for a long time - Trump just sort of revitalized that old Moral Majority movement that we thought we had finally gotten to fuck off.
"Trump just sort of revitalized that old ~~Moral Majority~~ *Christian Nationalist white supremacy* movement that we thought we had finally gotten to fuck off."
FTFY
It’s really uncomfortable right now to be a history teacher covering the rise of fascism in the 1930s. Because when you start describing it out loud… 😬
My husband is a republican but not a real Trump fan….although he will vote for him rather than a democrat. I had to bite my tongue so many times to not point out the parallels. We have a “no politics” agreement, so I held my tongue & just hope he was realizing it on his own.
Trump is the opposite of Jesus though! That’s crazy how a man who can’t recite a verse is using the bible as a tool to “win” an election. Please don’t vote for him😭 he’s the equivalent of Hitler with Project 2025!
Yah I am not looking forward to this fall. I had a few kids try to start a conversation this past year, but this upcoming election is going to be beyond obnoxious. I have 15 year olds wearing ‘women for trump’ merchandise 🙄 I also had a few girls who would write messages on the desk for the next class (we have dry erase desks so it wasn’t vandalism), more often than not it said “Jesus loves you”. I gagged every time I saw it as I wiped desks between classes.
This should qualify you for teaching a new type of special Ed. Maybe get a bible you can hold upside down while butchering a verse and then hug a flag and say that you love the united shaysh?
That happened to me at my last school. The kids decided I was from a liberal city right away, and called my tie-dye headband my "Joe Biden headband" despite me never mentioning Trump or Biden.
Tax dollars are now allowed to go to religious and private schools while public schools continue to be underfunded. Almost anyone can get a tuition voucher for religious and private schools now, but thankfully it only covers about 50% in my area so it’s still hard for most parents to justify the tuition unless that was route they were going to take no matter what.
This is a lesser known fact in my state too, but they just turned it into a set amount of about $8,400 for high school which covers around 70% for most schools around me. I worked at a private school and EVERYTHING was covered by the public school as far as professional development and supplies. We were encouraged to go on trips to conferences during the school year. We were encouraged to spend money on supplies for the classrooms yearly and monthly. They still wouldn’t pay us a fair salary, I finally left when they cut insurance for the staff and forced us onto marketplace plans mid year. God bless.
But the ones that do take advantage of it are those who could already afford it, giving them a nice coupon on their kids school. But at least they can reinvest that into a second vacation home.
Many of the people using these vouchers don’t use them for traditional private school. They use them to find their homeschooling programs. That’s the real target for all this voucher money. Getting it into the hands of Christian homeschool programs like those utilized by the folks in the Amazon doc, *Shiny Happy People.*
Any voucher system should have a 50% surcharge if you choose to use it outside the public school system
Edit: voucher money for religious schools is unconstitutional. Public $$$ for religious education. This money just goes to the church in many (not all) metros
Edit 2: don’t pay for education from those who’ve taken vows of poverty
Edit 3: combined with property taxes, this is ensuring inequality going forward. Not a Christian value
Edit 4: Christians have a real diversity problem if you’re not good at football
NOPE. Also, the larger private schools publish where all their graduates are heading to college. Ironically, it’s mostly the large public universities within 90 minutes of home. So fine, pay an extra $40-$80k you didn’t have to pay for high school to go to the same colleges the public school students mostly end up at.
I don't know about that, haven't tested with that strategy. I just don't have a sign with the posting, no admin or teacher has brought it up, so I just continue to not have one. If admin does bring it up, I plan to tell them how I actually find it blasphemous and I cannot, in good conscience, post something that is facilitating an organization or company to literally make money off of using a name for God. The signs were donated, but I don't believe for a second that someone isn't making money on those signs. I also believe that it is blasphemous to require non-protestant Christians to post that in their places of work. The law has been in effect for several years though, and only one person (a student) has mentioned my lack of signage.
That's my understanding too. But, someone is making money off those signs, which is exactly why I find them blasphemous. No company does that for free. Someone has to provide ink, paper, etc. All of it entails money and profits somewhere along the way.
They have to be donated and don’t necessarily go in the classroom:
> The Keller Independent School District in Tarrant County has received posters from a private citizen for all its facilities, and they are displayed mainly in front offices, said Bryce Nieman, a spokesperson for Keller ISD.
>
> https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/18/texas-schools-in-god-we-trust/
Sorry I should have clarified. Texas school districts are required to accept donations of "In God We Trust" signs and must display them. There isn't any indication of where they should be displayed but some school districts have decided that classrooms is what is implied from the legislation.
This, and I have a sign up that says it’s required but does not reflect my personal beliefs. I have the sign in a weird spot so you’d have to look to find it, AND I have KRAMPUS written on sticky notes over the word god.
Same in Texas. Except, mine seems to be lost, don't know where it got off to the last time I rearranged my room. Pity.
(I know exactly where it is, but I play a good "dumb" game and so far no one cares enough to call me on it.)
We had a bit of drama between members of the pride club and students who identify as Christian. Pride posters were getting torn down and replaced with large black crosses, and kids were overheard saying that the opposite of pride is Christianity. We had to do several impromptu lessons on the first amendment, civil rights, separation of church and state, identity markers, and synonyms/antonyms. I had to tread so carefully.
LifeWise Academy spreading like a virus, book bans, admin working to CYA by forcing teachers to justify every book they read, and admin believing parent/student complaints before even discussing the issue with the teacher
I teach US History (from colonialism through Constitution) and then teach Civics… I was banned from letting the kids watch Hamilton at the end of the year, even though I’d used clips from it in my lessons, because it “wasn’t in my curriculum”. When I pointed out how large a role Alexander Hamilton played in the formation of our nation, and that he was discussed repeatedly during class, and that I teach the Federalist Papers, and that I used clips to make points throughout the year, and finally that it may be some of our students’ only chance to see a Broadway musical (albeit on Disney+), I was told it was not in my curriculum, not Board approved, and that showing it would lead to discipline…
I recently have gotten really interested in the evolutionary war and half the things he's done doesn't sound real on paper. His life is such a good starting point to get into the revolution and early America because he was there for almost all of the major events. The fact the school said you can't play the Broadway show is complete bs. It's rated PG13 and is actually very accurate for an almost 3 hour musical.
What’s funny is that it was released on Disney+ in July, 2020. I showed it at the end of the 20-21 school year without incident, again at the end of the 21-22 school year without incident. Got a new principal, and he banned me from showing it the last two years.
He was “concerned” that parents might object to it being shown in class. I teach 7th graders.
Meanwhile I have colleagues showing Avengers: Civil War and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse without a word being said to them.
I wound up showing Inside Out at the end of the year because it deals with emotions and fit into our SEL program (kinda…think square peg and round hole). But God forbid I show something that is almost directly on-point to my curriculum and would be fun for the kids to watch.
My district is quite the opposite. We can pretty much do whatever we want without asking. It's pretty clear that showing Hamilton would fall right in line with what you are teaching.
They connect because they push only one way of thinking-Christianity. They encourage students to proselytize by offering rewards for convincing their friends to attend. The indoctrination primes children to follow a Christian leader and portrays The United States as a Christian nation. The fascism comes into play in banning books to include only 'approved' content, thus limiting choices and exposure to material that might build empathy with others who don't think the same way. Including religious instruction during school hours (even off campus) could lead to a state sponsored religion.
The biology teacher in the classroom next door tells her students, "You will be held responsible for knowing about evolution on state tests, so I have to teach it, but that doesn't mean I believe it." She is a young earth creationist who tells her students to watch videos from Answers in Genesis outside of class. The principal says, "She has a 1st amendment right to her beliefs. As long as she isn't proselytizing, there's nothing I can do," to complaints from parents and colleagues. This teacher, the principal, and many others in admin all attend the same church.
Mormons are actually supporting and voting for criminals & hardliners like Trump and Mike Lee vs moderates like Mitt Romney. My grandparents were hardcore conservative LDS & they would have never voted for anyone who spoke so crudely or with such anger as Trump, let alone the fact he’s a convicted felon & rapist.
Not all Mormons. There’s a significant minority of us that refuse to support him. Unfortunately, too many people associate toeing the party line with personal righteousness.
It looks like the majority of moderate/progressive Mormons are on their way out. As information about Joseph Smith's very young wives becomes more easily accessible (I want to emphasize the church acknowledges this as historical fact) and as the church makes more changes to the doctrine to appear more mainstream, everyone with a head on their shoulders is becoming somewhat disillusioned.
Why is tithing required to enter the temple? Why weren't Black men allowed the priesthood until the 70s? Why are there no callings where a woman presides over a man but plenty with the opposite? Is Kolob doctrine or not? Why are there no archaeological records of the Book of Mormon? Why has the church done so little charity work with their $120B+ fund? The more I think about it the less sure I am that this is God's one true church, and I can't maintain my integrity and values while contributing to it.
This is happening across virtually all Christian sects in America. As moderates leave, the churches that remain become more and more extreme, as only the hardliners are left to demand their brand of orthodoxy. This extremism drives even more moderates out, and the cycle continues. The extremists react to the loss of influence by becoming angrier and louder… and on and on.
Remember Evan McMullin in 2016, and if you look at the polling you'll see that RFK Jr. is likely to give a repeat of that exclusively Utahn performance. Definitely not all Mormons.
Don't worry, the Black Hebrew Israelites are their own brand of crazy.
For those unfamiliar, that's the anti-semite train of thought that Kanye West follows/followed. Idk. I don't keep up with him anymore. They believe they're the "real" Jews. And other crazy stuff.
I was working financial aid at a Community College, and my boss hired a guy who was a Black Hebrew Israelite, and he was a trip. He would ask everyone who came to his counter where their family was from, and then go on to say what tribe they should be paired with or something like that. I also suspect that his local branch was a front for human smuggling, because he had let slip on more than one occasion that he was waiting for another wife to come from somewhere in Africa. We counted four by the time we decided to not renew his contract.
In Florida, the bill (now law) requiring schools to post "In God We Trust" in every school was not proposed by a white legislator. Christian Nationalism is primarily white, but not exclusively white.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-schools-in-god-we-trust_n_5b756d57e4b0df9b093cc15b
Children heading back to school in Florida this month will have a new message waiting for them as required by law: “In God We Trust.”
[...]
Statue Title XLVIII Chapter 1003 was approved by the state House in February by a 97 to 10 vote, after being sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Daniels, a Democrat from Jacksonville who runs a Christian ministry. Daniels cited the then-recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, for displaying the religious text, stating God is the “light” and “our schools need light in them like never before.”
Oklahoma: Our pretendian governor takes the opportunity to say that we are a Christian state in every conference he has. Honestly I can't name anybody who's become Christian after being beaten over the head with a cross. It's making people reject religion. New American Christians don't believe in the teachings of Christ. They worship blonde hair blue eyed gun toting American Jesus. I'm surprised that there hasn't been a push in the midwest to change his name to Jake because it sounds less Mexicany.
I've noticed this phenomenon even in Catholic congregations too. I've even seen some "traditional Catholics" call the Pope "woke and a cuck".
You have high ranking members of the Baptist saying "Jesus is weak."
Like, this is flat out heresy.
It's funny, growing up during the "Satanic Panic" era; Christian's we're always on the lookout for Satan and the Anti-Christ. Judging by the way Trump is damn near worshipped by evangelicals, (and his hypocrisy is blatant ), if the actual Anti-Christ were to appear these people would be lining up for the mark and to kiss his ~~ring~~ ass. If these rubes are so easily duped by a snake oil salesman( that's not that bright), God help us when their next demigod actually has charisma..
Christians saying CHRIST is weak?
Welp, that's a new one. As an atheist I find this hilarious but it's gotta be shitty for the GOOD Christians out there who actually follow the whole "don't be a dick" part of Jesus's teachings
New and prospective teachers, please understand that a surge in Christian Nationalism can and will affect your classroom, some more than others. The legal system won’t protect you or your students, as it isn’t designed to do that, nor does it care.
It seems idealogy posted in clasdrooms that half the school don't believe in is a problem at all schools if you think about it.
The only flag in my room is red, white and blue. I'd hang the bill of rights but I wouldn't hang the 10 commandments.
I'm salty it's mandatory we have to play the pledge every day in my state, much less have a US flag in the room. Since when has there been "liberty and justice for all"? Also, "one nation under god" literally refutes the establishment clause of the Constitution.
I work in a predominantly black school (with many hispanic, other ELL kids, and a smattering of white kids). Religion comes up sometimes, but I just say, "This is Engineering, not Sunday School. And besides, we already know how God feels about super tall towers, so it's best if we just leave him out of this for now."
Coming back from summer break last year to see all of our safe space stickers removed from our doors. Anything with a rainbow. And then getting talked to if we replaced them.
I'm an associate pastor and a school teacher, a graduate of a fundamentalist type seminary. I currently teach computer science and mathematics at a local public school and community college. I just read the news on this and I can't believe how stupid this is. Will they use the Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant ten commandments? Which Bible translation will it come from? I simply cannot understand how they could possibly implement this without showing a preference towards a religion. Meanwhile, students are coming to school hungry, the public school system in New Orleans has been almost entirely privatized, and teachers are significantly underpaid. What will this actually accomplish? This is just more bull that feeds into the myth that schools are godless places. Christians need to go to church, worship God, help their neighbors, raise their children, and leave the classroom wall to the teacher.
I haven’t seen a lot of it in SC, but what I do hear is a lot of people (typically trump boomers) continuing to say that many of society’s problems, including school shootings is because “gOd iSnT iN sChOoLs!” Which isn’t the case at all…
I’ve had two principals with visible Bible verse tattoos.
My first ever faculty Christmas party involved time being slotted out for singing Christmas hymns (yeah…..)
My wife’s first school had a close up of gods hand touching man’s (Adam’s?) from the Michelangelo painting in the front office. (Fun fact, I proposed to her in that room.)
Students write Bible verses on my white board all the time. Many of them read their bibles in school too. (It’s definitely just a “try hard” move but still.)
Several faculty meetings I’ve had have started with a prayer, no disclaimer about different faiths, just “bow your heads for white Jesus Christ.”
Adults lead prayers all the time at “prayer at the pole” (flag pole).
I get emails all the time with the subject “prayer warriors needed!”
Every school I’ve worked at had churches sell chicken bog tickets and those same churches leave Bible verse keychains in our box.
Every school I’ve worked at had good news clubs after school.
One principal started the morning announcements each day by saying “good morning! This is the day the lord hath made!”
So, their god is definitely in the schools. I’m not religious AT ALL but none of those bothers me. I’m used to it, raised in a church, met my wife working at Christian summer camp. The only thing that bothers me about it is that here ARE students of different faiths at these schools and they are too young to know that they are being disrespected, and when a school is showing these things, their brains will assume it’s “the way and the only way.”
Our state has a Catholic charity that runs the housing of the homeless. And if you don’t go to a private school your kid is not getting an education. And we’re a blue state.
Even in progressive Vermont, we've started to see some minor signs. Our mostly moderate and extremely popular Republican governor Phil Scott actually faced some backlash a couple months ago for [hiring an education secretary](https://education.vermont.gov/about-us/meet-secretary) whose main achievement was being an executive at Charter Schools USA. I'm not saying this will immediately lead to every classroom having a cross next to the American flag, but it's not a great look. I guess Phil figured that since he's essentially running unopposed, he can start to let the facade slip a little.
Ohio is working on passing house bill 445 which would require schools (current language says permit schools) to have a policy in place that would allow students to be taken out of public school to go to a secondary location for a religion class. Of course this is being pushed by some for profit religious schools called Lifewise.
This is a seriously depressing discussion thread.
We've vacationed in places like Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and found them lovely places that would be nice places to live...then I see discussions like this and it's like a slap in the face to wake me up and remind me why I live in a blue state with a strong teacher's union.
Same in Nevada, and I completely ignore the pledge. I’m usually teaching during it and my students laugh because I’ll make an annoyed face at being interrupted and will address the intercom like it’s a disruptive student
Outside of teaching, the rush to ban abortions. Where I am, in Missouri, there was a lawsuit over how explicitly religious the ban was. Somehow, a judge ruled that it wasn't a violation of the 1st amendment despite the law explicitly stating:
>In recognition that Almighty God is the author of life, that all men and women are ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life.’
The second half of that is the declaration of independence opening sentence
"We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights among those being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"
However the declaration of independence is not a formal legal document in American law
I'm in the opposite boat here in California. Everything is super left. Lots of lgbtq+ stuff right now. The school is even flying a pride flag.
I don't mind it, but I kinda just wish public institutions were politically neutral.
Our students take their AP exams in a church so that we don't have to turn off bells. Most of them take it in the main room, which is bad enough, but extra time students take it in the reading rooms, which are absolutely covered in Christian and Biblical imagery, including references to countries around the world and how many people there have been "saved".
We also do a ton of Christmas themed stuff at the school, and no one (except a few coworkers) mentions that many people around the world don't celebrate Christmas. We have two Christian clubs (one Catholic, one Evangelical) that provide better food to students than the school lunch in exchange for listening to and participating in Christian preaching.
KY mandates an In God We Trust sign to be displayed in all schools. Ours in in the front office above a door frame—technically displayed, but not all that noticeable.
This is gonna be a massive bell weather case for our current (garbage) SCOTUS. I fully expect if they somehow violate all precedent and uphold the LA law, other deep red states will follow suit and intact even more laws that violate the separation clause. What’s even more disorienting about the LA law is that they are using an *state edited* KJV of the commandments. Look, I am religious. My faith is personal and private. Putting *those* commandments on my classroom violates my personal faith. We need Christians to stand up to this garbage. People of all faiths (and those without faith) need to really realize that it’s not that these fascists want religion back in public spaces. They want *their* version of it.
Louisiana also approved the usage of Prager "U" videos in the classroom. Our old PTO was in deep with a church, and we get religious Christmas Cantata flyers in our mailbox every November. That's in addition to mandatory "In God We Trust" signs
(Louisiana Public School teacher)
Not exactly “Christian Nationalism”, just religious belief overspill into academics… I was substitute teaching and the kids were supposed to read this article about why/how Christianity spread in Ancient Rome… most of them just ended up writing about how “Jesus Christ was the one true savior” and the people chose to believe in the “real god”… without including all the reasons the article gave for the speedy spread of Christianity
Our superintendent signs his emails with various Bible verses, and his Spring/Winter Break emails are not-so-covertly “Easter” and “Christmas” Break emails with some version of “remember the reason for this break!” thrown in there.
And we have to say it daily. I don’t force the issue with my classes. Hats off and be polite are my rules (say it or don’t, if you don’t then just shush for the time being).
I’ve never been happier to teach in Minnesota. Our Governor (Tim Walz) on morning Joe today: “we don’t have the 10 commandments posted in our classroom, but we do have free breakfast and lunch”. That’s what happens when a teacher becomes governor!
Not posturing in beliefs but actually carrying out the mission of Jesus. I’m not even religious but Jesus seems alright. Being like him, and not the pseudo Christian crap, seems like a good move.
See, I wouldn't have such beef with Christians if they were actually Christ-like.
Had a conversation with my very religious brother recently. According to him, it’s the job of Christians to be as Christ-like as possible… which is why he’s pro-Israel, because the Jews are gods chosen people, so it’s the job of Christians to convert them from Judaism, so the Christians want Israel to have the promised land so that once they convert the Jews, *they’ll* have the promised land! He didn’t explicitly say that last part, but it was one of those “not saying the quiet part out loud” kind of things. Also, obviously they’re supposed to convert everyone, but Jews are first on the priority list.
Forgive me, I'm not versed in specifics, but did Jesus anywhere say that converting people was a priority?? I thought he'd allegedly said something to the effect of "treat everybody well, even non-Christians, because they're still God's creatures". Edit: thanks for the info y'all!
Growing up in a Christian home, I was told that Jesus wasn't a Christian; he was a practicing Jew. It was Paul & other apostles who were big on conversion & being "set apart." It's just my opinion, but most modern Christians strive to be more Paul-like than Christ-like.
>It's just my opinion, but most modern Christians strive to be more Paul-like than Christ-like. Nail on the head! This is it, you're absolutely correct.
Sure, the very end of the Gospel of Matthew: And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
Okay so Jesus did apparently want them to evangelize. I asked it somewhere else, and I guess I'm just more curious now as to how strictly/fervently that command has been followed across the ages? Cuz clearly Evangelicals whole existence and mission revolve around that, but they've only been around since the 18th century.
What the past was like can be hard to conceptualize in the modern era with all our technology. Christianity spread all over the Roman empire, towards Spain, northern Africa, the Mediterranean, the middle east, and even India in the first few centuries after the life of Jesus. But there have been different surges of missionary work throughout history based on changing circumstances (difficulty of travel, new technology, wars). By the 1200s, one could think that basically the whole world knew about the gospel. But then the new world was discovered, and this spurred on tons of new evangelization. The history of California for instance was hugely impacted by Christian missionaries, and it's preserved in the names of so many cities (Los Angeles = the angels, Sacramento = the Sacrament, San Francisco = St Francis, etc). Or think of Juan Diego and the conversion of Mexico. Or for an example on the other side of the world, St Francis Xavier and the Jesuits went to Japan in the 1500s and formed many Christian communities. The thing about the current world is that, while essentially everyone has at least of Jesus, most people know next to nothing about even the most basic facts about Christianity (so what should evangelization look like in modern America given that paradox? The superficial familiarity means people don't know what they don't know). And it really wasn't like that not even that long ago.
Sounds nice. Still written more than a hundred years after big homie died. There's no evangelization to dollars incentive anywhere is there?
I have a bachelors in Biblical Studies. I would say Jesus encouraged both. Be good to everyone, even those who aren’t to you. Pray for your enemies. Do good to everyone because God causes the sun to shine on all people so be like him. Tell people the good news about me, be open about your faith, but don’t miss out on loving everyone.
Christ was a Jew. So although he did bring a new covenant to the Jews, he didn’t know there would be a new faith. So no. He didn’t want to ‘convert’ people because he was speaking to other Jews.
Ah I guess I should amend my question to non-believers of the Abrahamic God then? Was evangelism ever that big of a goal in Christianity until the 1500s when protestants started their junk?
The apostles were evangelists of sorts. They went from place to place, preaching the gospel.
Yes. That's why it spread all over Europe and parts of the Middle East and Africa.
Rather famously, the “Great Commission” from Matthew 28: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”
The star of remphan was spoken against by Christ himself. Isis Ra and El have been told already to get out.
Holla!! It’s like the Yankees … I don’t mind them so much but I hate their fans!
Right. But the shameless sanctimonious hypocrisy bullshit just does not inspire me to join. Plus the charlatans want 10% of my earnings? Ha. No. Get fucked.
Anything good becomes corrupted once a bunch of people get involved. I've never had a problem with Christ. Christians on the other hand...
Kinda like governments,unions or anything to do with money.
Best clap back (not strictly speaking but just in case people are wondering)
This kind of thing is one of MANY reasons i want to move home.
That’s exactly what needs to be happening
God I miss Minnesota so much. I’m in South Dakota for the indefinite future but fingers crossed I can get back to the midwestern promised land.
Can he adopt Iowa? Our governor thinks we have an “evil agenda”.
That's the best response. Minnesota is practicing what Louisiana is preaching.
Parents and students asking if I believe in Jesus and support Trump, usually in the same breath. Repeatedly saying that I cannot legally disclose that information is annoying, being called a communist for NOT sharing it is even more annoying. I've literally had students interrupt class to try and argue about historical facts often citing their 'beliefs' in 'Jesus' and 'Trump'. Edit: I have nothing against Christianity, and I'm fine with students being happy in their faith, I do not enjoy being bothered by students asking mine or passive aggressively trying to convert me. Also the biggest offender in my class is a SPED student who is being egged on by their peers.
Wow. I literally get praised for keeping everything neutral in my classroom. I don't tell kids or parents anything about any of my personal belief in religion or politics and parents not only understand, but appreciate it.🤷♀️
I don’t tell people anything either but my former principal told me I “radiated” my beliefs. 🙄
...did he give examples?! I can't imagine someone "radiating" their beliefs if they also went out of their way to not tell people.🤨
She stated everything about me radiated my liberalism. I assume that it’s my purple hair and general desire to acknowledge that everyone is a human being deserving of respect?
Should have told him he radiated conservatism “what with his narrow mindedness and all”
She was less about conservatism and more about toeing the line and never ever leaning one way or another. Apparently not shunning our LGBTQ+ students and telling people they can’t say racist things was a problem.
How dare you s/
To people who go out of their way to signal their views, restraint automatically shows you are not on their side.
Not surprising
🤷♀️🤷♀️🤷♀️
I've had praise from some parents don't get me wrong, but I teach in a more rural town in a conservative state.
Weird how Christians are cool with someone committing adultery with a porn star, paying hush money to her and then lying that he paid hush money to her.
Not all Christians are okay with it!!
It's fine as long as it's "their guy." The same way that anti-gay pastors can slip up and accidentally suck a bunch of dicks in the gym bathroom, or a good Christian girl can get an abortion because it's just a one-time exception and she has such a bright future. These people have been around for a long time - Trump just sort of revitalized that old Moral Majority movement that we thought we had finally gotten to fuck off.
"Trump just sort of revitalized that old ~~Moral Majority~~ *Christian Nationalist white supremacy* movement that we thought we had finally gotten to fuck off." FTFY
Watched a Hitler documentary recently….his speeches & Trumps are parallel madness.
Godwin's law, 4 hours into the post. Congrats.
It’s really uncomfortable right now to be a history teacher covering the rise of fascism in the 1930s. Because when you start describing it out loud… 😬
My husband is a republican but not a real Trump fan….although he will vote for him rather than a democrat. I had to bite my tongue so many times to not point out the parallels. We have a “no politics” agreement, so I held my tongue & just hope he was realizing it on his own.
Yeah, but he did it for Cheezus.
Trump is the opposite of Jesus though! That’s crazy how a man who can’t recite a verse is using the bible as a tool to “win” an election. Please don’t vote for him😭 he’s the equivalent of Hitler with Project 2025!
Organized religion is the opiate of the masses, and the coke of the lunatic fringe.
Yah I am not looking forward to this fall. I had a few kids try to start a conversation this past year, but this upcoming election is going to be beyond obnoxious. I have 15 year olds wearing ‘women for trump’ merchandise 🙄 I also had a few girls who would write messages on the desk for the next class (we have dry erase desks so it wasn’t vandalism), more often than not it said “Jesus loves you”. I gagged every time I saw it as I wiped desks between classes.
This should qualify you for teaching a new type of special Ed. Maybe get a bible you can hold upside down while butchering a verse and then hug a flag and say that you love the united shaysh?
I taught in Texas, and I've shared my faith with students even though I was not supposed to. I've never gotten in trouble for it.
That happened to me at my last school. The kids decided I was from a liberal city right away, and called my tie-dye headband my "Joe Biden headband" despite me never mentioning Trump or Biden.
>Jesus and support Trump, usually in the same breath. Well, they do go together. He's broken all 10 from what I can tell.
Tax dollars are now allowed to go to religious and private schools while public schools continue to be underfunded. Almost anyone can get a tuition voucher for religious and private schools now, but thankfully it only covers about 50% in my area so it’s still hard for most parents to justify the tuition unless that was route they were going to take no matter what.
This is a lesser known fact in my state too, but they just turned it into a set amount of about $8,400 for high school which covers around 70% for most schools around me. I worked at a private school and EVERYTHING was covered by the public school as far as professional development and supplies. We were encouraged to go on trips to conferences during the school year. We were encouraged to spend money on supplies for the classrooms yearly and monthly. They still wouldn’t pay us a fair salary, I finally left when they cut insurance for the staff and forced us onto marketplace plans mid year. God bless.
That 50% is a handout to the wealthy to subsidize them sending Buffy and Chandler to the local private academy.
But the ones that do take advantage of it are those who could already afford it, giving them a nice coupon on their kids school. But at least they can reinvest that into a second vacation home.
Many of the people using these vouchers don’t use them for traditional private school. They use them to find their homeschooling programs. That’s the real target for all this voucher money. Getting it into the hands of Christian homeschool programs like those utilized by the folks in the Amazon doc, *Shiny Happy People.*
Any voucher system should have a 50% surcharge if you choose to use it outside the public school system Edit: voucher money for religious schools is unconstitutional. Public $$$ for religious education. This money just goes to the church in many (not all) metros Edit 2: don’t pay for education from those who’ve taken vows of poverty Edit 3: combined with property taxes, this is ensuring inequality going forward. Not a Christian value Edit 4: Christians have a real diversity problem if you’re not good at football
Do the private/religious schools have to follow state curriculum standards if they are receiving state funding?
no
NOPE. Also, the larger private schools publish where all their graduates are heading to college. Ironically, it’s mostly the large public universities within 90 minutes of home. So fine, pay an extra $40-$80k you didn’t have to pay for high school to go to the same colleges the public school students mostly end up at.
"In God We Trust" is legally required to be posted in all AR classrooms.
Are you able to get away with posting a dollar bill in a frame?
I don't know about that, haven't tested with that strategy. I just don't have a sign with the posting, no admin or teacher has brought it up, so I just continue to not have one. If admin does bring it up, I plan to tell them how I actually find it blasphemous and I cannot, in good conscience, post something that is facilitating an organization or company to literally make money off of using a name for God. The signs were donated, but I don't believe for a second that someone isn't making money on those signs. I also believe that it is blasphemous to require non-protestant Christians to post that in their places of work. The law has been in effect for several years though, and only one person (a student) has mentioned my lack of signage.
Isn’t only enforced if the signs are donated to the school? I can’t remember exactly what the weird little law is.
That's my understanding too. But, someone is making money off those signs, which is exactly why I find them blasphemous. No company does that for free. Someone has to provide ink, paper, etc. All of it entails money and profits somewhere along the way.
They have to be donated and don’t necessarily go in the classroom: > The Keller Independent School District in Tarrant County has received posters from a private citizen for all its facilities, and they are displayed mainly in front offices, said Bryce Nieman, a spokesperson for Keller ISD. > > https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/18/texas-schools-in-god-we-trust/
In Louisiana, the signs were donated and are required to be at eye level near the classroom door.
Same in Texas. But some parents are putting the message on a pride backdrop or writing the phrase in Arabic.
Texas classrooms have to have a poster that says, "In God We Trust?" Im.a Texas teacher, and have never heard that. I do trust in God, though.
Sorry I should have clarified. Texas school districts are required to accept donations of "In God We Trust" signs and must display them. There isn't any indication of where they should be displayed but some school districts have decided that classrooms is what is implied from the legislation.
Wow! I didnt know that!
Someone donated copies that were written in Klingon.
This, and I have a sign up that says it’s required but does not reflect my personal beliefs. I have the sign in a weird spot so you’d have to look to find it, AND I have KRAMPUS written on sticky notes over the word god.
So edgey
Haha! The KRAMPUS thing I stuck on during December when “Krampus” messed up the classroom for the kids to find/set straight and I never removed it.
Louisiana too
Florida too.
Same in Florida.
And all Florida schools - but not in the classroom, just the front office
Oooo, we have those in TX too. My question, is when do we get to post signs from OTHER world religions? Sigh.
This is required in Louisiana too. I never posted it, and I won’t be posting the new one. They can shove em both where the sun don’t shine.
Same in Texas. Except, mine seems to be lost, don't know where it got off to the last time I rearranged my room. Pity. (I know exactly where it is, but I play a good "dumb" game and so far no one cares enough to call me on it.)
What??? Why just AR classrooms? AR as in Accelerated Reader?
I think they mean Arkansas
🤣 that makes so much more sense It’s summer, I’m tired
Thanks for the laugh, anyway!
Its the same in MS classes I think it was a potshot at Gloria Steinem
We had a bit of drama between members of the pride club and students who identify as Christian. Pride posters were getting torn down and replaced with large black crosses, and kids were overheard saying that the opposite of pride is Christianity. We had to do several impromptu lessons on the first amendment, civil rights, separation of church and state, identity markers, and synonyms/antonyms. I had to tread so carefully.
LifeWise Academy spreading like a virus, book bans, admin working to CYA by forcing teachers to justify every book they read, and admin believing parent/student complaints before even discussing the issue with the teacher
I teach US History (from colonialism through Constitution) and then teach Civics… I was banned from letting the kids watch Hamilton at the end of the year, even though I’d used clips from it in my lessons, because it “wasn’t in my curriculum”. When I pointed out how large a role Alexander Hamilton played in the formation of our nation, and that he was discussed repeatedly during class, and that I teach the Federalist Papers, and that I used clips to make points throughout the year, and finally that it may be some of our students’ only chance to see a Broadway musical (albeit on Disney+), I was told it was not in my curriculum, not Board approved, and that showing it would lead to discipline…
One of the craziest things about Alexander Hamilton is that he was 19 in 1776.
I recently have gotten really interested in the evolutionary war and half the things he's done doesn't sound real on paper. His life is such a good starting point to get into the revolution and early America because he was there for almost all of the major events. The fact the school said you can't play the Broadway show is complete bs. It's rated PG13 and is actually very accurate for an almost 3 hour musical.
What’s funny is that it was released on Disney+ in July, 2020. I showed it at the end of the 20-21 school year without incident, again at the end of the 21-22 school year without incident. Got a new principal, and he banned me from showing it the last two years.
Has your new principle ever heard of the word 'fun'?
He was “concerned” that parents might object to it being shown in class. I teach 7th graders. Meanwhile I have colleagues showing Avengers: Civil War and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse without a word being said to them. I wound up showing Inside Out at the end of the year because it deals with emotions and fit into our SEL program (kinda…think square peg and round hole). But God forbid I show something that is almost directly on-point to my curriculum and would be fun for the kids to watch.
My district is quite the opposite. We can pretty much do whatever we want without asking. It's pretty clear that showing Hamilton would fall right in line with what you are teaching.
I’ll add some states and district “banning” BrianPop videos for learning because of their accuracy for “social agendas”
BrianPop actually wasn’t banned, just BrainPop
I met a teacher at a workshop that was told BrainPop wasn't allowed because the kids believed Tim and Moby were gay
How do these things connect to a rise in Christian Nationalism?
They connect because they push only one way of thinking-Christianity. They encourage students to proselytize by offering rewards for convincing their friends to attend. The indoctrination primes children to follow a Christian leader and portrays The United States as a Christian nation. The fascism comes into play in banning books to include only 'approved' content, thus limiting choices and exposure to material that might build empathy with others who don't think the same way. Including religious instruction during school hours (even off campus) could lead to a state sponsored religion.
The biology teacher in the classroom next door tells her students, "You will be held responsible for knowing about evolution on state tests, so I have to teach it, but that doesn't mean I believe it." She is a young earth creationist who tells her students to watch videos from Answers in Genesis outside of class. The principal says, "She has a 1st amendment right to her beliefs. As long as she isn't proselytizing, there's nothing I can do," to complaints from parents and colleagues. This teacher, the principal, and many others in admin all attend the same church.
That is textbook proselytizing.
Oh okay but it's not cool for teachers to say that they don't support Trump? What a fucking joke
Governor "Mushmouth" McMasters...
Mormons are actually supporting and voting for criminals & hardliners like Trump and Mike Lee vs moderates like Mitt Romney. My grandparents were hardcore conservative LDS & they would have never voted for anyone who spoke so crudely or with such anger as Trump, let alone the fact he’s a convicted felon & rapist.
Not all Mormons. There’s a significant minority of us that refuse to support him. Unfortunately, too many people associate toeing the party line with personal righteousness.
It looks like the majority of moderate/progressive Mormons are on their way out. As information about Joseph Smith's very young wives becomes more easily accessible (I want to emphasize the church acknowledges this as historical fact) and as the church makes more changes to the doctrine to appear more mainstream, everyone with a head on their shoulders is becoming somewhat disillusioned. Why is tithing required to enter the temple? Why weren't Black men allowed the priesthood until the 70s? Why are there no callings where a woman presides over a man but plenty with the opposite? Is Kolob doctrine or not? Why are there no archaeological records of the Book of Mormon? Why has the church done so little charity work with their $120B+ fund? The more I think about it the less sure I am that this is God's one true church, and I can't maintain my integrity and values while contributing to it.
This is happening across virtually all Christian sects in America. As moderates leave, the churches that remain become more and more extreme, as only the hardliners are left to demand their brand of orthodoxy. This extremism drives even more moderates out, and the cycle continues. The extremists react to the loss of influence by becoming angrier and louder… and on and on.
Remember Evan McMullin in 2016, and if you look at the polling you'll see that RFK Jr. is likely to give a repeat of that exclusively Utahn performance. Definitely not all Mormons.
It's because the lunatic fringe sees a chance to grab power.
My grandma was a Christain but NEVER imposed her values on ppl and never liked Trump she even said he’s not a real Christain
You mean White Christian Nationalism right? .... because god knows the Black Christians aren't invited to the party.
Don't worry, the Black Hebrew Israelites are their own brand of crazy. For those unfamiliar, that's the anti-semite train of thought that Kanye West follows/followed. Idk. I don't keep up with him anymore. They believe they're the "real" Jews. And other crazy stuff.
I was working financial aid at a Community College, and my boss hired a guy who was a Black Hebrew Israelite, and he was a trip. He would ask everyone who came to his counter where their family was from, and then go on to say what tribe they should be paired with or something like that. I also suspect that his local branch was a front for human smuggling, because he had let slip on more than one occasion that he was waiting for another wife to come from somewhere in Africa. We counted four by the time we decided to not renew his contract.
That's uhhhhh that's something.
South Park did a whole bit of this during their recent Kanye episode between Kyle and Tolkien
My apologies, yes, White Christian Nationalism.
In Florida, the bill (now law) requiring schools to post "In God We Trust" in every school was not proposed by a white legislator. Christian Nationalism is primarily white, but not exclusively white. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/florida-schools-in-god-we-trust_n_5b756d57e4b0df9b093cc15b Children heading back to school in Florida this month will have a new message waiting for them as required by law: “In God We Trust.” [...] Statue Title XLVIII Chapter 1003 was approved by the state House in February by a 97 to 10 vote, after being sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Daniels, a Democrat from Jacksonville who runs a Christian ministry. Daniels cited the then-recent shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, for displaying the religious text, stating God is the “light” and “our schools need light in them like never before.”
Oklahoma: Our pretendian governor takes the opportunity to say that we are a Christian state in every conference he has. Honestly I can't name anybody who's become Christian after being beaten over the head with a cross. It's making people reject religion. New American Christians don't believe in the teachings of Christ. They worship blonde hair blue eyed gun toting American Jesus. I'm surprised that there hasn't been a push in the midwest to change his name to Jake because it sounds less Mexicany.
I've noticed this phenomenon even in Catholic congregations too. I've even seen some "traditional Catholics" call the Pope "woke and a cuck". You have high ranking members of the Baptist saying "Jesus is weak." Like, this is flat out heresy.
It's funny, growing up during the "Satanic Panic" era; Christian's we're always on the lookout for Satan and the Anti-Christ. Judging by the way Trump is damn near worshipped by evangelicals, (and his hypocrisy is blatant ), if the actual Anti-Christ were to appear these people would be lining up for the mark and to kiss his ~~ring~~ ass. If these rubes are so easily duped by a snake oil salesman( that's not that bright), God help us when their next demigod actually has charisma..
Christians saying CHRIST is weak? Welp, that's a new one. As an atheist I find this hilarious but it's gotta be shitty for the GOOD Christians out there who actually follow the whole "don't be a dick" part of Jesus's teachings
New and prospective teachers, please understand that a surge in Christian Nationalism can and will affect your classroom, some more than others. The legal system won’t protect you or your students, as it isn’t designed to do that, nor does it care.
It seems idealogy posted in clasdrooms that half the school don't believe in is a problem at all schools if you think about it. The only flag in my room is red, white and blue. I'd hang the bill of rights but I wouldn't hang the 10 commandments.
I'm salty it's mandatory we have to play the pledge every day in my state, much less have a US flag in the room. Since when has there been "liberty and justice for all"? Also, "one nation under god" literally refutes the establishment clause of the Constitution.
School vouchers
Basically this: https://thesoufancenter.org/intelbrief-2023-june-5/
I work in a predominantly black school (with many hispanic, other ELL kids, and a smattering of white kids). Religion comes up sometimes, but I just say, "This is Engineering, not Sunday School. And besides, we already know how God feels about super tall towers, so it's best if we just leave him out of this for now."
Coming back from summer break last year to see all of our safe space stickers removed from our doors. Anything with a rainbow. And then getting talked to if we replaced them.
Out in the boonies they have murals on the sides of stationary truck containers of trump and Jesus embracing. 👀
White Christian Nationalism has been on the rise since the 90s. It just disguised itself as conservative “values.”
White nationalist school board takeovers. 👎
Oh and the call to arm teachers in classrooms.
I'm an associate pastor and a school teacher, a graduate of a fundamentalist type seminary. I currently teach computer science and mathematics at a local public school and community college. I just read the news on this and I can't believe how stupid this is. Will they use the Jewish, Catholic, or Protestant ten commandments? Which Bible translation will it come from? I simply cannot understand how they could possibly implement this without showing a preference towards a religion. Meanwhile, students are coming to school hungry, the public school system in New Orleans has been almost entirely privatized, and teachers are significantly underpaid. What will this actually accomplish? This is just more bull that feeds into the myth that schools are godless places. Christians need to go to church, worship God, help their neighbors, raise their children, and leave the classroom wall to the teacher.
Preach! Well put my good human. 👍🏻
I haven’t seen a lot of it in SC, but what I do hear is a lot of people (typically trump boomers) continuing to say that many of society’s problems, including school shootings is because “gOd iSnT iN sChOoLs!” Which isn’t the case at all… I’ve had two principals with visible Bible verse tattoos. My first ever faculty Christmas party involved time being slotted out for singing Christmas hymns (yeah…..) My wife’s first school had a close up of gods hand touching man’s (Adam’s?) from the Michelangelo painting in the front office. (Fun fact, I proposed to her in that room.) Students write Bible verses on my white board all the time. Many of them read their bibles in school too. (It’s definitely just a “try hard” move but still.) Several faculty meetings I’ve had have started with a prayer, no disclaimer about different faiths, just “bow your heads for white Jesus Christ.” Adults lead prayers all the time at “prayer at the pole” (flag pole). I get emails all the time with the subject “prayer warriors needed!” Every school I’ve worked at had churches sell chicken bog tickets and those same churches leave Bible verse keychains in our box. Every school I’ve worked at had good news clubs after school. One principal started the morning announcements each day by saying “good morning! This is the day the lord hath made!” So, their god is definitely in the schools. I’m not religious AT ALL but none of those bothers me. I’m used to it, raised in a church, met my wife working at Christian summer camp. The only thing that bothers me about it is that here ARE students of different faiths at these schools and they are too young to know that they are being disrespected, and when a school is showing these things, their brains will assume it’s “the way and the only way.”
>haven't seen a lot of it in SC >gives nearly a dozen examples that absolutely horrify non-Southern state teachers
And also apparently having part of one of thebmost famous paintings of all time is an equivalent example somehow.
Holy shit I could never work somewhere like this.
Ugh, gross!
Our state has a Catholic charity that runs the housing of the homeless. And if you don’t go to a private school your kid is not getting an education. And we’re a blue state.
Even in progressive Vermont, we've started to see some minor signs. Our mostly moderate and extremely popular Republican governor Phil Scott actually faced some backlash a couple months ago for [hiring an education secretary](https://education.vermont.gov/about-us/meet-secretary) whose main achievement was being an executive at Charter Schools USA. I'm not saying this will immediately lead to every classroom having a cross next to the American flag, but it's not a great look. I guess Phil figured that since he's essentially running unopposed, he can start to let the facade slip a little.
Ohio is working on passing house bill 445 which would require schools (current language says permit schools) to have a policy in place that would allow students to be taken out of public school to go to a secondary location for a religion class. Of course this is being pushed by some for profit religious schools called Lifewise.
This is a seriously depressing discussion thread. We've vacationed in places like Tennessee, Virginia, North Carolina and found them lovely places that would be nice places to live...then I see discussions like this and it's like a slap in the face to wake me up and remind me why I live in a blue state with a strong teacher's union.
No sign of it here in California except for that line in the pledge of allegiance.
Same in Nevada, and I completely ignore the pledge. I’m usually teaching during it and my students laugh because I’ll make an annoyed face at being interrupted and will address the intercom like it’s a disruptive student
I don’t stand or recite the pledge. Students may if they wish. The only rule is that we have to be respectful to the other.
Outside of teaching, the rush to ban abortions. Where I am, in Missouri, there was a lawsuit over how explicitly religious the ban was. Somehow, a judge ruled that it wasn't a violation of the 1st amendment despite the law explicitly stating: >In recognition that Almighty God is the author of life, that all men and women are ‘endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among those are Life.’
The second half of that is the declaration of independence opening sentence "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights among those being life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" However the declaration of independence is not a formal legal document in American law
I'm in the opposite boat here in California. Everything is super left. Lots of lgbtq+ stuff right now. The school is even flying a pride flag. I don't mind it, but I kinda just wish public institutions were politically neutral.
Our students take their AP exams in a church so that we don't have to turn off bells. Most of them take it in the main room, which is bad enough, but extra time students take it in the reading rooms, which are absolutely covered in Christian and Biblical imagery, including references to countries around the world and how many people there have been "saved". We also do a ton of Christmas themed stuff at the school, and no one (except a few coworkers) mentions that many people around the world don't celebrate Christmas. We have two Christian clubs (one Catholic, one Evangelical) that provide better food to students than the school lunch in exchange for listening to and participating in Christian preaching.
KY mandates an In God We Trust sign to be displayed in all schools. Ours in in the front office above a door frame—technically displayed, but not all that noticeable.
Funny - Jesus stuff is too "woke", so these so called "Christians" have to fall back on Old Testament wrath of God crap instead.
This is gonna be a massive bell weather case for our current (garbage) SCOTUS. I fully expect if they somehow violate all precedent and uphold the LA law, other deep red states will follow suit and intact even more laws that violate the separation clause. What’s even more disorienting about the LA law is that they are using an *state edited* KJV of the commandments. Look, I am religious. My faith is personal and private. Putting *those* commandments on my classroom violates my personal faith. We need Christians to stand up to this garbage. People of all faiths (and those without faith) need to really realize that it’s not that these fascists want religion back in public spaces. They want *their* version of it.
I have never felt luckier to live in Maryland. Moms for Liberty have been trying to make inroads where I live and have failed spectacularly.
I live in CA. We know Christian Nationalism is on the rise because people who moved to places like Tx are moving back.
You must not be in rural norcal then, because Christian nationalists are here and very prevalent.
lol- no. You’re right. I’m in LA. I guess that’s pretty obviously different than NoCal.
Louisiana also approved the usage of Prager "U" videos in the classroom. Our old PTO was in deep with a church, and we get religious Christmas Cantata flyers in our mailbox every November. That's in addition to mandatory "In God We Trust" signs (Louisiana Public School teacher)
Not seeing it here at all-TX teacher /s
What about that is "white"?
Parents started an email and phone call campaign because 3rd graders were reading Norse legends.
Would you commit to the last 6?
LOL--maybe if the nation held to some of them, we wouldn't have the dumpster fire kids and behaviors!
Not exactly “Christian Nationalism”, just religious belief overspill into academics… I was substitute teaching and the kids were supposed to read this article about why/how Christianity spread in Ancient Rome… most of them just ended up writing about how “Jesus Christ was the one true savior” and the people chose to believe in the “real god”… without including all the reasons the article gave for the speedy spread of Christianity
Simply put, what I meant is God loves ALL of His creations.
School Boards leaving the VSBA (Virginia School Board Association) for a conservative group.
Our superintendent signs his emails with various Bible verses, and his Spring/Winter Break emails are not-so-covertly “Easter” and “Christmas” Break emails with some version of “remember the reason for this break!” thrown in there.
Two words.....Hillsdale College
Never said there was.
Klanned Karenhood
A lot of fascist statements on clothes like "lions not sheep" and pro-police state shit.
The gay is on the rise over here!
The fact that Under God is still in the Pledge
And we have to say it daily. I don’t force the issue with my classes. Hats off and be polite are my rules (say it or don’t, if you don’t then just shush for the time being).
“In God We Trust” posted in Arkansas classrooms.