The "Public Schools Do Not Promote Religion" Myth

The term, "public schools" is a misnomer. Since the national school system is controlled by our government, the term, "government schools," is more accurate. Parents and the public no longer control the schools their children attend.

Government control also includes selecting the religion our children are taught during school hours. "A very serious charge!" you may be thinking. It is a serious charge and it is true!

As every philosophy teacher knows, every philosophy has basic assumptions that lie in the area of metaphysics. Metaphysics is outside the scientific realm. Metaphysics is in the realm of the religious. The United States government schools have replaced Judeo-Christian metaphysics with secular or atheistic metaphysics. The word "secular" in this context means "without God." As one has said, "If it walks like a duck, and looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it is a duck."

. . .the AHA [American Humanist Association] accredits ministers and counselors who can conduct weddings and funerals, develops Humanist literature, proselytizes (only those in agreement with the doctrines are eligible to join) and raises money as a tax-exempt 'religious' organization.    . . . .   Paul Kurtz, drafter of Humanist Manifesto II and leading Humanist spokesman admits, "There are no Humanist membership organizations that are non-religious in legal status." (Robert K. Skolrood, "Evangelism in the Classroom—Humanist Style," Kappa Delta Pi Record. P O Box A, West Lafayette, IN 47906, Winter 1988, pp. 46-48).

John Dewey, an atheist, was the chief writer of the 1933 Humanist Manifesto I. In 1932, he was elected honorary president of the National Education Association. Dewey's "progressive" education was a reaction to the disciplined teaching of basic subjects and established rules (Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15th ed., s.v. "Dewey, John").

Charles Francis Potter, another honorary president of the National Education Association, "prophesied' what has now come into being:

Education is thus a most powerful ally of Humanism, and every American public school is a school of Humanism. (Charles Francis Potter, Humanism: A New Religion. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1930, p. 128).

The destructive work of Secular Humanism in our public schools is evident in the (1) Lack of academic skills and (2) Lack of character training of its graduates. Government schools have become so bad that

"...former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett now publicly exhorts parents on national television to take their children out of the learning institutions over which he once presided—and to homeschool them instead" (World Net Daily, October 26, 2002).

Dr. James Dobson, a nationally-acclaimed psychologist made a similar statement.

(This essay was based on the classic work of Bill Gothard and Dr. Donald Howard.)

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