I fell for it. I fell for it, hook line and sinker. I parroted this critique of the liberal public education establishment: they’ve taken God out of our schools. That was before I became involved with our local school.
There are many who believe that the cause of our societal decline began when The Supreme Court outlawed prayer in public schools. The Supreme Court’s decision in Engel vs. Vitale has become an easy scapegoat for the moral decline in our nation. It’s convenient to blame nine dead justices for everything we revile about our society, but in our righteous” anger, we’re exacerbating the problem.
When we declare God’s removal from public schools, we’re declaring that The United States Supreme Court has the power to move God. We proclaim the sovereignty of God from our pulpits, but in our conversations we intimate the sovereignty of a human institution. The court didn’t push God out the door of our schools in 1962. They only forbade government sanctioned recitation of prayers. God was never taken out of our schools, and He never will be.
When we propagate this untruth, we’re insulting our teachers. There are three public school teachers in my congregation who pray for their students. Are their prayers not heard? Do their prayers not count? If God has been taken out of our schools are the prayers of Christian teachers useless? I’ve found most teachers to be courageous, humble, and selfless. Christ encourages and pronounces blessings on people with those qualities. If God was not in our schools anymore, we wouldn’t have so many quality educators.
I also pray for my children every morning as they get on the bus. I used to pray only for my children, but now when the bus drives by my widow, I pray for all the children on the bus. If God were absent from our schools then my prayers would be useless. I know there are other parents who pray for the school children.
There are also children who pray for one another. What are we telling those children when we tell them that God has been taken out of school? We’re telling them that their prayers don’t count either. That subtle lie does more spiritual damage to our children than we’ll ever realize.
When we insinuate the uselessness of prayers from teachers, parents, and students, we’re operating from a defeatist mindset. Christ has admonished us to not be afraid because He has overcome the world. There is no reason to operate as though we’ve been defeated, and when we act as though prayers for our school, we are slowly conceding the battle to the enemy.
There are also parents who use this battle cry to pull their children out of public schools. We’ve removed a large chunk of Christians and children from Christian homes from our schools, and that has done more to erode the potential spiritual impact than the Supreme Court’s decision in 1962. We should never use our children as missionaries in our public schools, and there are situations where it is necessary to remove children from a public school. However, by removing so many Christian children from our public schools, we have removed a large Christian influence from a public institution. The secularization of our schools should come as no surprise when we remove Christian influence. When we remove our children from public schools, we also remove our influence from them as well.
I’ve made some of you angry. I can hear you furiously pecking at your keyboards with accusations such as: how dare you insinuate that I’ve done more to remove God from our schools than The Supreme Court. You’re going to accuse me of sending my kids into a secular public school just to be missionaries. You’ll probably tell me that I don’t know what I’m talking about because I’m only 38.
My family is blessed to live in a small town with an outstanding school. We know and love our teachers and administrators. There are many of you who are not that blessed and have made the decision to not educate your children in the public school. I respect that decision and know that education, both public and private is complicated.
What’s indisputable is God’s presence in our public schools. He never left because God does not dwell in a building. His Holy Spirit lives in each one of us. If we kicked God out of school, which we could never do in the first place, then every teacher who is filled with The Holy Spirit would have to leave.
I’m never going to utter the phrase, “we kicked God out of school,” again except to point out the absurdity of that notion. God bless all of the courageous teachers who dedicate their lives to the education of our children.
“However, by removing so many Christian children from our public schools, we have removed a large Christian influence from a public institution. The secularization of our schools should come as no surprise when we remove Christian influence. When we remove our children from public schools, we also remove our influence from them as well.”
Removing your kids doesn’t necessarily remove your influence. You can vote for the school board still. You can vote for politicians who head over education departments. You can befriend educators. You can still be involved in some extracurriculars.
I completely agree. You are correct in theory. The question becomes not can you have influence, but will you have influence. If our children do not attend the public schools, will we go to the polls in an off election year just to vote for the school board? I’ve also found through personal experience that my physical presence at the school has far more influence than my vote, though I still vote in every election.
There are absolutely many fine Christian teachers, and I’ve never held to the philosophy that God COULD be removed from schools. And certainly some local schools and school boards are led by Godly people who desire to see Biblical character instilled, even as they learn to master academic disciplines. Moreover, parents are accountable to God to discern whether the local school enhances, or disputes that which is taught at home.
However, these fine teachers, administrators, and board members are often handcuffed by philosophies developed at levels they can’t control. Political correctness and universal accommodation of aberrant lifestyles is unquestionably pushed at national, and often, state levels. I doubt that most teens, much less preteens are emotionally or intellectually equipped to deal constructively with those teachings when they are presented in a tried and tested manner and appeal to the desire of youth to help.
I applaud those who minister in the government schools, but they really are that. It might not have come to your home town yet, but it is on the way. The prince of this world system is attacking children because they are vulnerable and susceptible. Please do not imply that those who choose to teach their children in a more guarded environment are less spiritual, or less concerned for the general welfare. They simply take very seriously the admonition to equip their children to live effectively in the world by making certain they are trained sufficiently before being sent into the world.
Parents of teens must often be on them to clean their room, brush their teeth, even shower and change their clothing, yet we seem to think that even with those overt signs of immaturity, they are mature enough to deal with subtle attacks on their faith effectively. Some may be, others might not be. Parents must be the determiners, not social pressure, whether from the pulpit, or from the legislature.
Thanks for admitting what needs to be said! My wife works as the office manager for a local public school, I work part time for the High School doing supervision at athletic events, I serve on several school district committees along with my other tasks as a pastor. My wife and I sent our kids to public schools – there were ups and downs but we never once felt marginalized or excluded due to our faith. Every so often I hear the screed – God is no longer allowed in school – and I want to silence it forever. God is present wherever God’s people are willing to show up!
I have to walk with you on this one Tony. Thanks. My wife is a Middle School public school teacher and she would concur that the Supreme Court has no supremeness when it comes to prayer or no prayer. Now then, if we are talking about a rote, institutionalized prayer in style of the national anthem, then Amen–I’m glad it’s gone.
Kids repeating a box-like, one size fits all, institutional prayer is akin to baptizing all babies in hopes that a conversion will happen down the road. Rather, a satisfied religion takes hold and “I prayed in school” way back when becomes another benign salvation story waiting to be heard.
All teachers and children who know Christ take Him to school and work each day–as it should be. What a ministry of hope this is and much more powerful than a prayer that today would be led as easily by a Muslim or atheist (or Democrat) as a Christian.
My kids are out of school but I always felt this line was way overblown. We have several public school teachers in our congregation and I know they pray for their students. I know schoolkids who prayed in school. No one can stop anyone from praying in school. Frankly it is not the state’s job to teach my children about Christianity or how to pray.
Correct Bill
I do not want a New Ager, Roman Catholic nor a JW or Mormon teaching my child how to pray
Yeah, that’s the attitude to take. The ‘kicked God out of our schools’ has always been a cheap ‘amen!’ line and a dog whistle.
Yes! Thank you for this perspective!
Thank you. Excellent analysis. When it came up at the SBC in resolutions to abandon the public schools by taking the kids out, I stood against that. All parents should have the option to educate their children according to their conscience under the dictates of God. I believe that when the majority of Christians leave the public school or expect the public school to be the ones responsible for their child’s education (actually the responsibility is the parents), we fail to be salt and light as God expects. Thankful for all the teachers who have enormous pressure on them as they teach, but still try to be a Christian witness. Thankful for all the parents who are trying to be a witness in volunteering and working with the schools and the teachers.
” I believe that when the majority of Christians leave the public school or expect the public school to be the ones responsible for their child’s education (actually the responsibility is the parents), we fail to be salt and light as God expects.”
Amen to that, especially the parenthetical: (actually the responsibility is the parents).
Wasn’t it Baptist theologians T.C. Pinckney and Wiley Drake who used to have a motion at the annual SBC most years to take our kids out of public schools.
Oh how I missed Wiley Drake this year.
Amen. Thanks for the new perspective on “taking prayer out of schools.” In our local public schools, God is always present. We have numerous teachers/administrators/staff/students that are Christians and pray often if not daily for our school and all those that are there. I am so thankful for all the Christians that are present in our schools. Students know when they have a loving Christian teacher or administrator in the building.
I agree with most of what you’ve said here, especially that the simple act of removing the public, teacher-led prayer from the public school system by the Supreme Court did not take God out of the public schools. However, there are other elements of public education that are more than just “religious neutrality” on the part of the government-operated school system. If you check the curriculum objectives for any Foundations of Education or Educational Philosophy course required for teacher certification in any state, you will find that they based on the belief that human intellect is capable of achieving the goal of resolving all of the problems of human existence, and that human reason is the highest form of intelligence in the universe. The goal of public education, beyond its stated purpose of equipping citizens to advance the American Republic, is to create a culture in society that relies solely on human intellect to address and resolve the pressing problems of humankind.
The goals and direction of public education were influenced by the enlightenment, and by nineteenth and early twentieth century humanists. Individuals like Horace Mann, and later John Dewey envisioned the “takeover” of the educational system in the US, first by placing the system in the hands of government ownership, particularly involving federal funding, so that “religious neutrality” would replace the influence that Protestant Christianity had over the schools, and second, by taking over the trusteeship and leadership of the colleges and universities where teachers were trained. It took time to turn the higher education system around, but that was achieved in the early part of the 20th century. Regardless of the friendliness, or even of the Christian influence of individuals in your local public school, the required curriculum objectives that they must teach are secular, and humanist to the core.
The departure of many of our youth from the church during their college years coincides directly with the influences of humanist education on the culture. Upwards of 80% of the high school students raised in a conservative, Evangelical church and active in a youth group will stop participating by the time they graduate from college, and they’re not coming back.
I John 4:1-3
I’m part of the generation that really started shifting away from church during college. More often, it had less to do with education and more to do with hypocrisy and cultural Christianity. I know in my case, it really did take an act of God to draw me to Christ because I carried so many spiritual abuses from my church upbringing that I was atheist growing up. Also, I went to a liberal college. I was never chastised for my faith or disrespected when someone disagreed with me. Yes, education is a component for some in this issue, but the church has also used that as a convient excuse to deal with its own sin and double standards.
Personally, I would not have wanted a government education system to get anywhere near my kids’ faith. That is up to the parents; that’s where any failures lie.
I do not believe that loss of Christian students has or had anything to do with it. According to recent numbers, the Christian student numbers who left, accounted for something under 10%.
Two things:
1) I disagree with your premise that the insinuation is that we’re saying that prayers are ineffective.
2) Not only should we not use our children as missionaries, but we also shouldn’t sacrifice them at the hands of pagans who are so hostile to God and to Christianity. There may be many Christian teachers in the system, but there are far more teachers who are hostile and work hard to advance a perverted agenda.
I’ll respond with one point and one question:
First, I’m not sacrificing my children by putting them in public school. That depends on context. We’re blessed to be in an awesome school district. There are some who have to take their kids out of public school for various reasons.
What would tell a teacher who claimed you were insisting that her prayers were ineffective?
Even the most “awesome” school district teaches from a completely secular perspective that does not acknowledge the existence of God, nor teaches from the perspective that education is the process of discovering and understanding what he has revealed about himself and his creation, including the nature of humanity.
I lived in one of those small towns in Missouri with several members of the Baptist church to which I belonged teaching in the local public school. They’d tell you they were a testimony for Jesus with the way they lived their lives and taught in their classrooms, but they’d also tell you there were a lot of things they were required to teach that weren’t consistent with what they believed. The superintendent there was also a member of our church, grew up in it and served as a deacon. He, and at least two of the teachers sent their kids to the closest Christian school 20 miles away, and another teacher kept his kids at home where his wife taught them. They were well aware of the content and philosophical foundations of public education, and also aware that even the best public schools in America are mediocre by world standards, and educated their children elsewhere.
There’s a video production called “IndoctriNation: Public Schools and the Decline of Christianity in America” that does an excellent job of providing some background into what the public school system is doing. I think it is probably available on-line now.
Certainly there are communities where the Christian influence is more welcome than others. In our town, our administration welcomed our church to come in the first day of new teacher orientation and walk the halls and pray for all of the classrooms in our district. We have a number of teachers in our church and principals from several of the campuses. I’m quite sure they are praying regularly for their students.
I’ve contended for years that the danger of “putting prayer back in school” would be to open the door to give equal time to public-led prayer from other world religions. I think that would be more harmful than what we have now.
Some are called to remain in secular institutions and situations. Some aren’t. My three kids went to public schools. Often I reg They gained real, eye-opening experience with a wide swath of life-is-not-fair life, tough circumstances, and well, just small-town reality. They experienced both (very vocal) liberal teachers,conservative teachers, teachers who were Christians, and teachers who were atheist or agnostic. Many were good teachers and some weren’t. Sometimes police had to be called to the school due to fights and drug activity, or rumors that someone had a gun.
This kind of variety can help strengthen some kids but be terrible for others.
Schooling presents such difficult choices for parents! I’m a group leader of young Christian moms. One thing I like helping them to do is to respect other Christian families’ choices, knowing that we are differently gifted and called, and so are our children. There’s no way I’d fault precious families who choose to live sacrificially so they can homeschool or send their children to Christian schools.
My wife is the ministry coordinator for our local Child Evangelism Fellowship chapter. They have over 40 Good News Clubs in Elementary Schools in our region. In 1993, in The Good News Club v. Milford Central Schools, the Supreme Court ruled that clubs could operate in public schools. Sadly, the hardest thing to do is get churches to take advantage of this and set up Bible clubs in local schools.
I am thankful for every Christian teacher and administrator in our public schools.
But sending our children to Canaanite schools makes raising a godly progeny substantially more difficult.
The omnipresent God is present in bars and brothels too, but we certainly wouldn’t send our children there, would we?
I think that’s a rather unfair comparison. First of all, some people have no choice but to send their children to the “bars and brothels” of public education. What do you tell the single mother raising three kids by herself who can’t afford private or home schooling?
Second, bars and brothels aren’t staffed by Christians, and like you said and we all know, there are plenty of Christians in our public schools.
There are Christians in the public schools, though I’d say not many, not anywhere near the percentages that they exist in the culture at large, and not able to teach or integrate any principles of faith by mandate. Yes, they can be examples, but that’s about it. There are ways for single parent families and low income families to get their kids in a private, Christian school, that’s not an obstacle most places anymore. The argument is still one of philosophical foundations of education, and there is no public school anywhere that can affirm God’s existence or Christ’s sacrifice and they are committed to a foundational philosophy that is the opposite of the gospel.