School desk
Dear Thoughtful Pastor: I have a question about the response to the mass shootings specifically and to the role of religion in our society in general. I have several family members and friends who seem to feel ‘putting God back in our schools’ will solve the gun violence problem. Leaving the First Amendment concerning the establishment of a national religion out of the dialogue, what is a reasonable way to respond to this? This seems simplistic at best, since it ignores the assaults on the churches in Charleston and South Texas. And how does one ‘put God back’ when we are a nation of various faiths (or non-beliefs)? Our schools do not compare with those of other countries in terms of math, science, or history as it is. I feel we should focus on making them better and safer, and leave the rest to the families and churches.
With many others, I’m horrified by what happened in Florida and terrified by what might happen tomorrow when yet another disturbed and angry (likely young white) male, armed to the teeth, goes after those who he thinks have tormented or bested him in some way. If I thought we could solve this by “putting God back in our schools,” I’d be on the front lines of the demand.
Unfortunately, angry young males have been taking out their wrath on the unfairness of life on unarmed innocents for a long time—certainly from before the beginning of recorded history. Remember Cain and Abel?
What they didn’t have until recently were military-style rapid-fire weapons that have no other purpose than killing other human beings as efficiently as possible.
And what would it look like to “put God back in our schools?” I’m old enough to remember filing into the lunch room at my elementary school, having a teacher ring the triangle chime, and either leading us in a sung grace or being silent when someone would offer a prayer.
In my lily-white, upper-middle-class part of Dallas, there was one Jewish student, no Muslim students, a few Roman Catholics, and the rest stolidly mainline Protestants, attending our Baptist, Methodist, Disciples, Presbyterian, Episcopalian and Community churches each Sunday. Everyone had a religious affiliation of some sort. Just the done thing.
We spoke the same religious language (except, of course, for our Jewish classmate, whom we routinely excluded). We also tormented, bullied, insulted, got into fights with, and systematically made one another miserable in the myriads of ways only pre-teens and teens can do.
What we didn’t have were military-style rapid-fire weapons that have no other purpose than killing other human beings as efficiently as possible.
But back to my upbringing, I wonder how many religiously segregated public schools like that there are left in the United States? And that being the case, how dare we mandate a shared religious experience on them?
And, even with that religious commonality, I had no sense of “God being present” in school. Prayer was just something we did, kind of like saying the Pledge. I also vividly remember nuclear strike drills, heading into the hallways, getting on our knees in front of the lockers, putting our arms over our heads, feeling very, very afraid.
Schools were not our safe places even then. But what we didn’t have were military-style rapid-fire weapons that have no other purpose than killing other human beings as efficiently as possible.
Providing our kids with honest, nurturing, religious instruction is one of best things parents can do. Forcing religion in the name of the state has never, ever been a good option. I have yet, in all my reading of history, to see a positive outcome when one nation or one group of people conquers another in the name of “God” or some stated religious purpose.
Let’s also look at the greater problem you noted: the purpose of the public school system. Why do the most advanced nations generously support universal education for its citizens? Because an educated populace is necessary for healthy self-governance to thrive.
Democratic governance, as opposed to rigid autocracy, demands an informed population making reasoned decisions about laws and policies. For this, we need universal literacy and an ability to think critically.
Furthermore, counties that will continue to prosper economically must have people who can compete in the world of artificial intelligence, robotically-staffed factories, international finance, all with intricate cultural distinctions. Without talented instructors, focused firmly on their tasks, we cannot achieve these goals.
Yes, we need God in school and everywhere else. How, without coercion? Parents must step up and recognize their primary responsibility to make sure they and their children have healthy spiritual lives. That’s their job. Then they carry into the schools–and everywhere else–the Holy Presence well-integrated into their lives.
In other words, parents, find a good religious community, get involved, attend regularly, volunteer faithfully, quit letting weekend sports activities be your “gods,” and put “God back in your families” yourselves rather than insisting the schools do that particular job for you.
And we need to eliminate from private hands military-style rapid-fire weapons that have no other purpose than killing other human beings as efficiently as possible. Having God in our lives does not dispense with the need for common-sense laws for public protection.
Christy Thomas 2015
The Rev. Christy Thomas
Author and columnist, the Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas is a retired clergy member of the North Texas Annual Conference. This post is republished with the author's permission from her blog The Thoughtful Pastor on Patheos.com.