Our Threatened Freedom

Are the State Schools Teaching Religion

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Political Studies

Lesson: 33-169

Genre: Conversation

Track: 033

Dictation Name: Vol. C - Part 07 – Are the State Schools Teaching Religion

Location/Venue: Unknown

Year: 1980’s – 1990’s

[Dr. Rushdoony] Are the State schools teaching religion? This is R.J. Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedom.

One of the things forbidden by the First Amendment is an establishment of religion. That is, tax funds going for the maintenance, support or propagation of any one church group over the {?} groups of such churches.

We see this principle being routinely violated today by the curriculum makers of public education, or more accurately, statist education. These curriculum makers routinely make humanism and humanistic values basic to their guidelines and texts.

I have many such guidelines and textbooks before me, but let me cite one as an example. Donald A. Reed and Sidney B. Simon edited a textbook for teachers, ‘The Humanistic Education Source Book’. One chapter among others is among values and valuing. It is taken from a study of values and teachings by Louis E. Rah{?}, Marrow Harman{?}, and Sidney B. Simon. For them, a value cannot be derived from God. It has to be the free choice of the individual from among many alternatives. Values are personal, not religious; values are mainly a product of our experiences, according to the authors. Quote, “Not just a matter of good and evil”, unquote. Values come out of the flux of life, thus quite obviously not from God.

We are told that parents should not tell children, you shouldn’t do that, or, you shouldn’t be interested in things like that. Whatever comes out of a child’s experience is consistent with his life and therefore his values. We cannot ask the child to deny his life and values, say the authors, without asking him to be a hypocrite. Values are personal, they say, and respect for a person’s life means respect for his experiences and values.

Given this standard of values, we would have to say that Hitler, Stalin, and Jack the Ripper should have been respected. Some humanists would object that these men had social consequences with their values, but we must point out that since people are persons, what is personal is also social or interpersonal.

The point is that a value system is totally religious.

For humanism is a religion, according to the Supreme Court. And it is taught in our state schools all too commonly.

This is a religion which is anti-biblical, and contrary to the faith of most of us. On top of that, it is an established religion. Public funds go to teach and propagate humanism, it is taught as necessary.

In Read{?} and Simon’s textbook, one chapter is entitled, ‘Humanism, Capstone of an Educated Person’. In other words, without humanism your education is incomplete and sadly defective.

The Bible and prayer have been banned from state schools, but humanism and its value system is openly taught.

The First Amendment ban is applied only to Christianity, but definitely not to humanism. We have a privileged status accorded to this alien cult, at the expense of the rest of us. If you protest this, you are called a bigot. The day of new speak and double think has come.

This is R.J Rushdoony with a report on our threatened freedoms.