Seema Mehta of the Los Angeles Times brings us an article with the headline...

Does the Bible Have a Place in Public Schools?

Somehow – and call me crazy – but I highly doubt that the paper would ever have a headline questioning whether or not tax-funded schools have a place in our society, or a story where one of their researchers points me to the clause in the Constitution that mandated that Congress get involved in education, or that the President have a Secretary of Education.

There is broad agreement across the social, political and religious spectrum, and most important the Supreme Court, that the Bible can be taught in public schools and that knowledge of the Bible is vital to students' understanding of literature and art, including "Moby-Dick," Michelangelo and "The Matrix."

But battles are raging in statehouses, schools and courtrooms over how to teach but not to preach.

As the number of these classes increases across the nation, civil libertarians, religious minorities and others fear that Bible lessons cloaked in the guise of academia may provide cover for proselytizing in public schools.

You know, there is never any kind of “proselytizing” in public schools without the Bible.  Nobody ever pushing a philosophical, religious, political, or moral agenda of any sort.

In 1963, a landmark Supreme Court decision declared school-led Bible readings and prayer unconstitutional.

I’m sure “school-led” readings of Muslim, New Age, Hindu, Buddhist, etc. holy books are also unconstitutional, but are happing anyway under the guise of “diversity”.

But don’t think that the 1963 ruling was merely an exercise.  The Bible was prominently and widely used in public education for all of our nation’s history up until that point.  Just check out this clause in the Northwest Ordinance, written by the same people who - the Biblephobes would have us believe – wanted to exclude the Bible and anything Christian from public schools: ART. 3. Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged.

Oh well.  We all know that public education got so much better after 1963 and that students were far better off and better behaved after that decision, right?  Thank God.  Oops.  I mean – well, uh, on with the quotes.

A 2004 Gallup poll found just 8% of public school teens said their schools offered an elective Bible course.

High school English teachers and university professors say this lack of exposure to Bible tales has led to an education gap. A 2005 report by the Bible Literacy Project, which created a well-regarded Bible study course, found that although virtually all the teachers it surveyed said biblical knowledge was important to students' education, most thought few students had a command of the subject.

So much of our civilization has been influenced by the Bible that we are shortchanging students by not having it studied in the schools.  You can’t have a good understanding of the influences that have shaped history, politics, law, the arts, science, and so much more without some understanding of the Bible and how it has been interpreted over the years.  Most of the American public has been influenced by and has some level of respect for the Bible.  Since these are public schools funded by public money, then perhaps it is only fitting that they pass along this public heritage.

The larger question here is why public education at all?  Why take money by force from everyone, including people who have never had kids and never will, send it to the state and Federal governments, and have what remains filter back to the states and schools?  It is naïve to think that public education can be unbiased philosophically, religiously, or morally.

I agree with something the Biblephobes say – that our society us much more diverse now.  Well, there’s no way to address that with public education.  You can’t set things up to be inoffensive to every viewpoint, every culture.

If the public schools exist, they should propagate American culture, and not worry about offending Muslims, or Hindus, or Communists, or whatever.  This is, mostly, a Judeo-Christian nation.  If you want Islamic culture, stay in an Islamic nation.  Coming to America implies you can accept American culture.

But we don’t need public schools to pass down American culture.  We can do it with “private” schools – schools that instill good morals, good priorities, and an informed, consistent worldview to the next generation.  Schools that teach our common language: English - proper English.  Schools that promote the American way.  Schools that teach personal responsibility and discipline.  Will there be schools that fail students by teaching in a balkanizing way (Sharia, Reconquista, White Supremacist) or in a way that won’t help them deal with reality (Christian Science, Word of Faith, environmentalist whacko, no discipline)?  Yes.  Some parents will do that to their kids.  But that’s okay – we’ll need people to do the menial jobs, be the cheap labor, and staff the sideshows.  We’ll have a better idea of who to look out for in terms of criminal and terrorist suspects, too.

Support freedom.  Support choice.  Support separation of state and school.