Friday, October 3, 2008

Halloween and Religious Liberty

I read an interesting post over at ParentDish called Halloween at school - A do or a don't? Being one of "those" parents, I felt the necessity to share why I am one of them.
As one of those parents who do not celebrate Halloween, I believe it should be kept out of the school - just like Christmas and Easter should be kept out of the school.

It is each family's right and privilege to believe and celebrate in whatever way is best for them, and it is NOT the right or privilege of the public school system to allow the children "to be kids at school-regardless of what their parents believe." That approach takes parental respect and rights away from parents, and teaches the children that "anything is okay, as long as it's at school."

It is subtleties like this that help make our children today less respectful of parents and allows the government to gain more and more control over citizens. As our children are taught that the origins of holidays don't really matter and that they can celebrate anyway despite their parents' teaching, they are also taught that what their parents have taught them doesn't matter and that can do whatever the government says despite the rights and privileges granted to them by the Constitution. It is already taking place with the Patriot Act.

Our country and government were established to create freedom for our citizens to believe, worship and celebrate how they wish, and to protect those that believe differently from being proselytized by them. The public school system is a place of academic learning. The separation of church and state provides religious learning in the home, church, or church schools. The public school should be devoid of ANY religion, whether Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist or Muslim.

I am a 32-year-old Christian that believes our Wiccan, Buddhist and Muslim citizens have just as much right to NOT be exposed to the Nativity as we have the right not to be exposed to Halloween, Buddha or Mohamed.


Feel free to sound off in the comments - just keep it respectful.

7 comments:

Renae said...

Good points. I do not like Halloween, and not only because of its origins. (Many other holidays have pagan origins as well.) I reject the fear and gorge. My little children are scared when ghouls show up at our door wanting candy. How is celebrating death and destruction festive?And it is hard to separate every religion from education. How can teachers completely remove themselves from their beliefs? We have been told over and over again to leave our religion at home, but it seems Christians are the only ones required to do it.

Renae said...

Ah! That should be "gore" not "gorge". Although, I don't really like my kids stuffing themselves with candy either. ;)

Chuck said...

Sorry, you do not have the right NOT to be exposed to any other religious holidays...just the right not to celebrate them. You have the right not to watch 'Survivor' but you don't have the right to have it removed from the TV guide or online listings that are piped into your home. You don't have the right to eliminate, hide, gloss over, or censor the beliefs and celebrations of others.Like it or not, popular culture and 'paganism' are elements of mainstream society, and you would be seriously abusing your children to shelter them from such exposure...better to spend your time making sure your kids understand the difference between fiction/fantasy and reality.Halloween is hardly proselytization. Grow a better sense of reality and perspective.

Ian said...

Don't children also have the right to celebrate what ever holiday they wish? Just because someone's parents are christian, muslim or bhuddist does not mean that their children are. Religion is not a hereditary trait. So if a child would like to dress up on halloween and go trick or treating his/her parents should respect their childs beliefs as well.I for instance as a child knew at a young age around 12 that i did not believe in the christian faith, or any faith for that matter. It wasn't do to lack of exposure, my parents forced me into sunday school. So if a child can decide whether or not to practice a faith why can't they decide to celebrate a holiday.

Renae said...

Chuck,You are correct that Halloween isn't proselytizing. However, do people feel the same about Christmas or Easter? Are these holidays celebrated in our schools anymore? I don't know, so I'm asking. I know that many stores no longer say, "Merry Christmas." Is that happening in public schools, too?Our rights as parents do involve what are children are taught. That is why school boards exist or used to exist. Now it seems their job is to filter down what the state mandates. If we do have the right, as you stated, not to celebrate holidays, how does that work in school when everyone is making construction paper witches and painting jack-o-lanterns? Isn't that celebrating? And finally, it is not abuse to keep my children away from things that scare them, especially when they are little.

Marlene said...

I am very firmly of the opinion that church and state should be totally separated. That means that the only holidays that should be observed by public school districts are the secular ones with American roots. Labor day. Memorial day. Independence day. Presidents day. Martin Luther King Jr. day. Thanksgiving.No Easter. No Lammas. No Ramadan. No Christmas (because Christmas is such a big deal, a winter break is still a good idea, but there should be no celebration of it in the schools). No Kwanzaa. *No holiday with religious roots, even when those roots aren't fully understood and appreciated anymore.* This of course extends beyond the school into every sector of government. The Ten Commandments should not be in the Courtrooms, there should be no Nativity scenes on the front lawn of the City Hall.

Jill said...

Wow! This subject has started quite a spark. Diverse opinions make for an interesting read.

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