RELIGIOUS CHANGE, CONFLICT AND/OR INTOLERANCE

During 2006-June

Sponsored link:

"Third-graders at the school were disrupted in January when a state-mandated test was given during Eid-al-Adha, a time when observant Muslims do not attend class and when Muslim schools are closed, school officials said. "The students should not be forced to chose to test or celebrate their holiday," said Sabini, a member of the state Senate's education committee. "It is an extraordinarily bad public policy that we intend to change." The holiest days on the Islamic calendar, Eid-al-Adha and Eid-al-Fitr are multiday observances equivalent in significance to the holiest days of the Jewish or Christian religious year. ₁

"Activists, along with the governor and other state politicians, have accused the State Board of Education of attempting to drive Christianity from the classroom through the use of secular notations, like BCE for 'Before the Common Era,' in place of religious ones, like B.C. for 'Before Christ'."...

"We need to start speaking up when we see the erosion of the foundation of this nation, which is our family values, our Christian values," said Finn Laursen, executive director of the Christian Educators Association International, in an interview with the Forward. "This was just one more chip in trying to change the initials of our dating system," he said.....

Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the board of education, accused Christian conservatives of misrepresenting and sensationalizing the issue. She said the guidelines do not recommend that teachers use either Christian or secular abbreviations; rather, the guidelines themselves make use of both. ₂

"An Islamic civil rights group says the seven terror suspects indicted Friday in the United States should not be referred to as 'Muslims.' The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) says the men accused of plotting attacks on Chicago's Sears tower and several federal buildings are not Muslims because they study a mix of Islamic, Christian and Jewish teachings. The statement calls the Seas of David sect a 'bizarre group' that has nothing to do with Islam. It notes their meeting place is called a 'temple' and that they study the Bible -- the Christian holy book. It also cautioned against using Arabic terms to describe their actions. The federal indictment against the men refers to their attack plans as 'a violent jihad.'

"The group also called on police departments nationwide to protect mosques and other Islamic institutions from possible backlash violence prompted by the idea that the terror suspects are Muslim." ₅

"If we don't reach out to evangelical Christians and other religious Americans and tell them what we stand for, the Jerry Falwells and Pat Robertsons will continue to hold sway."

He said that Democrats should be willing to explain themselves in moral terms while respecting the principle of separation of church and state. He continued:

"I think we make a mistake when we fail to acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people. After all, the problems of poverty and racism, the uninsured and the unemployed, are not simply technical problems in search of the perfect ten point plan. They are rooted in both societal indifference and individual callousness -- in the imperfections of man....Nothing is more transparent than inauthentic expressions of faith -- the politician who shows up at a black church around election time and claps -- off rhythm -- to the gospel choir.....Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation. Context matters. It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase 'under God;' I certainly didn't." ₇

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Warren Woodberry, Jr, "End exam conflicts: pol," Daily News Boroughs, 2006-JU-08, at: http://www.nydailynews.com/

2. Jennifer Siegel, "Religious Groups Push Kentucky Schools To Use 'Before Christ'," Forward, 2006-JUN-09 at: http://www.forward.com/

3. "SBC's New President Fields Reporters Questions," Baptist Press, 2006-JUN-14.

4. "Friday church news notes," Way of Life Literature's Fundamental Baptist Information Service, 2005-JUN-23, Volume 7, Issue 25.

5. "Muslim Group: US Terror Suspects Not Muslim," VOA News, 2006-JUN-24, at: http://www.voanews.com/

6. "UN body rebuffs Canada, protects human rights," Canadian Press, 2006-JUN-29. Published by the Toronto Star, 2006-JUN-30, Page A12.

7. "Democrat Obama urges response to religious right," Reuters, 2006-JUN-28, at: http://today.reuters.com/