Letter to the editor of the
Spokesman Review August 18, 1997

The truths expressed by Jeanette Faulkner in the August 10th guest column were well stated; though there exists another issue regarding Government education that needs to be addressed. The idea of religious neutrality in education is a myth that needs debunking. All education is inherently religious.

It is not a matter of whether a religious worldview is going to be taught in a classroom, it is simply a matter of WHICH religious worldview WILL be taught. As a teacher instructs in history, social sciences etc., the teacher's own worldview will interpret the data. The students in turn take on the presupposed worldvew. It is unavoidable. The subject will be taught from a Hindu, New Age, Agnostic, Atheist, Islamic, Christian, or Secular Humanist (or whatever) standpoint.

The religious worldveiw held at the alters of Government education is Secular Humanism. Secular Humanism presupposes, contrary to Christianity, that God is merely a convention of men and is therefore irrelevant. Holding to this religious worldview necessitates that all other views are invalid. This is a religious tenet that is held by faith, and is being taught at "neutral" Government Schools. True, you will not find a class entitled "Secular Humanism" in any grade school but it is found in the presuppositional underpinnings in how data is interpreted in every discipline.

If we are to demand that the Government has no place in the religious instruction of our children, as we should, then we need to demand that Government has no place in the education of our children. If we are to demand the separation of Church and State, as we should, then we need to demand that the Government's religious education of our children cease immediately. There needs to be a call for the separation of School and State.

Dale LaVoie
Spokane