Religion
Religion
Texas just passed a law that gives extra funding to public schools that teach the Bible.
92Checked my Texas municipal property taxes recently. We've dropped ISD funding by 30% over five years. Meanwhile, city police spending has surged by 25%.
So I'm paying slightly less than I did five years ago, but over $1k/year of that has simply been a transfer from teachers to cops.
54Are you comparing raw dollars or percentage of property tax? Accounting for inflation and the increase of your property value? What about the whole situation where Texas collects the taxes but only disburses up to some amount to schools. Probably easier to just look at the ISD financials. Just need to remove all expenses for non education activities, like sports and administration. I wonder if the ISD funding also gets used to pay for ISD specific police. Just asking questions, without actually doing the work, betting teachers have lost way more than 30% in 5 years. Texas government is actively trying to prove that public education doesn't work so they can justify privatization, and bring back legal segregation plus religious schooling funded by taxes.
8They urgently need russian orthodox popes on payroll
3
Meanwhile, in my country, laicism is mandatory for public schools.
2
That's never gonna happen as long as Republicans are fascist religious extremists, and the only other option literally still thinks God talks to them directly.
Biden, 81, told Stephanopoulos, 63, that he doesn’t intend on exiting the race, and only a higher power intervening would make it happen.
"Look, I mean, if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race,’ I’d get outta the race,” he said, adding, “The Lord Almighty’s not comin’ down.”
Republicans dove head first into religion, so that means the only other option Americans get is a "benevolent" deluded religious person.
Because no matter how bad Republicans get. Our only other option will always meet them halfway.
35I don't disagree about the GOP, but that quote doesn't say what you're asserting it does, lol. He doesn't say that God talks to him in your quote, he was giving a hyperbolic example of what would make him drop out. Ironically, he dropped out almost immediately after this.
18Yeah, I think it’s meant as a kind of “when pigs fly” statement.
5
Maybe I'm even more cynical, but it feels like us evangelical christianity is being used as a tool. A gullible fool.
So all these old gheezers are vaguely pushing for a US Christian nationalism... But coronated someone who doesn't really care about that beyond how they can elect him, and basically shoved their values out the the party's window.
And US youth is increasingly less Christian. Including Trump supporting youth.
So... I'm not even worried about this long term, relative to everything else to worry about. There will be short term scares, but post Trump Trumpism is not going to be very religious.
30Project 2025 and the Heritage Foundation would like a word. Or not. They do better when no one pays attention to them.
17Orange man indeed doesn't care.
It's the people whispering in his ear that are pushing their brand of Christianity(TM) to positions of power.15You have to be gullible to become an evangelical in the first place.
6Evangelical Christianity has absolutely been used as a political tool for the past generation.
6EvangelicalChristianity has absolutely been used as a political tool forthe past generationeverFTFY
7
France passed such a law.
In 1905.
28Damn, Russia was late to the party. Only in 1918. Until Pu made state part of
KGBChurch again.2
The only way religion should be handled in school is in a philosophy class
23Which should talk about religion at most, not teach religion. You can talk about what religions believe and the differences between them, but you shouldn't teach the religion itself.
25Prezactly
6
Not theology?
3Yes, religious study. Theology is part of religion.
3Does that kick in at the primary and secondary levels now? Pretty sure that's the levels that are getting all the cristofascist attention these days. And theology is taught from a religious perspective so guaranteed to be heavily slanted. No, I'd like to see all levels of education beyond preschool treat the subject of religion completely neutral and explore all of them not just the big ones. Would likely be enough material there for at least a 2 year program
2
Watson Heston had no trouble explaining this to people via cartoon in the 19th century.
Bonus cartoon:
23The funny thing is, being anti religion in public schools was a Protestant thing in the 19th century US. The KKK were also very much in favor of public education without religion, and advocated for laws against private schools. Private schools were associated with Catholicism, until integration - you can see the allusion with the shadow of the mitre in the second image.
Evangelical Christians have really just been throwing a decades long fit over the fact that Black children get to go to the same school as their kids.
4In general, but in Heston's case, he really hated all religion. Sometimes to a degree that turned into racism. But most of his comics are still pretty funny. I can somewhat forgive a Victorian-era racist considering the time they were living in. He definitely reserved most of his time to hating on Christianity and the Bible. In very pithy and entertaining ways.
3
That second one is legitimately one of the best political cartoons I’ve see
4I love most of Heston's stuff. Although some of it is pretty antisemitic, at least from this atheist Jew's perspective.
4
Alt: the freethought road versus the Orthodox route, a drawing from 1890 about the separate paths faith and reason will lead you to.
21You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice
If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice
You can choose from phantom fears and kindness that can kill
I will choose the path that’s clear; I will choose Freewill!-Freewill by Rush
2
Bro people just gonna walk around that wall.
14And we should let them. People can choose in what to believe in and we shouldnt disallow it. The point is secularism. Church and state should be separate. When organized religion is kept out of public schools, with time, religion slowly fades away as there is less need for it.
10When organized religion is kept out of public schools, with time, religion slowly fades away as there is less need for it.
Is there data to support this? As much as I would love that to be true, I've got my doubts. Most religions are not taught in western schools. Despite that, parallel societies are established where a specific religion is fostered. Children are sent to private religious schools and the religion is uphold by these communities.
(This is not an argument against secularism. I'm indeed in favour of keeping proselytizing subjects out of school. Just questions the effect on the evolution of religious demographics.)
2
That's outside of scope
2Not without science they won't! /s
The science of... Geography...
2
I recognize this artist instantly - it's Matt Wuerker, a fellow student from Lewis & Clark College. He and I worked on the school paper at the same time - he had already developed his distinctive cartooning style at that age. I don't recall ever talking with him, so I srsly doubt he would remember me, but I've always been a fan of his work. He's one of the more distinguished L&C grads IMO - along with Monica Lewinsky and actress Markie Post (RIP, best known as the beautiful lawyer on Night Court).
13USA: What about second Church? We can cut school.
12This should not be controversial
12It’s crazy that the conservative Christians have forgotten their own narrative. They claim that “freedom of religion” is about selecting and practicing a preferred denomination of Christianity. Separation from the Church of England (state defined Christianity) is a huge part of their narrative of the creation of the US.
They will discover why that is important in their narrative of history if they continue on this path.
10Fascists
Do
Not
Care
About
Hypocrisy
6You are correct, but they will care about the infighting. And their base has strong opinions about their religion.
1
Theology has no place at the table of knowledge
10Except in social studies class. People should be aware of other people's religions. But each religion should be taught equally, or in proportion to how many members they have. Kids should also be able to learn why people join religions and why religions are persuasive.
9Except in social studies class.
Social studies class has religious studies for this. There is no place for theology.
1
Disagree. People without any religious knowledge are more susceptible to being lured into one.
Instead, school should teach about the history (how they came to be) of the mayor religions.
9Out of curiosity do you have any evidence to back that claim for those raised in an environment where you have a high degree of science education? Like I know without science to explain the natural world, religion makes "sense". But as long as you have a strong knowledge base in science I'm not convinced people would be easily swayed by religion.
For example, I was raised without religion, and I've never seen much of a reason to learn about it. That being said whenever I hear someone talk about religion it sounds particularly absurd to my ears. "Sky Daddy will fix all your ills, you just need to trust in sky Daddy. Sky Daddy doesn't like it when you X." I'm sorry, what? Uh no.
9Same reason as why sexual education is important. You can't make an informed choice if you're not informed.
3But did you learn about them and their history though? Even in one of the most laïc country in the world we heard a lot about various religions in relation to history etc.
Where I live now a lot of school are either super-liberal or the ones with a bit more structure are usually under this strange system where the schools are technically Christian but there's nothing about it in the lessons and kids from all religious backgrounds attend but they'll maybe have a bible somewhere or whatever because a lot of the funding for the schools come from the churches. That's even the case in some of these super liberal schools. Can't say I'm a fan of that and it's a part of why we're considering leaving.
3
No. We already know how to prevent that without teaching religion. Building a solid foundation on science, critical thinking and evidence based knowledge.
3
science hasn't been anywhere near there for as long as I can remember
8I remember when Lauren Boebert said the church should be telling the government what to do, and the crowd she said this to cheered.
6Luther was among the first to advocate for separation of Church and State. First, to keep the State out of Church business. And second, to clear the path for a more democratic structure for Christianity but not for the State.
3The religions will pay for it! It worked so well with the last wall…
3There were a few time periods in our history where religion and the church where the highest drivers for scientific progress. In part because of the believe that our understanding of the world would bring us closer to it's creator, but more so the fact that knowledge is power - the more you knew about the world the bigger the kingdom you could rule.
Nowadays access to knowledge is trivial, so the power comes not from the knowledge itself but from controlling the flow of information. If you can find an excuse for people to not ask the right questions, then you have power over them. This is sort of the main shtick with the church and government right now. While the government has the resources, the church has the experience. That's why they are so hard to separate. They both have a hard on for each other.
2Religion belongs in private not public
2What about private schools?
2Private schools are just that: privately funded. I used to attend a private "Christian school" and they were very open about what they would / wouldn't be teaching there.
Taking money from public funds and use it to encourage religious teaching is wrong. Especially when their morals include "x people are less than/must submit to y people" and "people who do [fill in the blank] are sinning against God and their actions are unambiguously wrong".
It's a slippery slope, especially because my family went down a path of "physical and mental illness is a result of your sins and spiritual shortcomings." I personally know of at least 3 pastors (whose church I used to attend) who have a child who eventually committed suicide. They do not see a connection.
It's evil.
6
meme
1I agree with this sentiment. Otherwise, where is the department of gangbangs? Because, wouldn't sex be a big government thing? They already want control of when you can fuck and when you can't as well as what you should do if you fucked and now you're pregnant. Or pregnant and fucked. But actually, don't worry if you're pregnant and can't undo it, worry about the future of that baby. Its not the kid's fault, its society. If you think about it, without religion in the way fogging your mind, a sentient human is not fully there when there's only a few thousand neurons, so it is defined not there even when there's just a heart beat. Its like having a tiny seed that just sprouted and worrying about the climate change effects if you stop watering it. There's probably a point in the pregnancy when there's enough brain activity to think something. But anyway, these are philosophical questions until science can prove them, so there's no need for government to be involved.
But if there must be sex and religion in government, then totally, I would like to apply for a gangbang license please! If I like it, my wife may be interested too.
1Children needs to be taught religion in a way they can comprehend the reasons to believe them, and make them understand what they're believing in it. Otherwise cults can take over to exploit the lack of knowledge in religion.
-4It would be better to teach critical thinking and how to recognize logical fallacies. No need to teach one specific scam that people fall for.
20If there were any valid reasons to believe a religion was true, there wouldn't be a problem with teaching it in school.
13Children need to be taught religions/cults are a means to bypass their logic and reason and appeal to their emotions, usually because they want something from them.
Especially the religions/cults that have high pressure recruitment.
And remember, the only difference between a cult and a religion is scale.
11
Now we just have to move the state away from science... maybe another wall?
-5It's already pretty far...
Speaking as someone who lives in a state where for a long time, you couldn't have an ectopic pregnancy terminated.
Speaking as someone who lives in a country that denies climate change and the efficacy of vaccines.
Seems like in the last 20 years, the government (mainly republicans) have dismissed scientists and experts when making policy, instead preferring to legislate around feels and lobbyists.
2
Separating science from religion is how you get fundamentalism.
-5Seperating science from religion is how you get religion.
11No.
4Please do explain, because I seriously grew up thinking mainline religion minus reason equals biblical literalism (aka fundamental religion) but I'm open to believe that may be one of these scenarios.
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