Filed under: High school, Public school, Private school, Going to school, Teenager, Divorce, Spirituality
Jennifer Jordan wrote about a couple that is being told they cannot adopt because of their beliefs -- or more accurately, their lack of beliefs. At the heart of that issue is one judge's belief that the state constitution, which says "no person shall be deprived of the inestimable privilege of worshiping Almighty God in a manner agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience," means that a child cannot be raised in an atheist home.Of course, the glaring flaw in that logic is that that interpretation means that a child cannot be raised in a Christian home (because that would prevent them from worshipping Ganesh) or in a Hindu home (because that would prevent them from worshipping Mohammed) and so on. Whatever the faith (if any) of the parents, the kids are going to be influenced by it and thus discouraged from exploring other religions.
How many devout Catholic parents are going to encourage or even allow their kids to read the Book of Mormon? I know my mother absolutely forbid it and didn't like me hanging out with members of that "cult," as she called it. Basically, most religions, as well as the lack of one, are exclusive to others, so it really doesn't make for a good justification either way.
Well, for David Ryan, in Kentucky, the situation is not so simple. He is an atheist, but his ex-wife is Catholic. When they got divorced, the judge ordered that their son continue attending a Catholic high school. Ryan, however, wants his son in the public school, out of reach of the church. "David feels the orientation and the indoctrination of the church school is harmful to his child," said Edwin Kagin, Ryan's lawyer.
Kentucky's constitution says that "Nor shall any man be compelled to send his child to any school to which he may be conscientiously opposed." What happens, however, when two parents disagree? Does Ryan have any more right to impose his beliefs on his son than his wife does? Kagin is spinning this as a first amendment separation issue, but I disagree -- I don't think this is a matter of church-and-state at all. It seems to me that it is simply a disagreement between two parents on how to best raise their child.
The thing is, the two options -- Catholic school and public school -- are not in opposition. While the Catholic school will be teaching a specific set of beliefs, public schools leave the teaching of any belief system up to the parents (at least in theory). The father is not asking that his son be sent to the we-hate-God school, just to the we-have-no-opinion-ask-your-parents school. Of course, given that the child in question is in high school, I think what he wants and what he believes has great bearing on the case.
I do know of one family where the parents have different beliefs and the kids are going to catholic school, and it seems to be working out. Truth be told, I'm not sure what to think about this -- I simply don't have enough information about the specific case. I do think that it is entirely possible to go to Catholic school and still end up an atheist, even more so if the father discusses his beliefs with his son outside of school. On the other hand, I know I would be extremely upset if someone tried to put my kids in a religious school.
What do you think? Should the kid continue at the Catholic high school or should they opt for taking care of the religious education outside the classroom?Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
