Religion in Your School?

Is there religion in your public school? You likely think not, if you subscribe to the common understanding that religion is “the service or worship of God or the supernatural” (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (MWCD)). Such religion is being systematically removed from public educational institutions. But I think we need to take another look at the term, “religion.”

There is a broader definition of religion in MWCD. A religious person is one who “manifests faithful devotion to an acknowledged ultimate reality or deity.” For the theist ultimate reality is a deity, God, the Creator and Sustainer of all things. No one disagrees that such a person is a religious. But the atheist possesses an ultimate reality too, something or someone other than God. The atheist is equally devoted to the belief that there is no God as the theist is to the belief that there is a God. Equal devotion implies equal religion. Both theist and atheist are religious.

At this point most atheists will pull out their trump card—science. Believe it or not, as a theist I am quite all right with that, as long as the atheist will acknowledge and abide by the limits of science. What is science? Science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge. This system uses observation and experimentation to describe and explain natural phenomena. From this definition it is easy to understand why theists were the first scientists. An orderly God would create an orderly world. For the good of people and to increase their understanding of the Creator, scientists set about to discover and codify that order. However, because human beings are finite in their ability to observe and know, science is inadequate as a way to discover ultimate reality. To use science in this way is to twist science into a religion called scientism.

Is there religion in your school? Yes, there has to be. Human beings require an ultimate reality to give definition to their lives. But since they are finite in their ability to know, they must fill in the gap between limited knowledge and full devotion with faith. That’s why human beings are inherently religious. All humans possess a faith to fill in the gaps between what they know and what they believe. That’s true for theists and atheists alike. There is religion in your school whether your school is private, public, or parochial.

The First Amendment of the Constitution states that “Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.” To systematically remove by law any mention of a theistic religion in public schools is to establish the religion of atheism within their walls. That is unconstitutional. The more appropriate way to approach this is to create an atmosphere of civility where all religions can be expressed and even debated. In my opinion such expression and debate should be encouraged even in so-called Christian schools. In such an atmosphere reason will apprehend the truth. Jesus said, “The truth will set you free.” Even atheists can agree with that.