Green Bay — I have three basic suppositions when I send my children to public school. First, I expect them to be safe. Second, I expect them to learn.
Third, I expect them to come home secure in the religious beliefs that my wife and I have taught them.
Eight-year-old Morgan Nyman’s parents disagree with my third supposition, so they are suing the Kettle Moraine School District for its appropriate refusal to allow Morgan to distribute materials designed to proselytize children. The suit alleges that Morgan became ill because she was not permitted to distribute her “special” Jesus Valentine cards.
Let us be clear here. In no way have Morgan Nyman’s rights been violated. If Morgan wants to pray in school, she is free to do so anytime that she is not actively involved in class.
If Morgan wants to read the Bible in school, she can certainly do so when it does not interfere with class time. If Morgan wants to organize a before- or after-school voluntary prayer group, that would be permissible also.
But neither Morgan nor her parents, who provided her with Halloween cards especially designed to convert children and Valentine cards with a religious message, have the right to use a classroom activity to propagate their faith.
If this lawsuit is successful, then school systems all over the state will be forced to provide access to their student populations to any parent with a child in the school whose religion seeks to make converts.
If students are permitted to distribute religious advocacy materials in class, than all religious groups will need to have that same right and access. It will be most interesting, in this age of religious diversity, to see what religious materials our children will be bringing home with them.
Schools in a quandary
There is no question that schools are in a quandary about religion. They need to understand the difference between education and advocacy.
Our schools, for fear of exactly what is happening in Kettle Moraine, do not do a good job of teaching about the importance and diversity of religion and religious expression. It is absurd to believe one can understand the history of any civilization without a rudimentary understanding of religious beliefs and practices.
When teaching about the ancient Israelites, for example, the Bible should be discussed as the premier documentary source for understanding the culture of ancient Israel. When Chinese civilization is taught, it is important that students have a basic understanding of Confucius, Buddha and Lao Tze. Western civilization can not be fully understood without a working knowledge of Catholicism, Islam and the Protestant Reformation.
The Nymans, however, have no interest in education. They are interested in advocacy.
Like many within the Christian Right, they believe that they ought to be able to use government institutions, like public schools, to propagate their religious beliefs. Sadly, they see no moral difficulty with proselytizing children without their parents’ knowledge or consent, or misusing the “captive” environment of the classroom.
I am sorry that little Morgan was upset at not being able to pass out religious tracts to her classmates on school time. But I am no stranger to upset children.
When my twin sons were 9 and attending a local camp, they were proselytized without my knowledge or consent by the 180 Youth Group from Bayside Christian Fellowship.
Although my sons told the teens that they had no interest in praying to Jesus, they were badgered and harassed until they acquiesced. They came home from camp physically ill and very upset because they believed they had betrayed God, Judaism and my wife and me.
The Kettle Moraine school district was absolutely correct in refusing to allow the students in Morgan Nyman’s class to become the “captive” audience for those who seek to abrogate a parent’s right to raise children in whatever religious tradition they choose without the interference of the Nymans or anyone else.
Rabbi Sidney A. Vineburg, Ph.D., is spiritual leader of Congregation Cnesses Israel and adjunct assistant professor at St. Norbert College. An earlier version of this article appeared in the Green Bay News Chronicle.
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