Parenting Without God by Dan Arel

Author:Dan Arel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pitchstone Publishing
Published: 2015-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

THE GOOD NEWS CLUB

The Religious Right is, however, finding ways into our public education system. They sneak programs such as the Good News Club (GNC) into our public schools. The GNC is an after-school programs run by the Child Evangelism Fellowship. They entice kids into joining with posters advertising fun stories, games, and lots of snacks. Some have argued that because parents must give their kids permission to attend a GNC meeting, and that because it takes places after school hours, it does not violate any constitutional laws. This may be true, but evidence has shown that their recruitment policies are dishonest and that they send kids home with fliers that mislead the parents. Moderate Christian parents may be happy to learn that their children will be taught lessons about morality and how to be a good person, but instead, their children are taught a very fundamentalist view of Christianity, one that is based on a literal interpretation of the Bible.

GNC seems to be a clear violation of federal law, allowing religious organizations to lead children in religious services as part of public schools’ after-school programs. However, in the Supreme Court case Good News Club v. Milford Central School, GNC won by showing that its free-speech rights had been violated because other groups (though nonreligious) had been allowed to use the school after hours with no questions asked. This has allowed the GNC to move into public schools around the country to teach intolerance to unsuspecting youth.

The GNC teaches kids Bible stories and passages as literal truth. They warn kids that if their parents are not saved, or living by the Bible’s rules, they will be sent to hell upon death. This is taught to all attendees, even those kids with same-sex parents. They are taught in a public school that their parents are sinners and are going to burn in hell. Is the GNC actually good for our kids? I think that is an easy no.

Can we stop the GNC? Not easily. The Supreme Court seems to be on their side, at least for the time being. The battle will be hard fought to keep them out of your school, and they have millions of dollars at their disposal to fight you, tooth and nail, in court, but that does not mean they get free rein. As parents, if your school gets a GNC, stay active. Monitor their activities. Any activity at the school during school hours would be a clear violation of your children’s rights. Talk to parents. Even many religious parents do not condone the teachings and practices of the GNC.

Just because a GNC club strong-armed their way into a school does not mean they can do what they want when they get there. Stay on top of them, and look for them to mess up. When they do, take action. Their proselytizing has no place in a public school, and we can and will defeat them. I will not spend more time on GNC, as this

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