Christian Nationalism In The Classroom

Are you prepared for your student to learn the state's interpretation of Christianity as part of their required curriculum?

How much religion should be mandated as part of your student’s public education? 

Before you answer, consider what this could mean.  How much do you think your student should be studying the Bible, the Torah, and the Qur’an as part of their curriculum?  How many classes do you think they should regularly be taking where those books, or more from other religions, should be required study?  Regardless of your household beliefs, how much do you think your student should have to be familiar with the philosophies of each of these and be tested on them?

Or, do you think religion should be separated from public school, like it is supposed to be for all government institutions, and matters of faith be left to individual households?

Is it your parental right to determine if, when, and how your child is introduced to the moral teachings of various religions and how they impact our society? 

In Florida, it may soon not matter. 

After a failed attempt in Texas to advance a bill that would require the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every classroom, Florida has decided to avoid the Legislature entirely and quietly insert its teachings into sixth grade curriculum standards.

Yes, the state of Florida is revising some of the language in Social Studies and Civics standards yet again after last year’s controversial approval of textbooks and African American History standards.  And while the change may look banal at first, it almost certainly is an insidious attempt to thrust religious doctrine into the classroom. 

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For decades, the state of Florida has mandated that as part of its curriculum, students be taught the influences of Greek and Roman society on the United States Constitution. The reason for this is because we tend to think of the Greek and Roman civilizations as the early laboratory for what we know today as ‘small d’ democratic values.  The Senate and representative republic were fixtures in Roman society, while ancient Greece boasted some of the first direct democracies in the historical record. 

It's not a wonder why Florida would teach these institutions as part of its instruction on the United States Constitution.

Now, however, Florida is mandating that the influences of ancient Jewish traditions MUST be added to instruction regarding the Constitution.  But why?

Judaism is the root of modern Christianity, and the two faiths share a number of things in common, including a holy book.  The Torah and the Old Testament share a remarkable number of similarities, including the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

What this rule change is, is a back door to force Christianity into Florida classrooms.

By requiring classrooms to include instruction on ancient Jewish traditions and their influence on the Constitution, the state of Florida is mandating that teachers expound on the Founding Fathers’ Christian faith and how that might have played into their framing of the Constitution. 

Never mind the fact that the First Amendment specifically divides the government from religion, and that Thomas Jefferson himself is on record as saying there should be a separation of church and state. 

Florida wants your students to be taught Christianity as part of their curriculum.  

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This revised standard can be interpreted in no other way. But if you want more proof as to their intentions with this standard, check out the earlier version of the revision which explicitly names "ancient [medieval] Christian civilizations" among the updated requirements.

The only questions left are: how will textbook publishers and educators satisfy this new requirement, and will they be allowed to go as far to claim that the United States of America is a Christian nation (as many political leaders have asserted in recent years)? 

It is worthwhile reviewing what the First Amendment actually protects and separates, and how this rule change is a blatant afront to students’ First Amendment rights.  The plain text of the amendment is as follows. 

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.   

What does this mean?

We often take it to be the ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘freedom of religion’ amendment, and it is, but it’s important to understand how that freedom works.

The very first phrase of the First Amendment specifically says that Congress cannot make a law that creates a religion for the United States.  It then elaborates that Congress also cannot prevent you from practicing your religious beliefs.  

Whether or not Christian values influenced the Constitution is an academic argument that could lead to rigorous and robust debate in the classroom, but is a sixth grade public school classroom the appropriate setting for such a debate, and can parents trust that the discussion will not infringe on the rights of their children?  The Constitution prevents the United States from dictating a religion to its people or forcing them to practice religion in a certain way. 

By mandating the teachings of ‘ancient Jewish civilizations’ influences on the Constitution, and by proxy teaching Christianity, the state of Florida is creating an unconstitutional structure around the instruction of a religious text, infringing on the faith and rights of non-Christian students.  And even those students that are Christian: what branch?  Which bible do they study?  The King James?  The English Standard?  The New International?  Which bible will be used to teach in Florida classrooms? 

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Do you see how messy, complicated, and uncomfortable this gets quickly?  Because even the radicals who want the First Amendment rolled back and a national Christian religion established can’t agree on what kind of Christianity it should be. 

That’s exactly why the First Amendment exists in part.  The founding fathers themselves, while many were Christian or, at the very least, deists, practiced different versions of similar faiths.  There is no clear-cut way to introduce religion into the classroom, and this rule change by the state of Florida is a clear violation of the First Amendment. 

There is a growing movement to thrust Christianity on your student, no matter what religion or faith you practice in your home.  Florida’s rule change is a small part of this movement, but it will be a critical one in the months and years to come. 

That’s the important piece here.  It’s not just big, grand, sweeping laws being passed that are trumpeted by the governor that need your attention.  It’s subtle rule changes and reinterpretations that can drastically impact how your students’ educational needs are being met.  The devil is in the details—no pun intended. 

Fortunately there is still a period to speak out on this rule change.  Do you remember the public outcry that followed a change in how the state would teach African-American history last year?  Do you remember the outrage over learning that Florida was going to instruct that slaves learned useful skills that helped them later in life and that violence during the Ocoee and Rosewood Massacres were “perpetrated against and by African Americans?”  

Well, those standards will not be revised under these proposed changes.  

That terrible, inflammatory, whitewashed language remains. 

The takeaway here is that once the damage is done, the state will not undo it.  It will not reverse its unethical, illegal decisions no matter how angry people get.  It just won’t.

Which is why we have to act now.  The public comment period to keep religion out of classrooms and your students’ First Amendment rights protected is now.  We cannot allow the state to pass this rule without hearing from us first. 

Otherwise, we just give up another right.

You can leave a comment here by finding rule “6A-1.09401 Student Performance Standards” and clicking on the “Submit Comment” link before 5/28/24. Be sure to complete all fields and look for a confirmation message after submission.

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Update: We started looking at online resources already approved by the FLDOE for use to meet certain standards to find indications of what information might meet this new standard. PragerU Kids is a free resource already approved by the FLDOE, and a search of "Judeo-Christian" on the site uncovered this video: https://www.prageru.com/video/is-americas-government-secular. This information is not presented as open to debate, only that "secular people" debate it. How will Florida parents respond to this?