Church and State need separation

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Taber Times

The beautiful thing about living in a modern, forward-thinking country like Canada is that you have the freedom to make a lot of choices. You have the choice to vote for who you want to.

You have the choice to vote for who you want to. You have the choice to live where you want to, work where you want to, love and marry who you want to.

You also have the freedom to practice whatever religion you want. In fact, it’s a right. A right guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. You also have the freedom from being persecuted for choosing a specific religion. Let’s not forget that you have the right to not be subjected to indoctrination by a government agency or representative of the state. In other words, it’s reasonable (and legally enforced) that you should expect that a representative of the state does not enforce you to adhere to the practices and rituals of a specific religion.

Let’s also not forget that teachers and school board employees are paid by the state, ie; the government. When parents send their children to school, it is with the expectation that their children will be taught facts and lessons that will prepare them for adult life in the society that we have created.

And the expectation is that those children will be able to learn in a safe environment, free from persecution. Bringing the Lord’s Prayer back into the school, as has happened in Taber, to be read by teachers (representatives of the state) goes against the very fabric that our society has been built upon. We need to have separation of church and state in order to live in a properly functioning democracy. It’s an absolute must.

No one is trying to stop Christians from practising their faith, as many have claimed. We’re simply asking that our children can go to a place of learning where they are free from representatives of the state teaching them about one specific religion. Christians can still be Christian, Muslims can still be Muslim and Agnostics can still be Agnostics at school.

No one (at least not anyone with intelligence), wants to stop people from practising their religion. It just cannot be taught by the school. We have to create and maintain a society where everyone is free to practice whatever religion they want.

“How harmful can a little prayer be?” I’ve heard some ask. On the surface, a little prayer at the start of the day is not a big deal. I do it myself.

But when it comes from and is enforced by the state, it’s a slippery slope that we must avoid at all costs.

JAMES BIGELOW

LETHBRIDGE