When I was taking a course at Berkeley at Yale regarding extremism and cults, the professor said, “Watch out for those Christians, they will get you every time.” The professor understood how religions and faith perspectives are a two-edged sword which can help or hurt. This devout Christian was saying this with great sincerity. For example, religions can have a zealous component that can create havoc in our lives as one side of a two-edged sword. The other edge is hope, purpose, and meaning.
Watching what is happening in our nation today, makes his statements become crystal clear. We see it in recent laws in Texas as well as in the movement toward Christian Nationalism.
A headline in The Inquirer sent me back to my professor’s words. The headline read, “Texas education officials approve Bible-based lessons for K-5 schools.” The article included statements such as “Supporters of the curriculum welcomed the State Board of Education’s vote Friday, saying the curriculum will help students learn and accusing opponents of trying to ban the Bible from classroom.”
“It respects students First Amendment rights, and it gives them a well-rounded education that makes them culturally competent and functionally literate,” stated Mary Elizabeth Castle, the director of government relations for the Christian-focused public policy group of Texas values.
Keeping in mind my ethics mantra of follow the money, school districts will be able to start using this new curriculum in August. Those that do will receive an incentive of $60 per student.
Christian nationalism is prevalent in Oklahoma as well which is at the bottom of all states in terms of various markers. Their head of education requires the Bible to be in each classroom.
I wonder how they would feel if the Koran were required to be present in each classroom. I believe that there is a place for world religion courses in schools. However, the argument from Christian Nationalists is that it is part of our founding fathers’ intention and is part of our Constitution. The fact of the matter is that it is not. The founding fathers had strong feelings about this for reasons that we are seeing in real time today. We are a melting pot of religions. There is the guideline in the Constitution of separating religion and secular government.
One of the blessings that I have had in my life is that as Chaplain at EA I oversaw the spiritual life of a diverse community that contained most mainstream religions and the range of conservative to liberal components in each of them. It reflected the wealth of religions in our nation. What a gift! My view of Christianity is that one reaches out with a solid faith to others who may be different from you as reflected in the video that is below. The video is an articulate expression of my feelings. I received a text from one of my Muslim students last week who wanted to have lunch with me. He served on my student spiritual leadership team known as the vestry. When I texted that I would make it work, his text response was “Awesome. I can’t wait.” We had lunch together on Friday.
I am so proud of him. He won a prestigious award because of his character trait of service to others at American University. After working at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, he is now stateside. Our conversation was, in part, about a major decision he must make as he always consults with me before moving forward. Our respective faiths have been deepened because of his time at EA.
Below you will find the video that reflects a goal of diversity found on the island of Mauritius. I have also included information from the American University’s Website that describes an award he received at his graduation ceremonies.
“In 2021, American University honored Saliho Toure (SIS ’21) with the Outstanding Service to the University Community Award. This accolade is presented annually to two students—undergraduate, graduate, or law—who have made a lasting impact on the AU community. Toure was recognized for his significant contributions, particularly his advocacy for refugees, immigrants, and displaced individuals. Toure fled Liberia’s civil war with his family as a baby and spent seven years in a refugee camp in Guinea, where his earliest memories included the devastating effects of war. Moving to the U.S. at eight and ultimately joining AU, he became a powerful voice for refugees, immigrants, and displaced people. He volunteered with organizations such as the International Rescue Committee and Americans for a Free Syria, where he was part of the Congressional Relations team, advocated with Congressional leaders for renewal of Syrian Temporary Protected Status (TPS), and wrote an editorial for USA Today. He also used his French skills to help Francophone refugees who couldn’t speak with resettlement services, tutored English, and served as a youth success coach. And all along, he was active in the campus community as an AU peer facilitator and member of the Intercultural Greek Collective and Black Caucus Committee. As one faculty member said, ‘There is no better exemplar of what it means to serve and live one’s life as a changemaker’”.
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