{"id":12803,"date":"2022-02-15T13:16:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T19:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/?p=12803"},"modified":"2022-02-14T14:06:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-14T20:06:25","slug":"lack-biblical-christian-morals-education-impact-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/community\/lack-biblical-christian-morals-education-impact-part-1-20220215","title":{"rendered":"Lacking Biblical Christianity\/Morality on Education Impact\u2014 Guest Post by F. Devenuto\u2014 Part 1 of 2"},"content":{"rendered":"
Frank Devenuto (who was a candidate for state representative) submitted a paper MORALITY AND EDUCATION. This is part one of a two-part series.<\/em><\/div>\n
From original paper “THE IMPACT OF THE LACK OF BIBLICAL CHRISTIANITY \/ MORALITY UPON PUBLIC EDUCATION \u2013 WEEK FIVE”<\/em><\/h6>\n

I. STATISTICS<\/h2>\n

With school shootings on the rise and increased violence within the school walls, public schools are no longer a safe environment for children to learn. Many believe the increased violence and immorality is directly attributable to the removal of moral education within public education.<\/p>\n

Statistics appear to point to a connection that this break from tradition is directly connected to increased homicide and suicide, unwed pregnancies for young women aged 15 \u2013 19, sexually transmitted diseases, and the number of single \u2013 parent households. Ironically the only statistic to decrease during this time was the SAT total score (Barton, 2002; Wynne, 1985).<\/p>\n

the famous Scopes trial which helped undermine the \u201cvalidity of the Declaration of Independence\u2026inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; our system of government; our civil rights; sanctity of human life; and whether absolute truth exists as the basis of our legal system\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Additionally, an overwhelming majority of Gallop polls indicated \u201cpupil discipline\u201d (Wynne, 1985, p. 4) as the most frequent criticism against public schools. He also drew a parallel, albeit slight, that early rural America emphasized nuclear families and religious institutions coupled with a strong work ethic; however schools have been replacing these institutions for quite some time.<\/p>\n

II. WORLD HISTORY<\/h2>\n

All throughout history, cultures have purposely taught moral values as an integral part of the educational process. Moral teaching was central and normal to learning in America at one point as it was in ancient cultures from the early Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hebraic cultures through the Greek and Roman empires, the Middles Ages, and the Enlightenment period (Wynne, 1985; Noel, 1997). The goal was for students to be productive members of society.<\/p>\n

III. U.S. HISTORY<\/h2>\n

Quakers, Puritans, Catholics, and other denominations fled religious persecution<\/strong> in England and other European nations with many colonies establishing official religions (Marzilli, 2004; McDurmon, 2014). Examples include the Massachusetts Bay Colony passing a law in 1642 \u201crequiring parents to teach their children to read\u201d (Rakes, C. 2006, p. 176) and the Old Deluder Act of 1647 which \u201c\u2026explained not only why students needed an education but how it was to be accomplished\u201d (Barton, 2002, p. 80). Children were to be taught to read the Bible in school to prevent ignorance against Satan and the abuse of power.<\/p>\n

The New England Primer, the first textbook used in the colonies, published in 1690, contained an authorized catechism<\/strong> as well as sections using Bible verses to learn the alphabet, hymns, prayers, and a letter from John Rogers to his children prior to martyrdom (Rakes, C., 2006). Considered the Schoolmaster of the nation, Noah Webster, created the Blue Back Speller, which taught Americans to read, learn morality, and patriotism. He desired all students \u201cacquire good principles\u2026for this reason society requires that the education of youth should be watched with the most scrupulous attention\u201d (LaHaye, 2003, p. 76).<\/p>\n

…many of these same children learned to read at home and Sunday school. Remarkably the literacy rate in America at this time was 78 percent (Rakes, C., 2006)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Many people today would be surprised to learn that our oldest universities, such as Harvard and Yale, were initially seminaries.<\/strong> Harvard was named after a famous preacher, John Harvard, and ten of its first twelve presidents were preachers. These once bastions of theological truth now revile the very thing upon which their founders stood \u2013 faith and belief in Jesus Christ (Gibbs, 2003).<\/p>\n

Admission to these schools generally required students to \u201c\u2026be fluent in reading and writing Biblical languages\u2026were expected to know Latin, the language of most theological writings at the time. When\u2026teenagers as young as fourteen were admitted to Harvard, it speaks volumes about the quality of education that\u2026young children received\u201d (Gibbs, 2003, p. 150).<\/p>\n

In the nineteenth century, there were still few schools<\/strong> and \u201calmost one\u2013half of the children in the United States did not attend school\u201d (Rakes, C. 2006, p. 374). However, many of these same children learned to read at home and Sunday school.<\/p>\n

Remarkably the literacy rate in America at this time was 78 percent (Rakes, C., 2006). However, there was great debate concerning the responsibility of public schools as leaders within the Progressive Movement felt public schools should deal with problems such as \u201chygiene, illiteracy, poverty, and vice\u201d (Roberts, R., 2002, p. 10).<\/p>\n

Since then, the educational system in the United States has \u201csubstantially disassociated itself\u201d (Wynne, 1985, p. 4) from teaching moral values to students while increasing the complexity of academia, many times to the detriment of students.<\/p>\n

Current policies have placed an extremely low priority for teaching morality (Noel, 1997).<\/p>\n

IV. CAUSES<\/h2>\n

A. Several major events in U.S. history eroded the teaching of morality in school.<\/h3>\n

The Scopes trial of 1925<\/strong> \u201cpolarized the debate on evolution as to effectively eliminate the middle ground and became a significant force\u2026recasting the fundamentalist image\u201d (Harper, 2006, p. 11). Starting shortly after the Civil War in which \u201cEnlightenment epistemology had created a shift in people\u2019s understanding\u2026Religion was coming to be seen as\u2026establishing and supporting personal moral views only, and not as a true \u2018worldview\u2019 that had a voice in every area of investigation\u201d (Harper, 2006, p. 8) in life, work, politics, and academia including the sciences.<\/p>\n

This growing mindset led to the famous Scopes trial which helped undermine the \u201cvalidity of the Declaration of Independence\u2026inalienable rights of life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness; our system of government; our civil rights; sanctity of human life; and whether absolute truth exists as the basis of our legal system\u201d (Coryell & Pirtle, 2005, p. 1).<\/p>\n

B. A major shift in religion and its influence in society can be attributed to judicial activism in which the courts have created, rewritten, and misinterpreted laws.<\/h3>\n

The most blatant being when the U. S. Supreme Court ruled, \u201cThe First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state.<\/strong> That wall must be kept high and impregnable. We could not approve the slightest breach.\u201d This decision was based on the phrase \u201cseparation of church and state;\u201d a phrase not used or applied in the nation\u2019s first 150 years, but gained notoriety and broad application at all levels of government to the point of ruling previous \u201creligious activities and expressions as unconstitutional\u201d (Barton, 2002, p. 13; Gutierrez, 2005). This phrase is found only in a personal letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association (Gibbs, 2006), but in context indicated the government was not to be involved in men\u2019s religious affairs.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court failed to note that Thomas Jefferson \u201cfacilitated church services inside the US Capital\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Jefferson wrote numerous treatises indicating the \u201cConstitution\u2026has not placed our religious rights under the power of any public functionary\u201d, that the government is \u201c[prohibited] by the Constitution from intermeddling with religious institutions\u2026or exercises\u201d, and no \u201cpower over the freedom of religion\u2026[is] delegated to the United States by the Constitution\u201d (Barton, 2002, p. 44).<\/p>\n

Even more egregious is the Supreme Court ignored over one hundred years of its own rulings, such as Davis v. Beason (1889) and United States v. Macintosh (1931) supporting religious exercise throughout all of society because America was a Christian nation (Barton, 2002).<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court failed to note that Thomas Jefferson \u201cfacilitated church services inside the US Capital\u201d,<\/strong> recommended a \u201cBible image for the Great Seal of America\u201d, and placed the word \u201cGod directly into the state seal\u201d of Virginia (Barton, 2016, p. XIV). Also discounted were George Washington\u2019s handwritten prayer journal, Daily Sacrifice, and eyewitness accounts of divine intervention concerning George Washington being bulletproof during the French-Indian War and American Revolution (Marshall & Manuel, 1977).<\/p>\n

Also forgotten or ignored was Congress purchasing 20,000 Bibles for it citizens,<\/strong> its numerous approvals for days of fasting, and its writing of religious articles for the military (Barton, 2002; Library of Congress, n.d.). Additionally, the Supreme Court overlooked Benjamin Franklin\u2019s impassioned speech calling for prayer as the Constitutional Congress was on the verge of disbanding without a constitution, the mention of God in the Declaration of Independence giving men their inalienable rights, and Patrick Henry\u2019s speech in the Virginia House of Burgess imploring God\u2019s intervention for liberty (Marshall & Manuel, 1977), and the many buildings in Washington adorned with biblical and scriptural markers.<\/p>\n

C. As prayer was taken out of the public school system by the U.S. Supreme Court (Engel v. Vitale, 1962), a moral abyss developed in public schools.<\/h3>\n

Unfettered by morality, secular humanism became the doctrine of the public school system for children of all ages; an absolute standard of right and wrong no longer existed. Humanism denies God\u2019s existence and initially places man in God\u2019s place, \u201cinvariably ending up equating humans with animals\u2026denies the value of life\u2026leads political leaders to think that troublesome people are expendable\u2026leads to human suffering\u201d (Roberts, 2002, p. 34).<\/p>\n

One only need study America\u2019s historical documents, such as the Mayflower Compact, the First Continental Congress\u2019 first official act in 1774, the 1787 Article III Ordinance, or even George Washington\u2019s first general order to his troops as its Commander\u2013in \u2013Chief to understand early \u201cpolitical and military leaders were people of prayer\u201d<\/strong> (Nilson, 2004, p. 3\u20139) and how fallacious current court and legal rulings have become.<\/p>\n

D. \u201cCommon law is now dead in America\u201d (Gibbs, 2006, p. 152).<\/h3>\n

The common or case laws based upon the Bible since the founding of the United States which had provided a moral and absolute standard have been superseded by statutory law. This means historical case precedents \/ decisions issued by the courts from previous years (Essex, 2016) no longer mattered. In essence, laws made the legislative branch or a derivative of the government (EPA, FDA, DOE, etc.) at any level are not based on earlier historical judgments or precedents but upon majority rule at any given time on any given issue.<\/p>\n

Humanism denies God\u2019s existence and initially places man in God\u2019s place<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Instead of making decisions on what is right, phrases such as \u201cmeeting societal needs and determining good public policy\u201d are guises for employing personal opinions and preferences. Absolute standards no longer exist as the rulings by America\u2019s Founding Fathers who based their decisions on biblical truth have been overturned, ignored, and reviled by those unfamiliar with the Bible and its moral foundation (Gibbs, 2006).<\/p>\n

E. The Industrial Revolution, lasting from about 1760 \u2013 1900 (although some place its start in the early 1800s),<\/h3>\n

…brought unexpected benefits such as greater wealth and luxury, improved agricultural techniques, increased production of textiles, expanded use of steel, better transportation and communication, health and medicine advances, and inventions through science research (Thompson & Combee, 1997).<\/p>\n

However, these benefits took a significant toll on the family unit<\/strong> as men moved away to work in factories, thus decreasing the father \/ male influence and the teaching of morality in the home and society. Duties once restricted to men such as training the children were thrust upon women \/ mothers. The female role model gradually began to fill this vacuum and became the moral leaders of the home and family, school, church, and society.<\/p>\n

Additional pressure came from Europe via romantic novels which glorified the new role of women as \u201cthey became the champions for justice and morality\u201d (Fugate, 2002, p. 18) rather than a husband and wife working together to teach values to their children.<\/p>\n

Frank Devenuto (who was a candidate for state representative) submitted a paper MORALITY AND EDUCATION. This is part one of a two-part series.<\/em><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Public schools are no longer a safe environment for children to learn. Many believe this is directly attributable to the removal of moral education.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3966,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[199],"tags":[244,223,230,250],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12803"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12803"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13959,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12803\/revisions\/13959"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3966"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.altonmo.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}