U.S. public schools 'destroying children's belief in Christianity,' says author
Christianity is declining in the United States, and journalist Alex Newman said that this is due in part to the public school system.
In an interview with WND, Newman said, "One of the big things we looked at for 'Crimes of the Educators' was how the educators – and by this I think it's important to say we don't mean the average teacher in the classroom; we're talking about the education establishment – but what we looked at was how the government schools were systematically destroying children's belief in biblical religion, in Christianity."
Newman was referring to "Crimes of the Educators: How Utopians Are Using Government Schools to Destroy America's Children," a book he penned together with author and educator Samuel Blumenfield. It digs deep into America's public education.
According to WND, Newman said that public schools in the U.S. are neither secular nor impartial to various religions as many believe; rather, it promotes religion to students -- that of humanism. He puts this down to the beliefs of John Dewey, an American education reformer, who was among those who signed the Humanist Manifesto.
The report also says that different religious beliefs are being introduced in schools. It mentions some kids having been asked to recite the Five Pillars of Islam, write the Islam conversion creed Shahada, practice mindful meditation of the Bhuddists, among others. Christianity, on the other hand, has been dissuaded, citing a school that prevented a group from giving free Bibles on National Freedom of Religion Day.
"Any religion that doesn't have Christ in it is fine in the schools and is promoted in the schools, especially humanism and these types of things," explained Newman. "So what's going on here is really a war on Christianity."
A study by Pew Research Center reveals that in 2014, 70.6 percent of Americans said they are Christians, a decline from the 78.4 percent in 2007. Another study shows that there is an increase in the number of unaffiliated. In the '70s and '80s, only 12 percent of respondents aged between 18 and 29 said they are unaffiliated or have no religion. This increased in the '90s to 16 percent; and in the 2000s, it went up to 23 percent.
