From Biblical Teaching To Fighting Over It In Education
From Pilgrims and Puritans to Culture Wars in Classrooms, how far America has come
The story of public education in the USA begins with fighters for religious freedom. From the earliest American Protestants to people fighting over who learns what/how/ and why today, education has evolved and continues to change, daily.
The first American colonists were seeking freedom from religious rigidity. White Anglo-Saxon Protestants split from the earlier European churches, often because they shunned the wealth, extravagances, customs, and rituals of both Catholicism and Lutherans.
Upon arrival on the new continent, there were few qualms about reforming indigenous peoples. The faiths of servants (often Catholic or BIPOC) were actively discouraged. Conformity was the norm and diversity was often disallowed. Settlers were keen to share their values and morality.
Today, issues about inclusivity are on every front. Though it was once routine for American values to be emphasized by learning scripture and morality lessons, today most people are comfortable with a more neutral separation of church and state.
It is definitely not 100% separation, however. Schools still have holidays and follow their themes…
