Why are you bothering to put "religion" in quotation marks if you don't see some relevant connection? So the question is, in what way is secularism religious?
Again, calling the secular position, one that has no religious or spiritual basis, a religious assumption, itself assumes facts not put in evidence. In what way does secularism indoctrinate people? Secularism is merely a position, or stance. Indoctrination indicates a goal to get people follow a particular set of beliefs (or a doctrine), rather than being able to think independently. Now, it's obvious that people have opposing views on issues, and often go out of their way to convince others that these views are credible, but this is far from an attempt to indoctrinate. I know you're throwing these words, "religion" and "Indoctrinate" around because they have the power to mislead people into believing secularism is an enemy of religion, but the fact is, it merely shows your inability to meet it head on on a level playing ground.
So just what is it you would like in our educational system? Would like Christianity taught instead of ________ name your secularist teaching______ ? How about Buddhism, or maybe Satanism? Or how about Jainism, which rejects the idea of a creator deity responsible for the manifestation, creation, or maintenance of this universe?
However, if our complaint doesn't revolve around the lack of teaching religion, just what aspects of secular education do you object to?
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I am a retired teacher...and since I got my formal degrees and teaching education rather later than most (i was 55 when I got my teaching credential to teach in California) I am in the rather odd position of being as old as the 'traditionalists,' but getting all the new bells and whistles the new group got, as far as educational theory goes.
.....and I do not like where it's going. The problem, of course, is that year-wise I'm of the generation that worked hard to see to it that all those new theories got put in place. Educationally, I'm of the group that got indoctrinated into them and taught that they were Truth.
Secularism, (or humanism...secularism is a political idea that simply stays out of religion, allowing all religions and belief systems to exist, ideally) shouldn't have anything at all to do with religion. The problem, of course, that people being people, all have a view on deity. It is not possible for them to be open minded about the issue, since of course their opinions are, if they are going to live a fairly sane life, to be considered at least as good as anybody else's, and better than most. If they didn't, they'd change their opinions to different ones...and those might well be theistic, or outright atheistic. "Secularism' is a political party.
One I happen to 'belong' to, even as I am a True Believer in a theistic system. In fact, my own system happens to depend upon secularism to exist. So much so that unlike most, if not all, religious beliefs, we have secularism encoded in our articles of faith. "We claim “We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.” —
Articles of Faith 1:11
the problem with the whole thing is that even as everybody around us preaches the separation of church and state, that is the furthest thing from the minds of...anybody. Today, it is 'state without church.' The state is going the wrong way here. Right now, it's about indoctrinating children into the notion that religion is 'bad.' and individual cultures are 'bad.' If they were not, why are they not spoken of, with any respect, in school?
It SHOULD be...if a child has a religion or religious culture held to at home, then that culture, including the religion, should be spoken of, celebrated and respected in school. Children should be taught that 11th Article of Faith, and it should be lived by. Even in school. Political correctness (a phrase that gives me the chills, since the first time I ever heard it, the woman was seriously advocating the idea, and advocating it's forced enforcement by government) should be thrown out.
Rambling here, I know. Sorry.
Education...public education...should be about science, objective and unbiased history, the use of language, literacy, (and there should be no 'banned' books...Huckleberry Finn keeps getting banned by everybody) Religion...all religions or 'religious like' cultures and opinions should be, not taught by the teachers, but absolutely allowed. Christmas. Hannukah. the Festival of Lights from Hinduism. Ramadan. Easter. Jewish High Holy Days. If a student follows it, it should be welcomed in all areas outside the immediate topic of the classroom. There should be classes in comparative religions where students should be taught a little bit about every faith represented by the students or the larger community around them. Not the doctrines, so much as the culture and practices that go with them, so that they can understand each other. They should be separate classes, perhaps taught by, and certainly monitored by, the leaders of the faiths represented.
And that should happen in early grade school. Right now we have sympathy in the schools towards LBGT groups and issues. Why are we shoving religion into the closet those folks are breaking out of? Right now, the schools are enforcing the idea that religion, and religious belief, are BAD. ....and as another poster has pointed out, children are not adults. They are indoctrinated by everything around them, and children spend an ungodly amount of time in school. Pun intended.
It's one thing to teach science in science class. It's quite another to enforce the 'no religion allowed around our precious students' at recess, at lunch, at band or football practice, at assemblies. School is for teaching, and schools teach, even if the students are not at desks texting each other instead of paying attention.
And schools are teaching that 'religion is bad.'
That is NOT secularism.
