Christians and Other Religious Groups Speak out against the Religious Right’s Attack on Schools in Seattle, Washington

Various religious groups, including Christians, spoke out against the Religious Right, on a program called American Podium in Seattle, Washington, saying that the Religious Right uses deceit to get their programs into public schools.  Journalist, and author of The Good News Club, Katherine Stewart said it turns various religious groups against each other, as the Religious Right targets very young children with their agendas in the public schools, enticing them with candy and cupcakes.

Journalist Katherine Stewart, author of The Good News Club, believes that repurposing America’s public schools with a Fundamentalist Christian agenda is part of a calculated national initiative—and her whole first chapter focuses on Seattle.

Stewart pointed out that the Good News Clubs are less concerned with studying the Bible and more concerned with converting young children to their religious extremist views. They encourage Christian children to tell other children, such as Jewish children, that they are going to hell if they do not convert, which causes a child to go home and tell their parents, causing strife within communities. They teach children that the public school sanctions the Religious Reich’s religion.

Another deceitful tactic the Right uses, according to Stewart, is to cause people to believe they are interdenominational, while telling children the groups who call themselves Christians, really are not. Those they consider not Christian are Episcopalians and other liberal religious groups. Their Bible studies have less to do with study and more to do with indoctrination and encourage children to pressure their peers into believing there is only one way to get to heaven. They also teach children how to pray, in an effort to indoctrinate them into their extremism.

Stewart stated that these extremists have an agenda that is anti-gay, against other views, anti-woman, anti-Jewish, and other discriminating views. Accordingly, there are 3500 Good News Clubs around the nation and doubling every year. They make the public schools their church, even calling it “The House of God”, as they use the schools rent-free. These groups do not even pay utilities or repairs on the schools or the properties.

A bill passed in 2001, by the Supreme Court, churches were able to use public schools as churches and spread their various extremist agendas. Children, as well as parents who attend, are encouraged to pray that Dominionists take over everything, all paid by tax payers.

The Supreme Court 2001 decision, involving Good News Club v Mumford Central School, the court decided that keeping these groups out of schools, is violating their First Amendment, free speech rights. This caused these extremists groups to grow with Good News Clubs and other programs that indoctrinate and encourage children to convert their peers to the extremist Christian group.

These groups use children to do what adults cannot do legally, in an effort to convert people to the Religious Reich. Various extremists groups, which the speaker listed, fund these programs, determined to turn the United States in a Christian nation and establish a religion, which underminds education.

An Episcopal priest, moderating the program, stated that the mainline churches left the public square years ago, causing a vacuum, which the Evangelical Fundamentalists radically filled. He called it an ideological battle and he spoke more on this towards the end of the video.

Stewart said that the Right takes a harmonious community and blows it apart with their agenda. She stated, while the Right says they want tolerance, they really do not. These groups want control.

The last 30 minutes of this video includes Q&A, as well as individuals sharing and discussing their opinions about these radical groups and their indoctrination of children.

The second video, below, continues with more Q&A, as well as more discussion on this topic. Stewart talked about the various courses, especially science and history, attacked by the Religious Right. These groups especially attack climate science and Evolution, as they promote school vouchers.

The Alliance Defense Fund and Liberty Fund, defend these extremist groups legally, so they can train children in their religious views, including how to “Bully in the Name of God”. They impose their homophobic agenda on public school children as they teach them that they can get away with bullying other students, especially gay students, “in the name of God”.

Stewart said these groups are very influential in the Republican Party and the public schools. Because of their success, these groups are growing as they impose their religion on others and indoctrinate children into their agenda.

The Good News Club focuses on indoctrinating students in grades k-sixth and Young Life attempts to indoctrinate older students, which Stewart added that these groups “are quite predatory”.

The minister, moderating the program, stated the phrase Christian Nationalism is very important, because, for example, Young Life comes out of the “Billy Graham” Christianity, are backed by an agenda in this country. All the groups are active in converting souls by telling the students they will go to hell if they do not convert.

Stewart stated that we must to come together, setting aside our views, in order to fight the Right wing agenda, so that our schools can focus on education, instead of indoctrination. She also believes we need to educate others about this movement, because when the Good News Club and similar programs come into neighbourhoods, they are not teaching values, but rather cause disharmony among neighbours as they indoctrinate children into religious extremism.

The minister stated that the Bible was written by people, during that time setting, trying to understand what was happening in their communities. He stated that when we are dealing with the Religious Reich we are dealing with these Christian narratives in the Bible. He also stated that Religious Right have intimidated the liberal Christian groups into silence, but these groups need to start speaking out in order to push back the Christian extremists.

The American Podium videos packed a lot of information about these various Christian extremist groups and their indoctrination agendas.

Mriana

Mriana is a humanist and the author of "A Source of Misery". She has two grown sons and raises cats. She enjoys writing, reading, science, philosophy, psychology, and other subjects. Mriana is also an animal lover, who cares for their welfare as living beings, who are part of the earth. She is a huge Star Trek fan in a little body.

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