Sex education is one of the most controversial issues that are taught in many public schools through out the United States of America. Christians that include Catholics, Protestants, and others have much influence in their local communities which in return effects what is taught in certain public schools. Religious beliefs and morals often times are reflected in what is taught in some schools where a certain religion is dominate in a region. For example, if a public school is predominantly made up of Christian faiths, it would be preferable for abstinence only sex education to be taught rather than sex education. If sex education were taught, it would contradict the religious beliefs of most Christians. This is why contraceptives such as condoms and birth control and even vaccinations against HPV are unheard of and not used by many Christians, even if they attend a public school. Many school’s teachings are being influenced by religious faiths. David Kupelian believes there are “bug chasers or people whose main focus is to seek out sexual encounters that will infect them with HIV” (Kupelian 657). In a sense, people who rigorously follow and belong to Christian faiths that are against sex education are “bug chasers.” If someone doesn’t know about contraceptives, they are more at risk for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy than someone who does know. Abstinence only sex education simply mirrors the religious beliefs of Christians in our public schools.
According to the movie Jesus Camp, there are some 80 million Evangelical (born again) Christians, and 75 percent of homeschooled children are Evangelicals. Many parents are homeschooling their children because some schools are pushing for intelligent design and evolution to be taught in public schools. Not only are intelligent design and evolution an issue, but so is creationism. According to Michael Ruse, a creationist is “someone who believes in a god who is absolute creator of heaven and earth, out of nothing, by an act of free will” (“Creationism”). In contrast to a creationist, an evolutionist believes “ the characteristics of living organisms change over many generations as traits are passed from one generation to the next” (Evolution: “Introduction”). Intelligent design is similar to Evolution. However, it differs because it doesn’t believe nature is the designer, but that God is the designer. All of these theories are argued over, particularly whether or not the theories should be included in a public school’s curriculum. Creationism is popular among some Evangelical Christians. Jesus Camp portrays a young man named Levi who is an Evangelical Christian who is taught creationism while homeschooled by his mother. At one point, Levi is told by his mother that science isn’t relevant, and as a result of his knowledge and studies about creationism, he agrees. Scientists would argue that Evolution is the origin of life, Christians would argue God, but the point is that there is missing information that the youth of America don’t learn. Students are being sheltered from other beliefs such as intelligent design or evolution by being homeschooled because parents are afraid of it interfering with their religious faiths.
Censorship of books and literature are extremely effective in shaping religious views. Many books have been banned or boycotted by public schools such as the Harry Potter book series and Farenheit 451 because they are supposedly inappropriate. What makes reading material inappropriate? Morals that have been established through religious faiths are what deem certain literary works “inappropriate.” For instance, people of Christian faiths claiming to be Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelical Christians claim homosexuality isn’t a part of their religious faith. So, if Christians are against homosexuality, then that goes against their morals, but that doesn’t mean it goes against everyone’s morals. Surprisingly, J.K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter book series admits one of the characters is a homosexual. Obviously, in the mind of Rowling, homosexuality isn’t immoral. However, someone doesn’t have to be religious to have morals. Morals are a distinction between right and wrong. Another issue with censorship is the issue of the material in textbooks, specifically history books. Many history books claim that America was founded as a Christian nation. Yet Richard Dawkins argues that the founders “were secularists who believed in keeping religion out of politics” (Dawkins 41). Censorship discourages new thoughts and usually forces students to learn one sided opinions, rather than multiple opinions. Censorship is a result of religious beliefs which limits what is taught in classrooms.
Abstinence only sex education, the push for intelligent design to be taught in classrooms, and the censorship of books and literature are some of many aspects of American culture that have been influenced and shaped by religious beliefs. Everyone has a different perception of how religious beliefs have shaped American culture. Overall, there are many different religions and beliefs, each affecting American public life directly or indirectly in unique ways.
Works Cited
Dawkins, Richard. “Secularism, The Founding Fathers and the Religion of America.”
The God Delusion. E-Reserve. 18 Oct. 2007. 38-47.
“Evolution.” Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia. 23 Oct. 2007.
Jesus Camp. Dir. Ewing, Heidi and Rachel Grady. Magnolia Pictures, 2001.
Kupelian, David. “Killer Culture.” Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking
and Writing. 7th ed. Ed. Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle.
Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2007. 646-663.
Ruse, Michael. “Creationism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (Fall 2003 Edition).
Edward N. Zalta (ed.). 23 Oct. 2007.
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