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AFA JournalRELIGIOUS FREEDOM SYMPOSIUMStudents are shortchanged when not taught of our Judeo-Christian foundingPhyllis Schlaflyfounder, Eagle Forum AFA Journal, July 2001 Edition It is more important than ever before that young American citizens have an understanding of our nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage. They probably missed out on this part of history in public schools, and their parents probably missed out on it, too. The schools that boast of tolerance, diversity and multiculturalism do not apply these same standards to Christians. Indeed, the prevailing dogmas of political correctness decree that the entire Judeo-Christian heritage be excluded from the teaching of history. Third-rate feminist and minority writers have been substituted for the DWEMs (Dead White European Males), such as Aristotle, Shakespeare and Dante, as the core curriculum at many of America’s colleges and universities. Someone needs to teach our young people the history and the literature of the western tradition if we are to preserve our freedom, because freedom only flourishes in Judeo-Christian countries. Someone should teach our young people that the Declaration of Independence is America’s great religious document, the official and unequivocal affirmation by the American people of their belief and faith in God. The Declaration affirms God’s existence as a “self-evident” truth that requires no further discussion or debate. The nation created by the great Declaration is God’s country. The rights it defines are God-given. The actions of its signers were God-inspired. Many of the men who signed the Declaration paid for their courage with their lives and fortunes, and that’s why we are able to enjoy our freedom and independence today. The Declaration contains five references to God – God as supreme Lawmaker, God as Creator of all men, God as the Source of all rights, God as the world’s supreme Judge, and God as our Protector on whom we can rely. The Declaration declares that each of us is created. If we were created, we must have had a Creator. The Declaration declares that each of us is created equal, which means equally endowed with unalienable rights. It does not mean that all of us are born with equal capabilities, as obviously we are not. Nor does it mean that all of us can be made equal, as Communist theory alleges. It is dishonest for the schools to de-emphasize our nation’s Judeo-Christian heritage. History should teach students what really happened, not what the schools wish had happened. It is historical fact that our founding fathers who wrote our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were men of faith who took their Christian religion seriously. They were well-schooled in the Bible and they believed that religion and morality are the foundation of the American government. Our schools should teach that George Washington said: “It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor.” And our students should learn that our second president, John Adams, wrote, “Statesmen may plan and speculate for liberty, but it is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand.” Phyllis Schlafly is founder of Eagle Forum, a national conservative and pro-family organization, and was named one of the 100 most important women of the 20th century by Ladies Home Journal. |
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