Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Christians Bullied: Gov't 'Religion' Teaching Mandated

Canadian government trends foreshadow America's future as Quebec Christians are forbidden to opt their children out of the state religion curriculum that teaches moral relativism, and Alberta Christian schools, and even homeschoolers, are forbidden to teach that homosexual behavior is sinful.
“The long arm of the government wants to reach into family’s homes and control what they teach to their own children in their own homes about religion, sexuality, and morality.”
For background, read Federal Court Rules out Christian Beliefs at University and also read Christian Refused at Pro-gay-only Lunch Counter as well as Pastors Booted from NYC Schools, then Arrested

-- From "Quebec kids can't opt out of religion course: top court" posted at CTV Edmonton 2/17/12

A mandatory ethics and religion course in Quebec schools is constitutional, Canada's top court ruled Friday.

The case came before the court after a Quebec couple from Drummondville argued their children should be exempt from having to take the course, which the government introduced in 2008.

The couple said the course violated their rights by forcing their children to learn religious beliefs they didn't practice.

The government promoted it as a way of fostering harmonious relations among students by introducing them to religious practices and traditions from around the world as well as from Quebec.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "New Study Rips Into Quebec Relativism Course" by Patrick B. Craine, LifeSiteNews.com 12/16/11

The new curriculum, mandated by the Quebec Ministry of Education as of September 2008, has sparked a loud outcry from numerous sectors of the province, including secularists, nationalists, and religious believers. Spanning grades 1 to 11, the relativist course aims to promote an "absolute respect" (as one course developer described it) for the spectrum of religions and ethical choices. It replaced a previous religious education program that allowed parents to choose between a Catholic, Protestant, or secular curriculum.

"This is not a course in religious culture. It is a course in multiculturalism," said . . . Joelle Querin, a sociologist and researcher who works with the Institut de recherche sur le Québec (Institute of Research on Quebec). "All conceptions of life are considered valid," she says. "The only thing presented as indisputable is the way to cope with this ethical diversity. There stops the relativism, since children must 'select privileged actions that promote coexistence,' that is to say, acting in accordance with the doctrine of pluralism."

"As parents seek to inculcate certain values to their children of six to eight years of age," she says further, "[the children] learn in school that these values are relative and that they are free to develop their own ethical life."

The curriculum, for example, presents homosexual families as normal. In grade 1 and 2 the course has the goal: "to bring children to explore the diversity of relationships of interdependence between members of different types of families."

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

From "Homeschooling families can’t teach homosexual acts sinful in class says Alberta gvmt" by Patrick B. Craine, LifeSiteNews.com 2/23/12

. . . Paul Faris of the Home School Legal Defence Association said the Ministry of Education is “clearly signaling that they are in fact planning to violate the private conversations families have in their own homes.”

“You can affirm the family’s ideology in your family life, you just can’t do it as part of your educational study and instruction,” a government spokesperson told LifeSiteNews.“A government that seeks that sort of control over our personal lives should be feared and opposed,” he added.

Section 16 of the new legislation restates the current School Act’s requirement that schools “reflect the diverse nature” of Alberta in their curriculum, but it adds that they must also “honour and respect” the controversial Alberta Human Rights Act that has been used to target Christians with traditional beliefs on homosexuality. ‘School’ is defined to include homeschoolers and private schools in addition to publicly funded school boards.

Pro-family observers warned that the ruling risked emboldening other provincial governments in their effort to impose “diversity” programs. The last two years have seen major battles in Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, and now Alberta over the increasing normalization of homosexuality in the schools.

To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.

Also read ObamaCare Stakes Ground in War on Christianity