I Knew This Would Happen!

Frequently in the ongoing battle between church and state, secularists will try and call the fundies' bluff by arguing that if a school or some other public entity was doing what ever they were doing with Islam or Buddhism rather than Christianity, the fundies would change their tune. "Oh no," they say, seeming perfectly sincere. But, of course, real life isn't like that. Consider a case argued before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals this week.

It involves a school district that, during a unit on Muslims, had the kids "adopt Muslim names and recite language from prayers." Not surprisingly, some Christian parents objected, arguing that this was "indoctrination" that "as seen through the eyes of vulnerable students, crossed the line into an unconstitutional endorsement of religion." Wait, you mean the same kids (California kids, at least) who are so strong and in control of their individual identities that they can stand being singled out for not saying the Pledge of Allegiance every morning?

The bottom line, according to the parents' attorney was "[t]he children were supposed to become Muslims. They were acting as a Muslim would act." And that's the rub, isn't it? That little Johnny Biblethumper will come home one day praising Allah. If that concerns these parents, why don't the worry that atheist or agnostic children might feel that they "were supposed to become Christians" and were "acting as a Christian would act?"

Is a little consistency too much to ask, people?