Fox News host Ainsley Earhardt on Wednesday lashed out at atheists who had asked that Christian plaques be removed from public schools in Texas, saying that they “need to understand the culture” in the South…. The South Carolina native continued: “And I think, growing up in the South, people in Wisconsin, these atheists in other cities need to understand the culture in the South, and how church is a very integral part of our childhood and growing up, and it’s a very important part for the Southern culture.”
I’ve come across a number of specious arguments presented on behalf of allowing religion into our public…but I don’t know that I’ve heard one so thin and vacuous as Earhardt’s. If I understand her correctly- and I believe I do- we should be OK with religion in public schools in the South because…God.
Right. Never mind the fact that the South already has wonderful institutions designed and ready-made to cater to the needs of Christians. They’re called “churches.”
“Culture in the South” aside, if Earhardt had bothered to stay awake during American History class, she’d understand that America is NOT a Christian nation. In fact, this country was founded by people fleeing religious persecution in England. The Founding Fathers were clear in their intent that American governance be secular in nature. No, American isn’t a Christian nation; it’s a secular nation with a Christian majority, and the Constitution simply doesn’t provide for those who wish to turn America into a theocracy.
Churches are for religion. Public schools are for education. There’s no overlap in the mission of each, and since the tax dollars of ALL Americans go to support our public schools, it seems reasonable to expect that education not be used to push Christianity on students. Especially when one considers the sorts of things religion is used to justify in the South.
Any “culture” that involves teaching mythology as biology in public schools deserves no respect and shall get none from me.
Any “culture” that includes state mandated discrimination against GLBT citizens for no other reason that it says to in a book of fairy tales deserves no respect and shall get none from me.
People in the south are free to believe as they wish, but they are not free to propagate their beliefs to others via government.
The South is not generally noted for its open-minded, accepting theology. Too often, Southern Christians use their faith as a club with which non-believers or those of different religions (Muslims in particular) are bashed. The LGBT community is frequently the “target” of Christians who pick and choose their Old Testament theology to suit their particular fears and prejudices. It’s not about Christian love or tolerance, nor is it about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s about political power, social control, and an authoritarian devotion to forcing everyone into the same box.
Earhardt is certainly free to practice her religion and honor her culture and heritage. What’s she not free to do is demand that everyone- even those who don’t share her beliefs- do the same. What she seems to have conveniently forgotten is that America is a country composed of many faiths, creeds, nationalities, and colors. Southern White Christians don’t get to claim primacy because…God. Nor should they be allowed to violate the Constution and force Christianity on our children…not all of whom are Christians.
The arrogance and dismissiveness inherent in Earhardt’s argument is as offensive as it is ignorant of America’s history and Constitution. If she or anyone else in the South wants to honor their Christian culture, they have a place they can always go: church.
Religion has no place in our public schools. Ainsley Earhardt may feel justified in demanding otherwise, but in so doing all she does is display a truly impressive degree of hyper-religious arrogance and ignorance.
Davlin said that she was upset that a secular group could “come into a community, which is a strong Christian-majority community, and say what we can or cannot have.”
“Attempt to bully us,” Coffman opined.
“Yeah,” Earhardt agreed. “Yeah, Justin, you touched on it: the War on Christianity.”
And don’t even get me started on the self-serving claims of persecution…except to say that in America, you cannot claim to be a persecuted MAJORITY…especially when 80% of Americans self identify as Christian. There’s no “War on Christianity”…except in Earhardt’s overheated, imagination and outsized persecution complex.
