Different as Night and Day

A student sits at a desk with the Holy Bible opened to the pages containing the Ten Commandments.

Is it against the Constitution for this student to have the Holy Bible open to the Ten Commandments, ready for anyone to pick up and read?

Absolutely not. Members of Christian Club would be constantly violating the Constitution and I truly do not see any Christian Club members being told to leave their Bibles at home. Those who pass by and read the Ten Commandments are doing so out of their free will. These individuals are not forced to read the Ten Commandments by their teacher or any other members of administration.

Students attending school make choices to read or view any type of material, whether the material is Greek mythology, an offensive work of art or caution signs like "Do not smoke." This time, the controversial material is whether the Ten Commandments should be displayed on the walls of public schools.

The Ten Commandments are similar to Greek myths. Greek myths are stories of gods and morals and the Ten Commandments are morals written by a god. Since Greek mythology is taught in schools and is considered religious by its portrayal of gods and morals, how could the Ten Commandments be any different? The Ten Commandments differ only by the fact that it will not be taught and will be hanging on the walls just as any other poster is hung.

Signs that display messages of caution are found all over schools and public buildings. These caution signs display a message of action that one should not take. For example, the "Do not smoke" sign plainly tells people not to smoke in the vicinity of the sign. The content of the Ten Commandments is part of the caution category as well. The messages on the Ten Commandments are just as plainly stated as "Do not smoke" signs and bears as much caution as "Wet floor" signs.

Recently, organizations in the Eastern states have proposed a bill in which schools would hang posters of the Ten Commandments in schools and public buildings.

The idea of having the Ten Commandments on the walls of public buildings would benefit people who choose to read the posters by making them aware of the morals in society and become cautious in their routines. The Ten Commandments will be able to aid people to realize what is wrong and right in society.

People will have the choice of reading the posters. Those who find the Ten Commandments offensive can turn their heads away just as they would to anything else they find offensive.

In a broader perspective, the Ten Commandments have been marked by critics as a product of religion and, therefore, a violation of the Constitution's clause about the separation of church and state.

But according to an article in The Record, "A federal judge ruled last year that the Ten Commandments are not sectarian and, therefore, do not violate the Constitution's religion clauses."

Since the Ten Commandments have been ruled non-sectarian or not relating to religious groups on the federal level, the separation of church and state legislation is not violated. Therefore, the Ten Commandments should be hung in the classrooms of public schools.

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The rights of students are being challenged as religion is introduced into the school atmosphere. Does religion play an important role in engraving morals and respect into the lives of teenagers? The answer depends on whether religion should be taught at home or in school.

It is hard to believe that in a country so religiously diverse, a school can promote one religion and refuse another. That is exactly the situation that public school students may be faced with in Georgia.

In Georgia, a proposal would require public school districts to display the Ten Commandments. Those who refuse to comply with the bill could possibly have their state funding cut.

What is the purpose of allowing religion in schools? Is it possible that reading the Ten Commandments will change the lives of the students who actually read them? It is not likely that religion in schools will have an effect on anyone except those whose religion is different than the one being promoted.

Public schools are not the place for religious expression. Academics should be the main focus in education and religion should only be taught at home. The religious beliefs that are acquired at home should stay at home.

If students feel it is important to have religion as a part of their education, they can join Bible clubs or attend parochial schools.

Another bill in Georgia would permit "student-initiated spoken prayer during the school day." According to the bill, a students could disrupt class by offering a prayer and continue the disruption throughout the entire class period. Teachers would not be able to interrupt the reading, and are prohibited from "participating in or actively supervising such prayer."

It would be easy for anyone to bring his Bible and use it in a way to waste class time. The government must believe that students are "angels" and would not do such bad things. After all, the Ten Commandments are hanging on the walls, and since religion is now in schools, all the problem students will disappear.

If the Ten Commandments are going to be displayed, what is going to happen when a Satanist club wants to put their symbol on the wall? Will the government reject their wishes? Probably. It is not right that only certain religions can be expressed.

The Equal Access Act guarantees that a student-led club of any religious denomination has the right to exist at school and have equal access to meeting space, bulletin boards and other advertising space. If the Ten Commandments are going to be displayed, then other religions should have the right to express what they believe in.

Proponents of these bills say that this country should encourage religious and moral behavior in teenagers. It is true that teenagers should be taught morals. However, what is so difficult about learning them at home?

School is the place where students should have a comfortable learning environment. If there is material being taught that makes students uncomfortable, how will they be able to learn?

Regulation of expression must exist to respect the rights of all religious views. Religion should be a private affair that takes place in the home and not in schools.