Psychology questionnaire: God in school.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

1) Do you believe in God?

No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?

What you see is what you get.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?

No, but they support Christianity more than any other religion (Christmas holiday, etc.), and certainly don't support atheists.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?

No. Religion should be a private matter, and not incorporated into the school at all.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?

Absolutely not.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

N/A

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?

No, unless it fit Darth Wong's criteria, which would never happen.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?

N/A

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?

Yes.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?

N/A

11) Why or why not?

N/A

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?

No.

13) Why or why not?

It would be a boring waste of time, and would make me angry to see school sanctioned brain washing day in and day out.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?

Yes. Historically correct and completely unbiased, that is.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?

No.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?

Sure, but keeping in mind that stunts like gathering on the front lawn to publicly pray out loud does not qualify as "not bothering anyone else". Those types of things are specifically designed to shove Christianity in people's faces.

17) What about witnessing to people?

I don't understand the meaning of that term, but if it means prosletyzing, then absolutely not. Teachers wouldn't let students try to convert others to Satanism or to abandon their religious beliefs, so why should they let them prosletyze for Christianity? Besides, prosletyzing is disruptive, intrusive, and rude.

[Dorsk 81]

Age: 17
Sex: Male

1) Do you believe in God? No

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow? Athiest

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity? No

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too? No

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school? No

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow? -

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School? Yes

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class? No

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased? No

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this? Yes

11) Why or why not? Because it's their choice not mine.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course? No

13) Why or why not? Because I don't feel the need to learn more about a subject I have no interest in.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct? No

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle? No

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them? No

17) What about witnessing to people? No

[Slartibartfast]

Age: 27
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?
No
2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
No religion. Non-belief.
3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
I have no idea. Never been to a state-run school (if that's what you mean, obviously, because a theoretical Buddhist schools would not, duh)
4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
No. They shouldn't support Christianity, even.
5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
No.
6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
N/A
7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
Never heard of it
If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
No
9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Yes, definitely. Yes yes a thousand times yes.
10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Do you mean my CHILDREN? To have a student I'd have to be a teacher, not a parent.
I suppose Not.
11) Why or why not?
The only religion course I would accept to be taught to my kids would be of historical interest, not of indoctrinement value.
12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
No
13) Why or why not?
Because religion is boring, pointless shit, and I can't stand sanctimonious preachers.
14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
Yes. Which would be completely impossible, because everybody is dead and the only physical evidence is the religious propaganda.
15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No. Shit man, what kind of school are you running?
16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
Yes. Freedom to not be bothered and all that, I suppose.
17) What about witnessing to people?
Only if you can be held in contempt of court.

[Slartibartfast]

You know, most people said what their answer was before they elaborated. If you don't want to include the elaboration, just don't copy it down. You already have your answers.

Most had something like "No, unless" or "Yes, but".

If most people have something like that (specially if it's the same questions) it's indicative that the questions are loaded.

Unofficial review of your questionaire:

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
Here, you don't specify what kind of school. You're obviously asking about public schools (not Christian schools), therefore "If you mean public schools, then yes" is a valid answer to your ambiguous question.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
This implies that Christianity is exempt of this. Note that in question 3 you didn't ask "SHOULD", you're asking if they're currently doing this.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
"Have religion" is a vague question. Does this mean Christian symbols, people with religious beliefs, a church, religion classes, preaching, what?

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
"Class on religions" is vague. It could refer to a theological class - one which discusses what the religions ARE. Or it could refer to indoctrination lessons: classes that teach you to BE a Christian, or a Islamic (sp), or Greek Orthodox, or Buddhist, or Worshipper of Transexual Satan.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
You aren't giving us details of the teacher, but expect us to know if he will be biased. The most generous answers are "depends on the teacher" (we all know the truth tho if the teacher is a Christian and has to teach Christianity along with other religions)

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Only a nitpick, parents don't have "students".

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
How can a religion be "historically correct"? A religion by definition is based on myth. Are you saying whether it's historically correct that the Spanish Inquisition killed a lot of people in the name of christianity, or that Jesus actually existed or if Zeus and Odin and God are really gods. The question is ambiguous again.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
"Kept" implies that religion has been a part of school all along and people are trying to remove it.

[dworkin]

Age: 32
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God? No (Who?)

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow? None

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity? No (They do not support any religion)

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too? No

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school? Yes (It's like trying to ban oxygen, let the students form clubs if they want to.)

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow? Yes (What do you mean other religions?)

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School? Yes (Why not, it would probably warn them off)
If yes, do you believe it should be a required class? No

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased? Yes (Show me an 'unbiased' person who isn't a corpse)

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this? Yes

11) Why or why not? A good safety warning from other adults may help

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course? No

13) Why or why not? It's not a science subject

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct? Yes (all the blood and gore in reformation England was what got me interested in history)

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle? No

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them? n/a (This is part of allowing religion in schools)

17) What about witnessing to people? No (It saves on having the bunfight which occurs after we say that Sandeep will also be allowed to talk to your child about Shiva)

[Rogue 9]

Only a nitpick, parents don't have "students".

A nitpick on your nitpick. Some do. My dad's a music teacher and I'm one of his students. And that also fails to take homeschooled children into account. [size=0]Please don't kill me.[/size]

[Darth Wong]

A critique of the survey itself:

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
17) What about witnessing to people?

It is clearly implied that by "religion", the people writing the survey really mean "Christianity", as opposed to Scientology, Satanism, Japanese doomsday cults, Jedi, or humanism. It is almost certain that any Christian taking the survey will interpret these questions thusly.

However, this obvious connection is not made clear in the question. The questions are therefore quite misleading, and their conclusions quite misleading, because you don't actually know for sure how someone is interpreting it. A typical Christian might think "yes, it's OK to witness to people" while simultaneously becoming furious if he discovered that Satanists were aggressively trying to convert students at his child's school.

[Rogue 9]

The Canadian census protest aside, does anyone actually follow the Force as a religion?

[Darth Wong]

The Canadian census protest aside, does anyone actually follow the Force as a religion?

There are lots of people whose religion is "independent". A surprisingly large number of these people actually find the idea of the Force (similar to certain Eastern religions) to be very attractive. They might not actually call it "The Force" to avoid ridicule, but if you ask them to explain what they actually believe in, it is remarkably similar.

In any case, I'm tired of Christians who ask leading questions where "religion" is interpreted as "Christianity, not religions which offend Christians".

[SirNitram]

The Witnessing question and the Prayer one both have the same twinge. After all, praying to Bacchus is not an inherently quiet activity, nor is one typically sober afterwards. I imagine that even if one managed to not be a bother during the prayer, most Christians would get pissy.

[Executor32]

Age: 19
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?
No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
Secular humanism.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
No, since public schools are secular by law.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
See above.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
See above.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
N/A.

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
Yes, because it's a class on religions, and therefore can reasonably be assumed to be a secular class dealing with multiple religions.

8) If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
No.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Yes, because it's Tennessee, and since it's right in the middle of the 'Bible Belt' it's reasonable to assume there are at least a few fundies in the selection group.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Yes.

11) Why or why not?
It's their choice whether or not they want to take it, not mine.


12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
Yes.

13) Why or why not?
You can never know too much.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
N/A, although since they have to be historically correct anyway because it's a public school, the question is moot.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No, there is no reasonable correlation between religion and violence/drug usage rates.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
Yes, given the conditions of the question.

17) What about witnessing to people?
No. Schooltime isn't the time for people to try and convert others to their religion, no matter what 'Chick Tracts' say.

[Ted C]

Age: 37
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?

No

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?

I don't believe in any supernatural entity. I suppose that makes me a secular humanist.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?

Qualified no. In this country, Christianity certainly has more influence than it should, but nationwide I don't think they support only Christianity.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?

No, I don't think public schools should support any religion.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?

No, I don't think there should be any religious activity planned by public school.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

n/a

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?

Yes. It would be a worthwhile social studies course, since religions have had profound effects on human history.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?

No.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?

No, not necessarily. It would certainly be possible to get a biased instructor, but it wouldn't be inevitable.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?

Yes

11) Why or why not?

As noted, religions have strongly influenced human history and culture. It doesn't hurt to know what motivates people in various parts of the world.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?

Yes. I might take it as an elective.

13) Why or why not?

Curiosity.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?

Yes. If such a class is going to be taught, it needs to be as historically accurate as possible.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?

No, I see no reason to make that assumption.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?

Yes.

17) What about witnessing to people?

Yes. I don't have a problem with that as long as no one in the school system is putting them up to it and they don't press people who aren't interested. Note that school employees, particularly teachers, should not engage in such activity.

[Ted C]

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

Since I don't know what FCA stands for, I cannot answer this question.

In case no one else has answered, the FCA is the "Fellowship of Christian Athletes", a sort of club for organizing Christians in school athletic programs. Where I went to school, it was not organized or promoted by the school administration, although it was certainly encouraged by Christian teachers and coaches.

[Cromag]

Age: 30
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?
No

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
Secular humanism

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
Yes. At least, of those schools that support any religion at all, it's typically Christianity.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
No.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
No.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
Yes. Provided it's simply in an historical context.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
No.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Not necessarily, no. Careful screening of prospective teachers should eliminate this possibility.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Yes.

11) Why or why not?
As long as it's an objective look at world religions and their place in history, it's just an educational class. Me likes education.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
No.

13) Why or why not?
Not really interested in in-depth discussion about religion.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
Yes.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
No. Keep religious practices off the school grounds. No matter how unobtrusive their practices might be, someone will take offense at someone else's religious views. Best to just not do it at school at all.

17) What about witnessing to people?
No. I've personally had an experience where a classmate witnessed to me. I went with it just to get him off my back and that never really sat well with me. I could see where it would have been a lot worse had I any opposing religious views.

[Sir Sirius]

Age: 24
Sex: Male

1) Do you believe in God?
No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
I'm am an atheist, I do not "belief" in anything in the religious sense of the word and I am not a member of any religion (atheism is not a religion).

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
A, answering the question asked: Yes.
B, assuming the question meant to ask "Do you believe that schools should support only Christianity?": No.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
No, schools shouldn't support any religions at all.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
No.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
--

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
A: Assuming that this class would be advocating a certain religion or religions as a whole, no.
B: However if the class is simply examination of history of religions and does not advacate any particular religion or religion as a whole and the teacher can be trusted to do his job with out bias, yes.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
B: No, there are more important subjects to study (e.g. Math, Natural Sciences Etc.), but if someone is interrested in the topic and wishes to learn more they can choose it as an elective.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Yes, almost certainly.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
A: Assuming that this course would be advocating a certain religion, no.
B:However if the class is simply examination of history of religions and does not advacate any particular religion or religion as a whole and I trust the teacher to do his job well and with out bias, yes.

11) Why or why not?
A: I would not wish that my children were exposed to religious indoctrination at school.
B: If my kid want's to take such a class I see no reason to stop them.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
No.

13) Why or why not?
I have far better things to do with my time then listen to someones superstitious nonsense.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
No.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
No. (BTW you should read Matthew 6:5-6).

17) What about witnessing to people?
No, attempting to shove your beliefs down the throats of others is rude and certainly qualifies as bothering others.

[Cornelius]

If you're going to allow that, then why not let people distribute Nazi literature in class?

They do.

[Slartibartfast]

Only a nitpick, parents don't have "students".

A nitpick on your nitpick. Some do.

Not by definition. If they have students they become teachers.

[RedImperator]

Age: 23
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?

No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?

Nothing. I'm an athiest.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?

No. This question is somewhat vague, but I interpreted it to mean "Do public schools in general enforce Christianity as the majority religion". My answer is no, though I should point out I grew up in the Northeast, with a very small fundie population (the worst are the Catholic hardliners, and there's already an extensive system of Catholic schools in the Northeast).

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?

No. Public schools, as part of the state government, have no business at all promoting or supporting any religion, or even religiousity over non-religiousity.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?

This is so vague as to be nearly meaningless. Do you mean comparative religion class? Compulsory services at a school chapel?

American society is religious by nature. It's impossible to completely purge God from school because the believing students have a right to their faith and a right to express it. However, I absolutely, positively do not believe schools themselves should be selling religion or enforcing the rules of the majority religion.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

N/A

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?

A comparative religion course could be very valuable. A theology class would be useless educationally and unconstitutional. Again, these questions are too damned vague.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?

You could make comparative religion a possible choice for a social studies requirement, but I don't see why you'd make a class with such a narrow focus and appeal compulsory.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?

All humans are biased. That can't be helped. The question is one of degrees. Some teachers would be highly professional and realize their job is to give the students the information they need to make their own decisions. Others would see it as a chance to convert the heathens. Close administrative supervision of such a class would be necessary.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?

Sure.

11) Why or why not?

Understanding religion can go a long way towards understanding a person's motives and beliefs, especially when they act irrationally (like flying an airplane into a building on purpose).

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?

Probably not.

13) Why or why not?

I was never overly interested in religion.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?

No. I find other facets of history far more interesting.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?

Absolutely not. Hell, the drug use rate in many Catholic schools is just as high as in public schools (and what discrepancy there is can be attributed to the fact that a tuition supported school can often afford to be a "better" school all around than one financed pubically).

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?

Yes. The same First Amendment that compels the state to be neutral on religion protects their right to practice as they see fit.

17) What about witnessing to people?

Yes, as long as they're not given special privledges (like time off from class to do it) and they understand that if someone tells them no, they're bound to respect that.

[Shadowhawk]

This is an anonymous survey for my Psychology class. Please, answer the following seventeen questions honestly with a “yes” or a “no”. Some questions ask for you to explain why you chose a certain answer. This will be confidential, but if there are any questions that you find too personal and/or do not want to answer, just put NA.

Age: 23
Sex: M

1) Do you believe in God?

No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?

I'm atheist, and thus have no religion.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?

Some schools? Certainly. Some schools do it overtly, some without quite realizing it.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?

They should neither support nor stigmatize religion.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?

Apart from comparative religion classes (and then only classes with no bias towards one particular religion), no.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?

If it's a student-run club, I have no problems with it, as long as they do not interfere with the school or harass students in any way.

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?

Only if it's a class coming from a secular perspective.

8) If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?

No.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?

Possibly. Depends entirely on the instructor.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?

Yup.

11) Why or why not?

It's their choice. I would, however, inspect materials and assignments this class uses for potential bias and would take it up with the administration if clear bias was found. I'd also be active in discussing the class with my child.


12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?

Depends.

13) Why or why not?

Depends on the instructor; the mindset of other students who take the class; the reviews of students who have taken the class...
If the instructor was some fundie who ranted about Islam or some other sect of Christianity, I wouldn't bother. If it were a teacher I knew to have balanced opinions on the whole mess, I'd be much more inclined to take it.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?

Yup.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?

Absolutely, positively, without a doubt, NO.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?

Of course.

17) What about witnessing to people?

Only if it's to their little religion club. No one not a member of their club would be interested.

[Rogue 9]

No one not a member of their club would be interested.

You'd be surprised.

[Mayabird]

Age: 19
Sex: F

1) Do you believe in God?
No

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
Secular humanism (note that it's NOT a religion)

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
No

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
No

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
No

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
If it's just some students forming a club, they can.

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
Not if it's just Sunday School on the Weekdays. If it compares different religions and their beliefs in detail, sure.

If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
No

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Possibly. In my experience yes but I came from a fundie small town.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Sure

11) Why or why not?
It's their choice. Of course I would be interested in the curriculum and what the instructor is saying, but that goes for everything. (Same as if a history prof started claiming the Holocaust never happened). Though I would hope that I'm a good enough parent that my child has a good internal Bullshit Detector and wouldn't need much help if the class turned out to be ConversionFest20-whatever.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
Probably not

13) Why or why not?
It's one of those things like philosophy that I'll study on my own time if I'm interested, but I don't really care to learn it in a classroom. I'd rather spend my classroom time doing math and science.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
I still wouldn't go, though I'd be interested in hearing people's responses to it.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
Sure.

17) What about witnessing to people?
No

[Metatwaddle]

1) Do you believe in God?
No.

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
None.

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
No. It depends on the school. Some schools try to stay secular while others are not openly Christian but present Christian ideas/prayers/pseudoscience.

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
Not really. I think schools should stay away from religion. It's the only way not to be biased - you can't truly represent every religion fairly; people will always complain. ALWAYS.

5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
See above. In addition, there must be a separation of church and state. By the way, that question is redundant.

6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
Student-run clubs? Certainly. But not school-sponsored organizations.

7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
Only if the viewpoint is objective and secular.

8) If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
No.

9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Depends on the instructor. It would be hard to find one that was not biased.

10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
Yes.

11) Why or why not?
Because I would want my child to learn about belief systems so he/she could pick his/her own religion, and speak intelligently about different value systems. Why wouldn't I let him/her take it?

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
Possibly.

13) Why or why not?
It would depend on the instructor. Before signing up for the class I would discuss it with my father, find out about the curriculum or syllabus from the teacher, and generally talk to him/her to find out about his/her views and find out how he/she would teach the class.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
No, because the teaching could still be biased.

15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No.

16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
Yes.

17) What about witnessing to people?
Yes, but they should be aware that they might get strong verbal backlash.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

<snippage>

Age: 24
Sex: male

1) Do you believe in God? No
2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow? No religion. Atheism is not a religion.
3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity? No
4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too? No
5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school? No
7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School? No It would only be yes if the class was strictly impartial, fact-based, and made no attempt to prosetylize, preach, or otherwise indoctrinate the students into a specific religion.
8) If yes, do you believe it should be a required class? No
9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased? Yes
10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this? No
11) Why or why not? I would let my child take it if the instructor were a rational person who was presenting the religions from a purely academic and philosophical standpoint. However, as the odds of finding a non-<insert myth book here>-thumper to teach the class are minimal, I would not allow my child to take it.

12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?No
13) Why or why not? I'm happy going to the library and doing my own research.

14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?No
15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?No
16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them? No It would be fine for individuals to do it, but groups tends to get a bit iffy.
17) What about witnessing to people?No That's actively seeking to prosetylize to people and should have no place on school grounds.

[GrandMasterTerwynn]

If they're not disturbing anyone, how do you plan on even noticing, much less stopping them? Thought police?

Non-disruptive is not the same thing as undetectable. The point is school property is not a place for organized worship. No one's stopping kids from praying silently at lunch, recess or study hall. But this "gather at the flagpole" nonsense has got to stop.

How is that disruptive?

Simple, you have an obvious group of people who are obviously using school grounds and school time to conduct their religious business. And if the morning prayer at the flagpole is anything like what I saw back when I was in high school a quarter of a lifetime ago, the groups who sponsor these events go out of their way to actively encourage other students to attend these events (either in person, or through the daily school announcements.) Hence, it is disruptive.

[Guardsman Bass]

Age: 17
Sex: male

1) Do you believe in God?
no

2) If not, who/what do you believe in/what religion do you follow?
none

3) Do you believe that schools only support Christianity?
no, although they always do Christmas dances and such

4) Do you believe that schools should support other religions, too?
no
5) Do you believe that schools should have religion in school?
no
6) If yes, should there be programs like FCA for the other religions that members of the student body follow?
no
7) Should a class on religions be offered to the students at Cookeville High School?
yes
If yes, do you believe it should be a required class?
no
9) Do you believe that if such a class was offered, the instructor(s) would be biased?
Possibly. Depends who is hired
10) If you are/were a parent, would you allow your student to take a course like this?
yes
11) Why or why not?
I want my children to think and question for themselves



12) If you are/were a student, would you take this course?
yes
13) Why or why not?
learning, especially objective knowledge about the nature of religions, is never a bad thing



14) If not, would you be interested if you knew for certain that the teachings would be historically correct?
I don't understand; does this mean that the teachings would be taught historically correct even if they contradicted relgious beliefs, or that the beliefs will be taught as historically correct?
15) If religion was kept in school, would the violence rate and/or drug usage dwindle?
No. I live in a school where 80 percent of the population are churchgoing mormons; but the drug rate is not different from a different religious school, and is more dependent on the wealth of the communities supporting it.
16) If religion was not allowed in school, would it still be all right for a person or a group of people to pray as long as they were not bothering anyone else around them?
Yeah, sure. Just do it quietly.
17) What about witnessing to people?
Not in school. Out of school, they are just annoying, but in school they deserve a sound beating.