Intolerance continues to rear its ugly head around us

There is nothing about Canadian democracy that involves any form of hatred for others

Last week, the Pembina Hills school division decided to end the morning recitation of the Lord’s Prayer at three of its schools.

This didn’t happen because the board came to its senses and realized that the prayer doesn’t belong in public school. Rather, the board decided its funds should be spent in the classroom and not in fighting an expensive human rights case about freedom of religion.

It’s too bad the board didn’t scrap the prayer for the right reasons, but misguided attitudes abound in this case. One of those was expressed by Blythe Kirchner, whose children attend the school in Dunstable, where the prayer was cancelled.

“I believe a little bit of faith should be in the schools everywhere … it just lets them know maybe where they’re coming from or gives them a little sense of faith in their life. It maybe even starts their day off better to say a little prayer,” she said.

Her words typify the narrow and obtuse outlook of those who advocate for prayer in public schools: “(It) gives them a little sense of faith in their life.” Whose faith? Obviously, the Christian one. But not everybody is a Christian, Ms. Kirchner.

There is no recognition here that children of other faiths attend public schools and these children have the right to be free of Christian indoctrination. They also have the right not to be singled out as The Other by leaving the classroom while the prayer is repeated.

The other misguided attitudes are equally ignorant and exasperating, but unlike Kirchner’s statement, these other ones are full of hate. I’m referring to the comments posted below the various articles about the Pembina Hills issue. I won’t repeat them verbatim; they are too disgusting. But the gist of these comments is that Islam is taking over, it is pushing Christianity out, sharia law is coming in, etc.

Several people appallingly unclear on the concept of religious freedom demanded to know why Christian prayer is not allowed, but Muslim students can have prayer rooms in public schools.

The answer is obvious — the Lord’s Prayer was being imposed on all children, regardless of faith. The prayer rooms are for Muslim students only; nobody is imposing Islamic prayers on entire classrooms full of kids or forcing Christian students to attend the Muslims’ prayer sessions. Nor is sharia law “coming in.”

It’s interesting how these folks seem to think that democracy is so weak it can’t coexist with any other faith but Christianity, without crumbling to dust.

Sometimes, it feels like Alberta has to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Another example of shameful disrespect reared its head recently with the report of the Lethbridge high school grads who held a “cowboys and Indians” party and dressed in aboriginal garb.

Everyone is calling this stupid and puerile behaviour a “teachable moment.” Teachable? These kids have just finished 12 years of schooling. They’re supposedly adults, or reasonable facsimiles thereof. They should have learned about respect for others either at home or in school during all those years.

For the last two or three decades, the emphasis in schools, starting in kindergarten, has been on respect for diversity. Yet, 12 years of this never even made a dent in their thinking. Maybe they were too busy posting Facebook updates or texting their friends while in class, so they missed basic lessons about life in civil society.

Much of the anti-Muslim tripe online is being spouted by people who, in their fervour to keep the Lord’s Prayer in schools, profess to support Canadian values. That’s odd. I know of no Canadian value or tenet of Canadian democracy that involves hatred for others.

One question remains for the Lord’s Prayer proponents who ignore the existence of non-Christian children, the Lethbridge teens and the venomous trolls: Just why is it so hard for people to live and let live?