Overview
The document discusses the mandate in Louisiana for K-12 classrooms to hang a poster of the Ten Commandments and suggests an alternative of promoting the Ten Commitments of the American Humanist Association.
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As you know, the state of Louisiana has mandated that every K-12 classroom hang a poster of the Ten Commandments, evidence of a broad white national Christian movement. Although the concept of white Christian nationalism is not new to the United States, it has burst onto the MAGA and Trumpism stage. Although other states have tried to mandate posters of the Ten Commandments, Louisiana came in first. The governor signed the bill last week and challenged anyone to take him on.
Robert P. Jones, founder of PRRI and a New York Times best-selling author. of The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future and The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, points out that two-thirds of the Republican Party identify as white and Christian. But in his research, Jones says that “we need to go back at least to 1493—not the year Christopher Columbus “sailed the ocean blue,” but the year in which he returned to a hero’s welcome in Spain, bringing with him gold, brightly colored parrots, and nearly a dozen captive Indigenous people.” (Robert P. Jones, The Roots of Christian Nationalism Go Back Further Than You Think, Time, AUGUST 31, 2023). When Columbus returned, he brought with him the Doctrine of Discovery, a Papal decree stating that European and Western Christianity are superior to all other cultures, races, and religions. Jones emphasizes that:
The Doctrine of Discovery furnished the foundational lie that America was “discovered” and enshrined the noble innocence of “pioneers” in the story we, white Christian Americans, have told about ourselves. Ideas such as Manifest Destiny, America as a city on a hill, or America as a new Zion sprouted from the seed planted in 1493. This sense of divine entitlement, of European Christian chosenness, has shaped the worldview of most white Americans and thereby influenced key events, policies, and laws throughout American history.
Robert P. Jones, The Roots of Christian Nationalism Go Back Further Than You Think, Time, AUGUST 31, 2023
We see in the Louisiana doctrine entitlement of white Christian legislators who ignore the concept of the separation of church and state. It’s an unfortunate state of affairs that will play out in other states and in the courts.
No to the 10 Commandments; Yes to the 10 Commitments (in school)
Rather than bringing religion into school, there are values that all students and teachers can ascribe to regardless of their own religious beliefs. We can find these in our history—all of our history. In my own case, as a teacher, professor, and author, I have underscored my work as a writer and teacher with humanistic ideals.
One of several humanistic organizations I belong to is the American Humanist Association. June 21 was World Humanist Day, and on that day, the AHA highlighted the organization’s Ten Commitments. From the AHA newsletter, the Ten Commitments encompass a broad spectrum of virtues that inspire us to strive for a better world: altruism, critical thinking, empathy, environmentalism, ethical development, global awareness, humility, peace and social justice, responsibility, and service and participation. Together, these commitments embody the essence of humanism—a way of life that uplifts reason, compassion, and ethical action in pursuit of a more just and enlightened world.
Large Posters for the Classroom
You can copy or purchase the Ten Commitment posters, which come in several languages, including English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Bulgarian, Farsi, Japanese, Korean, and Urdu.
Summary
- The state of Louisiana has mandated that every K-12 classroom hang a poster of the Ten Commandments, which is seen as evidence of a broad white national Christian movement. ?
- Two-thirds of the Republican Party identify as white and Christian, and the concept of white Christian nationalism has gained prominence in the United States. ?
- The roots of Christian nationalism can be traced back to the year 1493 when Christopher Columbus returned to Spain with the Doctrine of Discovery, which asserted the superiority of European and Western Christianity over other cultures, races, and religions. ?
- The Doctrine of Discovery has shaped the worldview of most white Americans and influenced key events, policies, and laws throughout American history, including ideas such as Manifest Destiny and America as a city on a hill. ?
- Instead of bringing religion into schools, there is a proposal to promote values that all students and teachers can ascribe to, regardless of their religious beliefs, such as altruism, critical thinking, empathy, environmentalism, ethical development, global awareness, humility, peace and social justice, responsibility, and service and participation, as outlined in the American Humanist Association’s Ten Commitments. ?
““ Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, they accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans.” Charles Mann (1493).
“Much as Columbus created a new world biologically, the Spanish empire he served created a new world economically.
Charles C. Mann presents. the latest research by ecologists, anthropologists, archaeologists, and historians, Mann shows how the creation of this worldwide network of ecological and economic exchange fostered the rise of Europe, devastated imperial China, convulsed Africa, and for two centuries made Mexico City–where Asia, Europe, and the new frontier of the Americas dynamically interacted–the center of the world. In such encounters, he uncovers the germ of today’s fiercest political disputes, from immigration to trade policy to culture wars.”
Just as we are aware of the Climate Change, we need to think about HABITAT change. “The Columbian Exchange, is the reason there are tomatoes in Italy, oranges in Florida, chocolates in Switzerland, and chili peppers in Thailand. More importantly, creatures the colonists knew nothing about hitched along for the ride. Earthworms, mosquitoes, and cockroaches; honeybees, dandelions, and African grasses; bacteria, fungi, and viruses; rats of every description–all of them rushed like eager tourists into lands that had never seen their like before, changing lives and landscapes across the planet. Charles Mann’s books on 1492/1493 are at Haverhill Public Library in both the children’s room and the adult sections. Get the young students interested in “Habitat”. Change..
Jean, thank you for this comment. I appreciate your explaining the importance of habitat change as documented by the Columbian Exchange https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbian_exchange).