Chapter 2 -- School
Wars: Resolving our Conflicts over Religion and Values
School Critics: Who Are They?
Leaders of the Pack:
| Citizens for Excellence in Education |
This is the most proactive group; founder and president is Robert Simonds.
CEE maintains that its mission is to bring "moral sanity" back to the public schools.
Simonds proclaims that "schools belong to the community."
Five individuals whose organizations appear to be closely tied to CEE in philosophy, purpose, and strategies are Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, and Mel and Norma Gabler.
| Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum |
Phyllis Schlafly founded Eagle Forum in 1972 which opposes anything anti-family, anti-God, anti-religion, anti-children, anti-life and anti-American defense.
| Pat Robertson and the Christian Coalition |
Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) has been in existence since 1960.
"The 700 Club" reaches eighty-four other countries around the world.
Robertson created the Christian Coalition which is involved in promoting particular candidates for school board races and for other local and state-level elective positions across the country.
The Christian Coalition broke into the national spotlight in 1995 with the presentation of its Contract with the American Family which called for the return of American education to parents.
Robertson also established the American Center for Law and Justice which is involved in defending student-led prayer in public schools.
| The Gablers |
Mel and Norma Gabler founded the Educational Research Analysts which scrutinizes textbooks and curricular materials.
| Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority |
The Moral Majority was created by Falwell in 1979 and is a political movement dedicated to convincing morally conservative Americans that it is their duty to register and vote for candidates who agree with their moral principles.
| Focus on the Family |
Focus is a nonprofit worldwide organization founded by James Dobson.
Dobson is a psychologists and author of several books on child rearing and family relations including Dare to Discipline which has sold more than two million copies.
Focus on the Family is dedicated to strengthening the home.
Focus on the Family publishes several magazines including Citizen and Teachers in Focus.
The organization is not aggressively involved in attacks on public school materials.
The Role of Fundamentalism
Understanding Christian fundamentalism greatly enhances one's understanding of the crisis in American education.
In 1910 a series of twelve small books bearing the overall title The Fundamentals: A Testimony of the Truth was published.
The Fundamentals served as a rallying point for Protestant conservatives.
In 1919 the World's Christian Fundamentals Association was formed; this was the beginning of fundamentalism as a distinct movement within evangelicalism.
Five points that have informally become the defining beliefs of fundamentalism:
In 1972 the now-famous Scopes "monkey" case challenged Tennessee's stature.
In the 1950s fundamentalists rallied around one major theme -- Anti-Communism.
In the 1960s and 1970s the number of Christian bookstores and magazines grew rapidly and Christian radio and television shows were established.
In 1976 fundamentalists joined evangelicals in backing Jimmy Carter for president.
Three years later, Jerry Falwell founded the Moral Majority; this created one of the first politically active fundamentalist organizations.
Grady, B., Hall, T. & Marzano, R. (1996). School Wars: Resolving our Conflicts over Religion and Values. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.