From a Yahoo news article on an attempt to ban the Harry Potter books from a school library:
At Tuesday's hearing, Mallory argued in part that witchcraft is a religion practiced by some people and, therefore, the [Harry Potter] books should be banned because reading them in school violates the constitutional separation of church and state.
"I have a dream that God will be welcomed back in our schools again," Mallory said. "I think we need him."
[My comment: Interesting juxtaposition. Clearly, separation of church and state only applies to other people's churches.]
23 comments
One, Harry Potter doesn't promote anybody's beliefs. Second, even if he did, if he's not proselytising, there is nothing to do. And three, I second what the administrator say, separation church state for all faiths except mine. Keep dreaming, because dreams are just dreams. And study some law and read the books, for that matter.
However, you're being too vile on her. Ok, she's not particularly enlightened and she's making a fool, but, if we just didn't pay attention to her, she would stop. If we call her "idiot of the year" and lynch her, she will have what she, or rather, the anti-potter squad is looking for, to turn her into a martyr. She's not going to win, because she has no idea of law. No attorney, no matter how fundie is, is going to help her here and win. Leave her alone. Eventually, she will find out why she's making a fool.
Matilde,
I agree. She's responsible for all the fool she's doing and people have to stop this insanity, but humilliating her, trying to show her as an ignorant redneck is not the way, because we may get the opposite effect.
So... the wizards and witches depicted in Harry Potter are a religious group now?
Hell, if there was a religion that let you cast magic spells, I'd join. Well, to be fair, I'd join, get the ability to use magic, then leave to found my own secular magic-using group, but the basic point remains the same.
So, all other religions EXCEPT for Christianity must be banned from schools? I suppose that also calls for the banning of books that make no mention of any religions, on account they're "atheist" books...
Reading this post just made me await the release of the final book even more. July can't come soon enough!
No, if there's anything we don't need in school it's Religion.
That and:
- Soda Machines
The juxtaposition is on purpose. He/she is trying to be "cute" by using seperation of church and state, a heathen idea, to stick it to the heathens. None of this matters anyway. Last year it was pokemon, this year it's harry potter. Whatever children currently find interesting or fun is a target for these people because they gain attention by piggybacking their outrage and paranoia onto whatever's already popular.
It's called Special Pleading, and it may be the most common fallacy used in fundamental religious rhetoric. After all, how can you argue that all the other gods are fake, and yours is real, when there is no physical evidence of any of them?
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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