“The Christian community in every state
needs to bring these standards to light and
help educators gain confidence to exercise
their academic freedom to teach to the full
extent of their state’s standards.”
In Virginia, high school students are expected to: “Demon-
strate knowledge of … the civilizations of the Hebrews …
explaining the development of religious traditions; [and]
describing the origins, beliefs, traditions, customs, and
spread of Judaism. Essential Questions: What were the
essential beliefs of Judaism? How did Judaism influence
Western civilization? Essential Knowledge: Ten Command-
ments, which state moral and religious conduct.”
However, even though a state’s academic standard
provides educators with specific guidelines for teaching
these topics, educators are too often uninformed about the
specific standard (opting to teach only what is in the text-
book) or are afraid to give the topic much time or attention
for fear of being accused of endorsing a particular religious
belief.
Some states include Christianity and Judaism in a list of
major world religions students should study. For example,
Maryland expects students to: “Describe the social, political,
and economic impacts of various world religions on a global
society, such as Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism,
Taoism, and Buddhism.”
Unfortunately, due to a mixture of multicultural fervor
and fear of mixing church and state, some educators only
feel comfortable teaching about religions other than Christi-
anity. Consequently, in the multicultural mix, the Bible and
Christianity are given a disproportionately small amount of
class time.
Generalized References
Some states include generalized references such as “beliefs,”
“culture,” or “social institutions.” In these cases, it would be
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very appropriate to teach about specific beliefs of Christian-
ity in order to fulfill the standards adequately. For example,
Illinois Middle/Junior High School standards expect
students to: “Explain how social institutions contribute to
the development and transmission of culture.”
The Christian church is arguably one of the most influen-
tial “social institutions” that has contributed to—and contin-
ues to contribute to—“the development and transmission of
culture.”
In New Jersey, eighth-grade students are expected to:
“Determine the impact of religious and social movements
on the development of American culture, literature, and art”
[and] “Evaluate the role of religion on cultural and social
mores, public opinion, and political decisions.”
Certainly understanding the beliefs that motivated
Christians in American history and culture is important to
adequately fulfill these standards. A New Hampshire stan-
dard for high school students adds examples of the influence
of religion on American history and culture: “Analyze how
religious ideas of morality have impacted social change, e.g.,
the Abolitionist Movement or the debate over legalized
abortion.”
“Religious ideas” in the context of this standard means
Christian ideas and educators need not be hesitant to teach
about them. To fulfill a standard like this, educators should
teach—as the standard requires—the religious ideas of
Christians involved in these social movements.
Christians in History
State academic standards across the country also expect
students to learn about people in history who were moti-
vated by their Christian faith. For example, Indiana expects
high school students to: “Read Reverend Martin Luther
King, Jr’s, ‘I Have a Dream’ speech (1963) and ‘Letter from
a Birmingham Jail’ (1963) and summarize the main ideas
in each.”
King quoted Isaiah 40 when he declared: “I have a dream
that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and
mountain will be made low. The rough places will be made
plain, and the crooked places will be made straight. And the
glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it
together.”
In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, he defended himself
by recalling the civil disobedience of the three Hebrew
youth in defying Nebuchadnezzar’s order to bow to him.
He also referred to the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as his