Teacher pushes religious views; students sue

by Roger Sinasohn (Subscribe to Roger Sinasohn's posts) Dec 14th 2007 9:34AM

Categories: Teens & tweens, Alcohol & Drugs, Education

James Corbett, a social science teacher in Mission Viejo, California, has been accused of pushing his religious views on students instead of teaching, according to a lawsuit filed in a federal court earlier this week. If the allegations are accurate, then Corbett did indeed cross the line and improperly foisted his beliefs on his students.

It was just about this time last year when I covered another, similar story about a teacher using his classroom as a pulpit. As I said then, "when he sets foot in a public school classroom, he is an employee and representative of the government and has to keep those beliefs to himself."

Sophomore Chad Farnan had to take Corbett's class in order to get into college, but didn't like the proselytizing he had to endure. "He's been indoctrinating us and not teaching the class; we don't need to be hearing his political views during school time when we should be learning," said Farnan. He brought a tape recorder to school and, for two months, taped the lectures with the recorder in plain sight on his backpack. He and his family filed suit because they believed that Corbett had violated the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution.

"The teacher is a representative of the state and the Constitution requires government neutrality toward religion," said Jennifer Monk, the family's lawyer. "This teacher's conduct and words clearly show he is hostile toward religion and is indoctrinating these kids, who are a captive audience."

If my kids' teachers started preaching any belief set -- even one I agree with -- I'd get pretty upset. What my kids believe is my business, not their school's or their teacher's. If what the Farnan family claims is indeed true, then they have my total support.

Source

Comments (9)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

kate 12-14-2007 @ 12:11PM

I agree fully. Religion belongs in churches and in the home (if you so choose). It is the parents' job to teach their own children their own beliefs. Religion has NO place in public schools, unless it is done on the form of a class teaching children about ALL faiths.

kate 12-14-2007 @ 12:17PM

This teacher should be fired (if the accusations are true). It is the job of the PARENTS to teach their own children their own beliefs; religion simply does not belong in public schools UNLESS it is done in the form of a theology class to teach children about ALL beliefs (including atheism).

Why must fundamentalists force their views on the rest of us? Are our choices (to believe or not) not as valid as theirs?

W. H. Heydt 12-14-2007 @ 12:32PM

Having read the base article, I'm not sure the case is quite what you think it is. Observe, for instance the name of the law group the family has brought in, as well as the what the kid and parents are quoted saying about the class.

Truth should be an absolute defense in cases like this. If the teacher can back up his statements with suitable sources, he should win.

To take one example from the article--the assertion that the teacher said that the US was not established on "Christian principles"--reference to quite a number of statements made in print, at the time, by people active in writing and voting on primary documents would, I think, support the claim. Several of the traditional "Founding Fathers" of the US were deists, for example, and not christians.

Shauna 12-14-2007 @ 2:11PM

It is accurate that a good deal of the founding fathers were not Christians, however, they were still, no matter what their beliefs, searching for religious freedom. I read the article myself, if this were a teacher who had instructed childrent to pray in class, taught not just Intelligent Design, but that God created the universe and encouraged children to embrace Christianity, there would be no question whether or not this case had merit.

When the tables are turned, however, and it is the Christian students feeling "infringed upon", all of a sudden questions arise as to whether their Constitutional rights have actually been breached.

If we have decided as a country that government and religion need to stay separate, then that includes ALL religion. Whether it's Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism or anything else.

This teacher, according to the article, made blanket statements about Christianity that, were they made about Muslim-ism, would have had him on the radar of the ACLU and every other human rights organization that could write a letter or call a news conference.

As a Christian woman, I don't want my kids' religious education coming from teachers either - it's difficult to keep tabs on the information being taught. I do think, though, that the rules need to be the same across the board; and just because the group that the student sought help from is the Advocates for Faith and Freedom, it does not immediately label him, his family, or the group as immaterial or "religious wackos".

Uly 12-14-2007 @ 10:10PM

Shauna, do you mean Islam? It seems to me that it is not very polite to get the name of somebody's religion totally wrong like that.

Courtney 12-16-2007 @ 5:49AM

Actually, Dr. Corbett talked about extremism in all religions, not just Christianity. One cannot discuss modern terrorism without talking about Muslim fundamentalists (btw, what's Muslim-ism?) and yet no Muslim students have filed any lawsuits, probably because they understand that there's a difference between religious extremists and the normal, everyday Muslim. The same applies to most Christians who take Corbett's class as well.

This is not a required class by any means...colleges don't require it to apply and it's not necessary to remain competitive, either. And you cannot teach European History without mention of religion, and Corbett found a way to use current events to tie into the history, thus making it relevant for students today.

It's a shame that Chad Farnan is going to miss out on the type of education that has helped so many students.

And as for forced fundamentalist views and separation of church and state, come on. As a Jewish student who has had Christmas and Easter activities in her classroom in public school every year, let's talk about the separation of church and state. I've never once complained and certainly never sued.

Me 12-19-2007 @ 8:38PM

Like courtney said, im not christian,b ut i always took part in those celebrations

Paul 12-27-2007 @ 5:34PM

Mr. Corbett may be a provocative and popular teacher who encourages students to think. All that is to his credit. However, he must understand where the Constitutional line is. Not having heard a recording, it is theoretically possible that Corbett was playing devil's advocate, but that's not how it appears. Instead, it appears that he allowed his personal religious views to creep into his teaching. He may not do that.

My name is Paul LaClair, and I am the father of Matthew LaClair, who faced a similar situation last year. In Matthew's case, however, the teacher was proselytizing for Christianity. On either side, teachers must refrain from promoting or denigrating religious views or religions.