August 19, 1999
To Pray or Not to Pray - THE COMMENTARY
By Joseph Planta
Svend Robinson, the NDP MP for Burnaby-Douglas, got into a big stink when he tabled a petition in the Commons asking that references of God be removed from our Constitution. He was chastised as being an atheist, by editorialists and his own party brass. For the record, he was right. Right in the fact he tabled a petition on the behalf of his constituenents. He did not go on the record endorsing this, but he later did, still what he did was show the House that he was doing what the people who elected him wanted. I also happen to agree with the position of the petition. God and references to him or her should be removed. I’ll also go on the record, saying that I am a practicing Catholic. I think that it isn’t fair that those of non-Christian belief, be subjected to references to my or anybody else’s God.
Recently there was another stink in Saskatchewan where a certain group asked that The Lord’s Prayer be removed from public schools across that province. Upon hearing of that, I was actually very surprised that the prayer was still being said in such an arena. They did the right thing. If it were up to me, I’d remove that prayer as well. The separation of church and state is something that we need to have. Churches wield a great deal of clout when it comes to public policy issues, but I don’t think they have the almighty right to cram it down the throats of everyone else. Perhaps, a renaissance back to prayer in the classroom is needed. Maybe even a lesson or two in morality. We could certainly use it.
I happen to think schools are not the place for that kind of preaching. Morality belongs in the home and, I know a lot of you are saying amen to that. A child raised well, with a strong moral character and the trait of being able to distinguish between right and wrong, should come from the home, not the public school. Parenting is a lost art, since the days of June Cleaver and Ozzie and Harriet, morality in our homes and in our society has plummeted. Take The White House as an example. Perhaps, schools should be the place where this proper thinking should be dispensed, but no, we couldn’t have that. It would hinder on our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Well if that’s your argument, Mildred then take your Lord’s Prayer with it. That prayer’s removal was right. Schools, at least public ones, should have a role to play in the raising of a child. After all, it was a one Hilary Clinton who said it takes a village to raise a child. Schools play an important part, but should play a supporting role. The home, need it be a parent(s) or guardian, should have the backbone. And if it fails, it’s up to society to help.
It’s a free country and a democratic one too. We cannot have our Constitution making the presumption that all of us are Christian thinkers. The church is its own entity and government is too. The separation of church and state must happen, because that’s what democracy is all about. Our Constitution also has provisions in it where religions of all stripes are protected, as it should be. Churches regulate our thinking and our beliefs, government our actions. And in maintaining a society, the government must be upheld.
MP Svend was right, and God bless him for it.
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