That's the church-state question many are asking about recent public school trends toward an emphasis on self-fulfillment. When does teaching children about their "inner light" become a religious lesson about spirituality? When does quiet reflection in the classroom become prayerful meditation? AU's Rob Boston has written a critique of the infusion of Transcendental Meditation in schools, and an article in today's LATimes brings attention to a "Spirituality for Kids" class.
Created by a leader of the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre International, a spiritual and educational organization, the program is promoted as a nondenominational effort to teach children to make wise choices.
But it is drawing fire from parents and others who say it is illegally bringing religion into public schools under the guise of ethics training.
This issue bears watching, and I don't tend to think it has a simple answer. Self-fulfillment, happiness, character-building, quiet reflection, these all seem like positive values that could be imparted to children in entirely non-religious ways at school. Drawing lines, as always, is the challenge.
