Recently, the United States Supreme Court ruled that theologically conservative parents could withdraw their children from school programs in which children’s stories with LGBTQ themes were read. The decision, based on religious freedom concerns stemming from the First Amendment, suggests a rational approach to dealing with conflicts over what’s taught in America’s public schools.
The case in question was Mahmoud v. Taylor. It was brought by a coalition of conservative Muslim, Catholic, and Orthodox Christians against the state of Maryland. The members of the coalition complained that their children’s teachers were reading children’s books, putting gay and transgender lifestyles in a positive light. One book told the story of a gay wedding, for example, while another book told the story of a boy wanting to become a girl.
The parents bringing the lawsuit said they did not want their children exposed to stories advancing beliefs contrary to the conservative religious values the parents were trying to instill. They therefore wanted to have their children be allowed to opt out of, or be absent from, the story-reading sessions.
The Supreme Court ruled in the parents’ favor. The six conservatives (or, depending on one’s views of the Chief Justice, the five conservatives and the one semi-conservative) said that the policy of mandatory attendance at the sessions violated the parents’ rights to develop their children’s religious beliefs. They rejected the view of the three liberals that it was important for the sake of promoting societal unity that children be exposed to a wide array of views, including those with which they and their parents might disagree.
Especially noteworthy is the Supreme Court’s endorsement of the rational and fair-minded approach taken by the parents who brought the lawsuit against the state in the first place.
All too often in the culture wars over what should and should not be taught in the public schools, both sides have been guilty of extremism. School officials have tried to assert their power to determine what children should be taught while diminishing or even denying the rights of parents to have a say and even, in a few cases, branding indignant parents as possible domestic terrorists who should be investigated by the FBI. On the other hand, some extremist parents have tried to have books they don’t like banned altogether from school libraries and thereby deprive others of the right to enjoy the books if they want to. Moreover, they’ve smeared school librarians as perverts and “groomers” preparing young children to be molested by other perverts.
But the parents in this case weren’t trying to ban books or otherwise deprive those who like their themes of the opportunity to enjoy them. While parents who don’t like the books’ themes now have the right to withdraw their children from the programs, parents who approve the themes retain the right to keep their children in the programs. The rights of both sides should be respected. In this case, they are.
However, while the parents in this case won the right to shield their children from learning about lifestyles of which the parents disapprove, they did not win the right to encourage or allow their children to become actively hostile towards those of whose lifestyles they disapprove. It will be best for all concerned if everyone, whether religious or secular, whether gay or straight, whether conservative or liberal or progressive, tolerates the right of everyone to pursue whatever lifestyle one chooses, as long as that lifestyle neither hurts nor otherwise infringes on the rights of others.
Malcolm L. Cross has lived in Stephenville since 1987 and taught politics and government at Tarleton for 36 years, retiring in 2023. His political and civic activities include service on the Stephenville City Council (2000-2014) and on the Erath County Republican Executive Committee (1990-2024). He was Mayor pro-tem of Stephenville from 2008 to 2014. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Stephenville
Economic Development Authority since 2018 and as chair of the Erath County Appraisal District’s Appraisal Review Board since 2015. He is also a member of the Stephenville Rotary Club, the Board of Vestry of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, and the Executive Committee of the Boy Scouts’ Pecan Valley District. Views expressed in this column are his and do not reflect those of The Flash as a whole.
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