How public school teachers can bring their faith to work

After 32 years working in Ohio public schools as a teacher, counselor, principal, and superintendent, Finn Laursen knows well the legal limitations that Christian educators must respect. Teachers can’t—and shouldn’t—force their faith on students or pray with them, he said, but they can pray for them. As a teacher, he said he prayed for students “all the time, in the empty classroom.”

According to the Constitution, the government cannot establish or promote any particular religion. But Laursen said that doesn’t prevent public-school teachers from openly demonstrating the values and virtues of the Christian faith.

“We believe if Christian teachers in public schools will live out their faith openly, they will be the light on the hill,” said Laursen, executive director of Christian Educators Association International, which trains public-school educators to express their faith boldly without violating the First Amendment. The organization hosts conferences called “Daniel Weekends” for Christian teachers.

Harlan Elrich, a California high-school math teacher who attended a Daniel Weekend several years ago, told The Washington Post the training motivated him to email Bible verses as encouragement to Christian co-workers and to play Christian music in his classroom before and after school if students ask him to. When a student asked him about the meaning of life, he told the Post he responded by saying, “In my view, the meaning of life is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.”

Placing a Bible in the classroom or even using it as a textbook is legal, and so is displaying quotes that reflect Christianity on classroom walls, Laursen said. Brad Dacus, president of Pacific Justice Institute, agreed, saying the Bible is a valuable instructional tool.

“For public education to completely ignore the literary value of the Bible is to ignore the strongest influence on Western culture of any piece of literature,” Dacus said.

Some say delivery of Christian messages can be too heavy-handed in the public-school setting, causing students of other religions to feel ostracized. Erika Estrada, a Catholic mother of two, told the Post her son felt bullied in his predominantly Christian public school in Texas.

“There’s this very prevalent message that this is our school, and you’re simply a guest,” Estrada said in the Post.

Laursen said public schools belong to people of all faiths and that making anyone feel like an outsider is wrong. Making a non-Christian child feel unloved or unwanted is a “terrible thing,” he said. But many times, in public schools, it’s Christian students and teachers who feel unwelcomed and intimidated. Dacus said public schools in many states are giving non-Christian teachers greater latitude to share their beliefs than those who profess Christianity.

“In many textbooks, Islam is not presented objectively but rather in a proselytizing manner,” he said. “Students are even asked to recite prayers to Allah. Girls are asked to wear a hijab in the classroom for ‘educational purposes.’ If Christian teachers asked students to recite John 3:16 or pray the sinner’s prayer, they’d be terminated.”

Opponents of Laursen’s efforts, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), say matters of faith have no business in public schools. Daniel Mach of the ACLU told the Post, “they appear to be encouraging teachers to cross the line.”

Laursen said his organization’s goal is to develop teachers who inspire those around them with their behavior and attitudes rather than “preaching against the culture.” Their character, he said, will speak louder than words. For example, Christian teachers should become adept at treating children with the dignity they deserve as being made in God’s image.

“Children are often treated based on how they behave,” Laursen said. “Teachers try to control children rather than develop a relationship of trust and letting them know how special they are in God’s eyes. What if we treated children like they’re made in the image of God?”