Teachers Should Fight School `Secularism,' Dobson Magazine Urges.

Should public school teachers introduce religious concepts to their students? James Dobson's Focus on the Family (FOF) seems to think so.

Teachers should have no qualms about introducing supplementary material and taking other steps to get around the rampant "secularism" of public education, insists an FOF magazine.

The October 1998 edition of Teachers in Focus highlights an article by Francis J. Beckwith, Ph.D., arguing that public education is not really neutral on religious matters. Beckwith claims instruction about evolution in science classes and schools' failure to teach moral absolutes proves that schools are not neutral.

Criticizing "blind, purposeless evolution," Beckwith accuses public schools of promoting "methodological naturalism," or relying on scientific explanations that do not give equal time to supernatural alternatives.

Beckwith recommends that teachers "challenge the secular status quo in the subjects you teach." He says teachers should examine curriculum materials for "things that conflict with your beliefs" and recommends that teachers unhappy with the course material take their concerns to fellow teachers or the principal.

But if that fails, Beckwith has another solution. "Finally, whether you gain a hearing with your principal or not, take steps to minimize any bias as you teach your material," he writes. "This may involve modifying classroom activities, changing homework assignments, passing out supplementary readings, presenting alternative viewpoints or making other changes."

But Americans United says Beckwith's advice is off base and could get teachers in legal trouble. The organization notes that numerous federal courts have ruled that public school teachers may not introduce their personal religious beliefs into class or supplement curricula with religious material. Teachers who do so, says AU, risk sparking a church-state lawsuit.