Abbotsford school district should draw criticism for allowing Bible distribution in public schools, as it promotes the idea that Christianity is the most important religion.
This idea clearly goes against Canada’s image of being a welcoming and multicultural country, and belittles the steps Canada has taken to remove itself from a country that promotes assimilation.
Gideon International may say that parents have the chance to say no, and that every faith has the same opportunity to hand out information on their preferred faith, but in reality that is not true. By handing the Bibles out in class, the teacher and the school clearly single out the students who do not follow the majority.
This can cause the minority to feel inferior as the school is clearly supporting Christianity as the main faith. This can create tension between students as religion has always been a controversial topic.
Public schools should aim for the unity of their students, regardless of their differences, instead of highlighting them.
Christianity is a well-established faith in Canada compared to other faiths. As such, more resources are available to this faith compared to others, affording them the ability to mass produce Bibles for mass consumption.
Other faiths do not have the same resources, ensuring that they cannot give the same resources to interested fifth grade students.
The idea that it is okay to encourage a certain type of religion goes back to when Christianity was the only one acceptable for of belief. This ideology needs to stop as we are living in a multicultural and multi-faith country. We should be focusing on our similarities and celebrating our differences. Instead, the public schools are teaching our future that there is a correct faith.
Why did Gideon International choose Abbotsford as a platform to spread their faith compared to Vancouver?
Virginia Waugh
