Federal_Aid_to_Parochial_Schools

Federal Aid to Parochial Schools First it’s important to recognize the difference between parochial schools and public schools. As "parochial" literally means belonging to a parish, the word usually refers to schools attached to Roman Catholic churches. But, in recent years parochial has acquired a secondary meaning of religious, and is sometimes used to describe, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, and other schools, even though they are not connected to a parish. On the other hand, public schools are schools run by the state and are not affiliated with any religion at all. So what’s the big deal' Those who oppose the addition of church-related schools in federal aid to education speak of "aid to public schools" and "aid to parochial schools." Those who want the inclusion of church-related schools to speak of "aid to education." These differences have an important bearing on the solution of the constitutional issue. "Aid to parochial schools," by its very meaning, goes against the constitution, in that the government does not have any religious connections. Opponents of taxes being used for the improvement of education in church-related schools emphasize their religious nature. Proponents emphasize the public nature of parochial schools. The constitutional issue, of course, is only one part of the question. The other is the policy issue. Should the federal government include parochial schools if you are against them or private nonprofit schools if you are for them' It is not surprising, that one of the questions is the issue of religious freedom. Last year, the National Council of Churches, the National Lutheran Council, the Baptist Joint Committee on the Public Affairs and the American Jewish Congress testified through their spokesmen that it would violate the religious freedom of their members to make public funds to church- related schools. Most of the groups also claimed that such a violation of their religious freedom would violate the Constitution, as plainly interpreted by the Supreme Court. On the other side, the groups that supported participation in federal aid by the public schools claimed that the religious freedom of their members would be diminished if participation were denied. Groups like the Nondenominational Citizens for Educational Freedom, and the National Catholic Welfare Conference all argued that it was in the public interest for the government to respect the freedom of parental choice. Baptists argue that public funds for education in church- related schools will violate their conscience, and Catholics argue that the denial of funds will violate theirs. Which concept is in the public interest' In the end it becomes a childish argument over tax expenditures that will decide whether or not parochial schools will receive aid from the federal government. Eventually someone will win that argument and the next controversial issue will be debated and decided upon. I myself believe that you either help all schools or you shouldn’t help any. It doesn’t matter to the child who’s receiving the education, as long as he receives an education that lasts him a life time. by:sebastiano