In 6th grade we started learning about the various torture methods used on Catholic saints. There was one particularly enthusiastic lesson where our teacher explained how doctors recently confirmed the intersection of human wrist bones could, as a pair, support the weight of human body and that rope wouldn't be necessary to bind someone to a crucifix.
We learned all sorts of confusing and depraved ideas that made it nearly impossible to concentrate during the non-religious classes. At least that was my experience. It's arguable that these schools should be attended by no one, let alone be publicly funded.
Why not no religion at all? Because then we can't have Christmas concerts or Halloween dress up days because though these are all quite commercial, have religious origins and are still observed by many as religious events.
So, we end up with a mess between keeping people happy from every angle at once (where no one is particularly happy) instead of sticking to a logical position that angers some and is a perfectly fine solution for the rational population.
Edit: The down side of my perspective is that mob rule will alter what is ethically acceptable to teach children in the future. Which is a real concern.
Edit: I don't think the schools have any business teaching kids about sex either, let the parents do that. (I don't want to live in a communist dystopia because we forget history)
One of the biggest wins for liberty in the United States courts was Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925) which struck down the Oregon state 1922 Compulsory Education Act, a law targeting parochial schools. This anti-Catholic law was strongly backed by the Ku Klux Klan and Democrats.
The article being discussed does not mention what they mean by funding. Does it equate tax exempt status to funding? Are Catholic schools directly funded by the Canadian government?
The article does equate Christian culture with all others and concludes "In a society that claims to treat everyone equally regardless of background, this is impossible to defend."
.. why does western civ have this ideal of "treating everyone equally"? What will happen to this ideal once you eliminate the foundations? Maybe that is the goal?
Is there research showing that graduates of Catholic schools are less educated in core academic subjects, are less likely to attend college, less likely to get a good job, or more likely to break the law? Those are the main outcomes the public cares about. In the absence of evidence that Catholic schools are underperforming, the state should not try to usurp the choices of parents.
Would you be this open to religiously themed education if there were numbers that pointed to Islam-based schools leading to better jobs? Or if someone came up with an atheist school that went out of its way to deny any deities and they outperformed the Catholic schools? Should we shut down the Catholic schools and just follow the numbers?
I guess my point is that most people don't want the federal government advancing any religions that aren't their own (and for whatever reason people are pretty relaxed about this concern when it comes to their own religion).
As long as the school teachers secular subjects well, I am ok with it having a religious orientation, whether its Christian, Jewish, Muslim, or something else.
I'll share my anecdote from attending a private catholic school. From the reasons I have heard from my parents and others is that the catholic private schools tend to be higher quality than the public schools without being outrageously expensive like the non religious private schools.
I don't remember seeing any student at the school who was actually religious, they were all there for the perceived better education. The only part that I saw was lacking was sexual education was non existent outside of one lecture about the different kinds of stds and how there is no way to prevent getting them other than to not have sex. The science education was still up to scratch however.
We learned all sorts of confusing and depraved ideas that made it nearly impossible to concentrate during the non-religious classes. At least that was my experience. It's arguable that these schools should be attended by no one, let alone be publicly funded.