The move that proponents say will ease a youth mental health crisis, bolster staff retention and offer spiritual care to students.

Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have proposed legislation to allow spiritual chaplains in public schools, a move that proponents say will ease a youth mental health crisis, bolster staff retention and offer spiritual care to students who can’t afford or access religious schools.

Conservatives also argue religious foundations will act as a “rescue mission” for what they say are public schools’ declining values, a topic that has galvanized Republican-controlled Legislatures to fight for issues such as parental oversight of curriculum, restrictions on books and instruction on gender identity and state-funded tuition assistance for private and religious schools.

But many chaplains and interfaith organizations oppose the chaplaincy campaign, calling the motivation offensive and describing the dangers of introducing a position of authority to children without clear standards or boundaries.

  • @StrawberryPigtails@lemmy.sdf.org
    -2•3 months ago

    A couple hot takes….

    Better a priest than a trigger happy, power tripping moron with a badge.

    Sounds like this is just a relabeled guidance counselor position.

    Seems like this approach might run into separation of church and state issues as well.

    This is going to run into a lot of flak from communities that don’t have common ethics or morality standards with the priest that takes up the position.

    Edit: From everyone’s reactions, I think my definition of “priest” may be a bit looser than is common. My definition of priest is any spiritual leader, from the Catholic priests everyone seems to be hating on to Buddhist monks.

    And for the record, I would rather trust Hannibal Lecter with the care of my children than leave them alone within potential line of sight of any cop I don’t know personally. Ya’ll distrust Catholics, I distrust police.

    • Flying Squid
      5•3 months ago

      Better a priest than a trigger happy, power tripping moron with a badge.

      The guy with the badge isn’t likely to be alone in a room with a child.

      Would you leave a child alone in a room with a priest?

    • @afraid_of_zombies@lemmy.world
      4•3 months ago

      The alternative to a pedo shaman is not a lunatic with a gun the alternative is licensed and trained therapists with a background screening and specialist knowledge of children development. You are setting up a false either-or. And frankly I would trust a random person hired at a bus stop over a priest because if they rape a kid they won’t have a criminal organization hiding it. Hell I would trust someone who almost never showed up and when they did they spent their entire time on their phone because at least if they do nothing it is still an improvement over doing something wrong.

      It doesn’t not sound like a relabeled guidance counselor position. It sounds like they are trying to get their dress wearing shamans back in taxpayer funded schools so they can have a harem.

      This is going to run into a lot of flak from communities that don’t have common ethics or morality standards with the priest that takes up the position.

      I am proud to be a member of a community that doesn’t consider child rape to be an ethical value.