Florida’s New Civics Ed Training Igniting Questions of Religious Indoctrination
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A non-profit organization is expressing concern about the newly implemented civics-education training for Florida teachers, stating that it may promote Christian nationalism and undermine the separation of church and state.
Americans United For Separation of Church and State, an organization, recently announced its intention to investigate whether the training was influenced by conservative Christian groups like the Bill of Rights Institute, founded by the Koch brothers, and Hillsdale College.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been actively promoting his administration’s efforts to enhance civics education in the state, which includes revamping the civics standards in 2021. However, some teachers argue that the new training materials have a biased inclination towards Christian and conservative ideology.
Americans United has initiated their investigation by making a public records request to the Florida Department of Education, but they are prepared to explore other options if necessary. Rachel Laser, President and CEO of Americans United, stated in a press release that they will not stand idly by as politicians attempt to introduce white Christian nationalism into public school curriculums under the pretext of promoting good citizenship.
The Miami Herald recently reported that some teachers in Broward County, who were undergoing training to implement the new standards, found the materials to be heavily influenced by Christian and conservative values. The news outlet shared the PowerPoint slides used during a three-day training session.
A teacher from St. Johns County also expressed similar concerns, as reported by News4Jax.
Andrew Seidel, the Vice President for Strategic Communications of a church-state separation advocacy group, revealed that they have been monitoring Florida’s civics curriculum for a while. The Florida Department of Education adopted new civics standards for K-12 schools in 2021. Seidel commented that the training for implementing this curriculum is alarming, indicating the presence of deeper underlying issues.
The PowerPoint slides used in the training session claim that there is a misconception about the Founders’ intentions regarding the separation of church and state, suggesting that they only sought to protect freedom of worship and not advocate for a strict separation. Seidel, who authored the book "The Founding Myth: Why Christian Nationalism is Un-American," emphasized that the concept of separating church and state is deeply ingrained in the fabric of the Republic and the Constitution. He believes that religious freedom can only exist if the government is free from any religious influence.
DeSantis argues that increased understanding of civics can reduce division among people. During a press conference in Sanford, he stated, "I’m confident that if we provide that foundation, these students, as they become adults, they’re gonna be able to navigate a lot of the things that are going on, and make sense of a lot of the things that are going on, much better than probably my generation or certainly in more recent years." He believes that improving civics education would significantly contribute to unifying the country and reducing disagreements on various issues. DeSantis frequently emphasizes his commitment to keeping "woke ideologies" out of Florida schools and advocates for education over indoctrination.
Seidel’s organization is conducting an investigation to determine whether the civics training for teachers incorporates Christian nationalism, which he considers an "existential threat" to the republic.
Andrew Spar, the president of Florida Education Association, the statewide teacher union, also addressed the issue of civics training. According to Spar, teachers who attended the initial training found that it was not simply about teaching religion, but rather had a biased approach towards a specific religion. He pointed out that this misrepresented the founding of the country, which was actually based on the desire to escape religious persecution, rather than being shaped solely by religious beliefs. Spar expressed concern about the emphasis on religion in the training, as he believed that the founding fathers intended for religion to play a less central role in the functioning of the government.
Spar also highlighted the irony of the governor’s administration accusing teachers of indoctrination, while simultaneously promoting a civics class that appeared to be indoctrinating students. This contradiction raised further concerns for him.
However, not everyone shares the same level of concern about the civics training. Bob Holladay, an adjunct professor at Tallahassee Community College, stated that he was not worried based on what he had seen in the civics training PowerPoint slides. However, he did acknowledge that if K-12 teachers were penalized for teaching different perspectives, then there would be cause for concern. He explained that he had not seen evidence of this happening yet.
While some view the civics training as a red flag, others like Holladay are not yet convinced that it warrants such worry. The opinions on this matter vary, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold.
Note: Florida Phoenix is an independent news outlet supported by grants and donors. For further inquiries, readers are encouraged to reach out to Editor Diane Rado at info@floridaphoenix.com. You can also follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated on their stories.
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