--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trouble with purging the school…" description: "\"“The trouble with purging the school curriculum of religious knowledge is that ultimate questions cannot be answered without reference to religious bel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg" --- # The trouble with purging the school curriculum of… ![“The trouble with purging the school curriculum of religious knowledge is that ultimate questions cannot be answered without reference to religious beliefs or at least to philosophy. With religion expelled from the schools, a clear field was left for the entrance of the mode of belief called…” quote by Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg) > ““The trouble with purging the school curriculum of religious knowledge is that ultimate questions cannot be answered without reference to religious beliefs or at least to philosophy. With religion expelled from the schools, a clear field was left for the entrance of the mode of belief called humanitarianism, or secular humanism--the latter a term employed by the cultural historian Christopher Dawson. During the past four decades and more, the place that religion used to hold in American schooling, always a rather modest and non-dogmatic place, has been filled by secular humanism. Its root principle is that human nature and society may be perfected without the operation of divine grace. . . . In his book A Common Faith (1934), \[John\] Dewey advocated his brand of humanism as a religion. "Here are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race," he wrote. "Such a faith has always been implicitly the common faith of mankind. It remains to make it explicit and militant." Much more evidence exists to suggest that humanitarianism, or secular humanism, should be regarded in law as a religion, with respect to both establishment and free exercise in the First Amendment. It is this non-theistic religion, hostile to much of the established morality and many existing American institutions, that has come close to being established as a "civil religion" in American public schools.”” [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Secular humanism replaces religious teaching, but it functions as a belief system with its own doctrines. **In simple terms:** Removing religion creates a new belief system that still influences society. Key Takeaway Recognize the underlying beliefs in secular curricula. Themes education secularism humanism law philosophy Mood skeptical thoughtful Type political legal When to use this quote - school board meetings - court cases - curriculum design - parental advocacy Key Concepts Secular humanism civil religion first amendment public policy Questions to Reflect On - Should public education be truly neutral? - What defines a religion in legal terms? A Different Perspective Secular approaches may still impose a worldview, limiting true neutrality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Divine grace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-grace/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [First amendment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-amendment/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism/) [Humanism Regarded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism-regarded-4524654/) [Humanism Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism-religion-849442/) [Humanitarianism Secular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanitarianism-secular-4524653/) [Public schools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-schools/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Religious beliefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-beliefs/) [Religious faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religious-faith/) [Secular humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/secular-humanism/) ## Related quotes > [“The Bible is a book of Science. Secular Humanism is a religion of mythology.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-findley/the-bible-is-a-book-of-science-secular-humanism-is-a-religion-of/) [Michael Findley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-findley/) > [Western liberal humanism is not something that comes naturally to us: like an appreciation of art or poetry, it has to be cultivated. Humanism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-armstrong/western-liberal-humanism-is-not-something-that-comes-naturally-to-us/) [Karen Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-armstrong/) > [“True law necessarily is rooted in ethical assumptions or norms; and those ethical principles are derived, in the beginning at least, from religious convictions.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/true-law-necessarily-is-rooted-in-ethical-assumptions-or-norms-and/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Nonbelievers are protected by the religion clauses of the Constitution not because secular humanism is a religion, which it is not, but because when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-dorsen/nonbelievers-are-protected-by-the-religion-clauses-of-the/) [Norman Dorsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-dorsen/) > [Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugo-black/among-religions-in-this-country-which-do-not-teach-what-would/) [Hugo Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugo-black/) > [“The online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, has entries that tend to change rather often and is biased toward the religion of secularism. Even so, they write:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/the-online-encyclopedia-wikipedia-has-entries-that-tend-to-change/) [Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/) > [We're in a religious war and we need to aggressively oppose secular humanism; these people are as religiously motivated as we are and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/we-re-in-a-religious-war-and-we-need-to-aggressively-oppose-secular/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [“Returning to the Moral Majority, we must realize that regardless of whether we think the Moral Majority has always said the right things or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/returning-to-the-moral-majority-we-must-realize-that-regardless-of/) [Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/) > [“As for the belief that humanity is mostly good, Secular humanism, when in that alignment, always presumes the existence of a higher power, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criss-jami/as-for-the-belief-that-humanity-is-mostly-good-secular-humanism-when/) [Criss Jami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criss-jami/) > [In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-rice/in-the-name-of-christ-i-quit-christianity/) [Anne Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-rice/) > [“Science Class Would you invent some irrational explanation for we lost souls that the glaciers aren’t really melting at all, that they are and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diogenes-of-mayberry/science-class-would-you-invent-some-irrational-explanation-for-we/) [Diogenes of Mayberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diogenes-of-mayberry/) > [Only a loving and covenant-making personal God can provide humans with unique dignity, worth, and rights. Blind nature cannot do that. So, for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-e-olson/only-a-loving-and-covenant-making-personal-god-can-provide-humans/) [Roger E. Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-e-olson/) > [“We've already had Malthus , the friend of humanity. But the friend of humanity with shaky moral principles is the devourer of humanity, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/we-ve-already-had-malthus-the-friend-of-humanity-but-the-friend-of/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“I noticed that religion gave some people a way to escape dealing with the world: “Things will be better when you die,” the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/i-noticed-that-religion-gave-some-people-a-way-to-escape-dealing-with/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [“But the most insidious and dangerous of false religions is secular humanism. It’s so crafty, so sneaky, with its kindness and its decency, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/but-the-most-insidious-and-dangerous-of-false-religions-is-secular/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More by Russell Kirk > [“Only portions of the globe still enslaved by the enemies of the people refrained from congratulating President Zingu and Premier Villiers-Kolama upon the astounding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/only-portions-of-the-globe-still-enslaved-by-the-enemies-of-the/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“Manfredo -- Your Excellency -- how can you, even you, hope...?" "Life is a jest, and all things show it, my dear," I replied;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/manfredo-your-excellency-how-can-you-even-you-hope-life-is-a-jest-and/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“Today, as in the past, we ought to remind ourselves that the true natural law is not a mere congeries of appetites, and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/today-as-in-the-past-we-ought-to-remind-ourselves-that-the-true/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Moral decay first hampers and then strangles honest government, regular commerce, and even the ability to take genuine pleasure in the goods of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/moral-decay-first-hampers-and-then-strangles-honest-government/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [ “Men are put into this world, he \[the enlightened conservative\] realizes, to struggle, to suffer, to contend against the evil that is in their… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/men-are-put-into-this-world-he-the-enlightened-conservative-realizes/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Mine was not an Enlightened mind, I now was aware: it was a Gothic mind, medieval in its temper and structure. I did not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/mine-was-not-an-enlightened-mind-i-now-was-aware-it-was-a-gothic-mind/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Humility, which Burke ranked high among the virtues, is the only effectual restraint upon this congenital vanity; yet our world has nearly forgotten the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/humility-which-burke-ranked-high-among-the-virtues-is-the-only/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Rousseau and his disciples were resolved to force men to be free; in most of the world, they triumphed; men are set free from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/rousseau-and-his-disciples-were-resolved-to-force-men-to-be-free-in/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Politics moves upward into ethics, and ethics ascends to theology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/politics-moves-upward-into-ethics-and-ethics-ascends-to-theology/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [If men are discharged of reverence for ancient usage, they will treat this world, almost certainly, as if it were their private property, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/if-men-are-discharged-of-reverence-for-ancient-usage-they-will-treat/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“The Conservative Mind describes a cast of intellect or a type of character, an inclination to cherish the permanent things in human existence. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-conservative-mind-describes-a-cast-of-intellect-or-a-type-of/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Privilege, in any society, is the reward of duties performed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/privilege-in-any-society-is-the-reward-of-duties-performed/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [“There are six canons of conservative thought: 1) Belief in a transcendent order, or body of natural law, which rules society as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/there-are-six-canons-of-conservative-thought-1-belief-in-a/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [The Secular City, having legislated and litigated itself out of any entanglement with the City of God, would be a hell upon earth .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-secular-city-having-legislated-and-litigated-itself-out-of-any/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) > [Why do we not exhaust the heritage of the ages, spiritual and material for our immediate pleasure, and let posterity go hang? So far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/why-do-we-not-exhaust-the-heritage-of-the-ages-spiritual-and-material/) [Russell Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) [Explore all 96 Russell Kirk quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/) ## More Divine grace quotes > [“Lord give us success today.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/lord-give-us-success-today/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The essential mark of maturity in Christians—as in peach trees—is generativity. Mature faith bears fruit. Mature Christians are branches on which God’s love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenda-creasy-dean/the-essential-mark-of-maturity-in-christians-as-in-peach-trees-is/) [Kenda Creasy Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenda-creasy-dean/) > [When you think that most of us are doomed by divine grace to roast in hell, to say nothing of mortgages and hail and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/when-you-think-that-most-of-us-are-doomed-by-divine-grace-to-roast-in/) [Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/) > [Towers in a modern town are a frill and a survival; they seem like the raised hands of the various churches, afraid of being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/towers-in-a-modern-town-are-a-frill-and-a-survival-they-seem-like-the/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [“Reason. Lady Love, I ask yet one more question: why does this book say that this Soul has everything and yet has nothing? Love.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-porette/reason-lady-love-i-ask-yet-one-more-question-why-does-this-book-say/) [Margaret Porette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-porette/) > [The first step to improvement, whether mental, moral, or religious, is to know ourselves - our weakness, errors, deficiencies, and sins, that, by divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tryon-edwards/the-first-step-to-improvement-whether-mental-moral-or-religious-is-to/) [Tryon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tryon-edwards/) > [“We have therefore to inquire what there is about Machiavelli to impress the mind of Europe so prodigiously and so curiously, and why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-2/we-have-therefore-to-inquire-what-there-is-about-machiavelli-to/) [T.S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-2/) > [“Mankind has a divine duty, to be stewardship of the natural resources.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/mankind-has-a-divine-duty-to-be-stewardship-of-the-natural-resources/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“The power of desire is a divine. Desire to live by faith.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/the-power-of-desire-is-a-divine-desire-to-live-by-faith/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“Divine grace is freely given, but God will not force us to receive it. It takes constant effort on our part to get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-dreher/divine-grace-is-freely-given-but-god-will-not-force-us-to-receive-it/) [Rob Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-dreher/) > [“We shall overcome every barrier by divine grace.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/we-shall-overcome-every-barrier-by-divine-grace/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [“You start to live when you commit your life to cause higher than yourself. You must learn to depend on divine power for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-giftyakita/you-start-to-live-when-you-commit-your-life-to-cause-higher-than/) [Lailah GiftyAkita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-giftyakita/) > [“During the Reformation and the Enlightenment, nature came to be understood in a mechanistic sense as bereft of any capacity for divine grace or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tina-beattie/during-the-reformation-and-the-enlightenment-nature-came-to-be/) [Tina Beattie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tina-beattie/) > [“With God, there’s always an appointed time for things, and when you put Him first, trust in His timing, and keep the faith, miracles…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/with-god-there-s-always-an-appointed-time-for-things-and-when-you-put/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [A soulmate is someone to whom we feel profoundly connected, as though the communicating and communing that take place between us were not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-moore/a-soulmate-is-someone-to-whom-we-feel-profoundly-connected-as-though/) [Thomas Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-moore/) [Browse all 132 Divine grace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divine-grace/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The trouble with purging the school curriculum of religious knowledge is that ultimate questions cannot be answered without reference to religious beliefs or at least to philosophy. With religion expelled from the schools, a clear field was left for the entrance of the mode of belief called humanitarianism, or secular humanism--the latter a term employed by the cultural historian Christopher Dawson. During the past four decades and more, the place that religion used to hold in American schooling, always a rather modest and non-dogmatic place, has been filled by secular humanism. Its root principle is that human nature and society may be perfected without the operation of divine grace. . . . In his book A Common Faith (1934), [John] Dewey advocated his brand of humanism as a religion. \"Here are all the elements for a religious faith that shall not be confined to sect, class, or race,\" he wrote. \"Such a faith has always been implicitly the common faith of mankind. It remains to make it explicit and militant.\" Much more evidence exists to suggest that humanitarianism, or secular humanism, should be regarded in law as a religion, with respect to both establishment and free exercise in the First Amendment. It is this non-theistic religion, hostile to much of the established morality and many existing American institutions, that has come close to being established as a \"civil religion\" in American public schools.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Russell Kirk" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curriculum-of-religious-knowledge/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Divine grace" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curriculum-of-religious-knowledge/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/russell-kirk-6909_divine-grace_the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curr_2151332.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trouble with purging the school curriculum of religious knowledge is that ultimate questions cannot be…” — Russell Kirk", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Russell Kirk", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-kirk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The trouble with purging the school...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curriculum-of-religious-knowledge/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-kirk/the-trouble-with-purging-the-school-curriculum-of-religious-knowledge/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```