New York Teachers Oppose Introduction of Religious Values in Schools

The New York Teachers Guild, an AFL-CIO union, has expressed determined opposition to a proposed Board of Education policy statement on “Moral and Spiritual Values and the Schools.” The statement, drafted by the Board of Superintendents, has evoked controversy, with the New York Board of Rabbis and some Protestant groups opposing it and the Catholics approving it. The Teachers Guild statement declared:

“The document confuses religious with spiritual values in such a way as to identify spiritual values with those of conventional religion. It would introduce religious controversy into the schools in such a way as to be divisive and to excite old animosities and prejudices. It is a violation of our cultural pluralism and respect for all faiths, or of no faith.”