On Saturday, June 1, Christa Sullinger of Garrett, Indiana posted photos of her 10 year-old son playing baseball on her Facebook account. “Back at it at 9 am,” she wrote, meaning that her son would be playing baseball at 9:00 Sunday morning.
“It’s been a busy week with baseball, swimming, fishing, friends, and grad parties,” said Christa Sullinger yesterday, posting on Facebook again with more photographs of her kids.
Hm. Baseball, swimming, fishing, friends, grad parties. What activity is not in that list? Oh, yeah: Going to church.
Christa Sullinger seems to believe that her son playing baseball is more important than him going to church.
Christa Sullinger seems to believe that having her kids go to parties is more important than them going to church.
Christa Sullinger seems to believe that her kids going fishing is more important than them going to church.
I agree with her. Going to church is a big waste of time. Most Americans think so. That’s why, according to a study released by the National Bureau of Economic Research this spring, only 5% of Americans actually go to church every Sunday.
The thing is, even though Christa Sullinger doesn’t take her kids to church, she likes to think of herself as a good Christian mother who teaches her children to be Christians. How does she make that work?
Christa Sullinger expects the public schools in Garrett, Indiana to make special exceptions so that her kids can skip school to receive extremist religious indoctrination from the Christian Nationalist organization LifeWise for several hours. While other kids in Garrett, Indiana learn actual facts and life skills, Christa Sullinger’s kids will learn about supernatural spirits and prophets, raising people from the dead and fighting demonic monsters.
LifeWise is demanding the right to compel public schools across the country to change their instructional schedules and provide extra time and government resources to make sure that children can attend Christian radicalization camp. LifeWise is using parents like Christa Sullinger to explain why it’s essential for their children to get religious indoctrination instead of real education.
Speaking to the Associated Press, Christa Sullinger calls LifeWise “a great way to solidify our faith.” How solid is Christa Sullinger’s faith, though?
The Sullinger family faith is less solid than their love of baseball, and fishing, and parties. “With baseball activities on Sundays, the family sometimes misses church and LifeWise fills in the gaps,” the Associated Press article explains.
Why should taxpayer-funded public schools be expected to make up for the weak faith of parents like Christa Sullinger?
What makes it the job of local government to fill in the gaps of residents’ lack of enthusiasm for church?
