Students Paying a Visit to a Church

Just like the separation of State and Church is not an issue in Antigua Guatemala, taking students from a public school to visit a church for mass service is not an issue either.

To be honest, it’s quite difficult to separate religious rituals and festivities from culture in Guatemala. Often times the boundaries that separate religion and culture, traditions and identity are very fuzzy, out of focus really (pun intended). I believe even atheists participate in some religious rituals and feasts like Cuaresma (Lent), Semana Santa (Holy Week) and Navidad/Noche Buena (Christmas/Christmas Eve). In fact, I remember reading the chronicle of an atheist and leftist poet and author who had became a cucurucho (float bearer) for Lent along with some of this friends.

What do you think about taking students from a public school to mass service inside a church?

9 Responses to "Students Paying a Visit to a Church"

Bill says:
October 28, 2011 at 9:06 am
I think it’s great to a point. In America we have scrubbed our schools of religion to the point that our holidays, culture and traditions (as dictacted by the dept of education) serve no purpose but to create consumerism, they do nothing for the soul. In public school, my kids can learn songs about ghosts and witches and santa (which is fine and cute), but nothing about a savior or saints. I read recently that you can stamp out religious references from society, but children look to replace that in some way, so they replace the religion of the forefathers with whatever is acceptable and at hand…paranormal, magic. NOT that they completly belive in those things but it helps to temporarily fill that “need for supernatural” void.
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1. Linda Murray says:
  October 28, 2011 at 12:14 pm
  capitalism – celebrating the devil !
  Yes the [we] North Americans have done a good job of eliminating cultural, religous, spiritual .. distinctions rather than celebrate the many wonderful forms of their existence. what a pity – I feel we have become a soulless society.
  Reply
  1. Rudy says:
    October 31, 2011 at 7:11 am
    Yeah, when I lived there the Holy Week was just Spring Break. Does anybody wonder why they get a week off from school during a Spring?
    Reply
sjbj says:
October 28, 2011 at 2:38 pm
The problem in American is that many who call for cultural, religious traditions mean *their* traditions. As an example, every year we have Christmas stamps issued by US Postal Service, with Madonna and Child…no problem there. But huge outcry when they came out with Eid stamp (see for example: http://www.snopes.com/politics/stamps/eidstamp.asp )
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1. Rudy says:
  October 31, 2011 at 7:10 am
  Yes, I just read an article the talks about Hispanics are being targeted as criminals for being immigrants and the article goes on and on about all the different reasons why they are thrown a blanket over the +50 million Hispanics in the U.S. and the writes does the same by thinking that all those 50 millions are immigrants. Not once she mentions that Hispanics lived in the U.S. before the U.S. even existed.
  http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obamas-illegal-immigrant-crackdown-implications-hispanics/story?id=14836244
  Reply
Eli Orozco says:
October 28, 2011 at 9:39 pm
If it is a private institution, I do not see anything wrong with it (if stated on the institutions curricula) but, performing this act on/with a public institution that clearly contradicts the Guatemalan Constitution (Estado Laico) has many many strong objections.Also take them to a Synagogue, a Buddhist Temple, a Mosque, a Brahmanist Temple, AND and take them to an Atheneum as well!!!!!
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1. Manolo Romero Escobar says:
  October 29, 2011 at 8:59 am
  Evidentemente: Educacion LAICA GRATUITA Y OBLIGATORIA
  Reply
  1. Rudy says:
    October 31, 2011 at 7:04 am
    jajaja, estoy con Manolo. +1
    Reply
2. Rudy says:
  October 31, 2011 at 7:05 am
  Eli, these were students from a public school.
  Reply

Students Paying a Visit to a Church

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