Roman Catholic parents and students charge that local public schools are indoctrinating youngsters with new age beliefs. Critics says that this is a ruse to attack secular education. Are both sides missing the real point?

trial which opened last week in federal court could break new ground and test how far public schools may go in promoting what some charge are new age, pagan and satanic themes. The court room battle pits several Roman Catholic families against the Bedford, N.Y. Central School system. The plaintiffs, represented by the American Catholic Lawyers Association, charge that relaxation exercises, Earth Day ceremonies, and even the popular strategy card game called "Magic: The Gathering" all promote themes and ideas which are an affront to their religion.

   The school district argues that the parents are misrepresenting what takes place in classrooms. James Bendell, attorney for the three families objecting to the curriculum, counters, "There are two standards: Any trace of Christianity must be banished but teachers are free to smuggle in Eastern religions and any other forms of belief."

   At the middle of the contest are the students, including four teen-age brothers who say they were "offended" by activities and assignments. Among the specifics being cited:

   ¶    The school purportedly uses the services of a "yogi" identified as Agia Akai Singh Kalsa, who leads "stress-reduction" exercises. Singh is a Sikh minister and testified in court wearing his turban and white robes, but said that the lessons have "nothing to do with religion." He also denied mentioning his interest in numerology while in the classrooms.

   ¶    A "psychic" identified as Nancy Weber told the court that she had been invited to lecture on creativity, but denied identifying herself as a "telepath" or minister in the new age LifeSciences Congregational Church. Attorney Bendell and Weber exchanged words in court last week over whether or not she believed in "interspecies communication."

   "You mean, 'Come here, Rover, lie down?" asked a frustrated Judge Charles Brieant, who then dismissed the line of questioning.

   ¶    Some youngsters at a school formed a "Magic" club which used the strategy card game "Magic: The Gathering." "The cards bear images ranging from innocent fairies to a lurid depiction of a woman about to be sacrificed," notes an Associated Press report on the trial. Some parents complained, and the district superintendent halted play of the game for a month until counselors assured him that it posed no danger. After that, parents went to court and added other charges to their complaint list.

   ¶    Plaintiffs charge that some activities contribute to the "promotion of Satanism and occultism, pagan religions and New Age spirituality," thus violating their freedom of religion. Mary Ann DiBari, one of the petitioners, says that the card game is "much worse than witchcraft," and also objects to one activity where children made "worry dolls" to put under their pillows at night and keep nightmares away. When queried by the district's attorney as to whether she found the story of the tooth fairy objectionable, DeBari replied, "It was not taught to my child in school."

   ¶    As part of the celebration of Earth Day, youngsters made "pledges" to maintain the environment. Mrs. DeBari countered, "We worship the creator, not the creation."

   ¶    Some school lessons involved making sculptures of the Aztec deity Quetzalcoatl and the Hindu deity Lord Ganesha. Student plaintiffs argued that this violated their religious admonition against producing any "graven image."

   The New York trial may mark the beginning of a shift which has been subtly taking place on the First Amendment battle front. In past years, challenges concerning state-church separation -- often belittled as "frivolous" -- usually focused on what were clear attempts to interject Judeo-Christian doctrines or rituals into the public school system. The Bedford case, however, is reportedly being watched closely by educators since it could establish boundaries on inventiveness in the classroom, and how far teachers can go in using nontraditional religious symbols, instructors or themes. Warren H. Richmond, attorney for the Bedford Central School District, charged in court that the plaintiffs had taken isolated incidents and "wildly misrepresented" the facts of the case, weaving a conspiratorial tapestry where students were being seduced into new age beliefs or even Satanism. One plaintiff for instance, Mrs. DiBari, identifies herself as a member of a group called the Northeast Ritual Crime Investigators Association. The Bedford case could well reflect the deep-seated anxieties religious parents have, not just of a secular curriculum but one they fear is ridden with hidden agendas promoting new age or similar beliefs. Even so, some parents, including Roman Catholics, have held news conferences supporting the school district.

   New York Times write Joseph Berger says that the trial "has opened a window on trends in education that have subtly shifted emphasis away from traditional topics like European history, grammar and physical education to offer classes on non-Western cultures, discussion groups on improving self-esteem and programs to discourage drug use."

   Another feature of this trial is the demand that parents be given the right to have their children "opt out" of classes which include questionable or objectionable content. That strategy has already characterized other school feuds throughout the nation centering on issues like the teaching of evolution, sex education, or AIDS awareness.

    How should Atheists and separationists react to the Bedford case?

   One view might argue that the suit is another effort to find a way to strike out at the public school system, which increasingly has come under attack for not allowing religious expression and content in its curriculum. Christopher Ferara, a member of the plaintiff's legal team, cites a "double standard" at not permitting Christian rituals in the Bedford schools, but allowing Sikh priests or new age practices in the classrooms.

   While acknowledging the possible motivation of some religious parents in this or similar cases, though, the facts should prompt advocates of reason to take a closer look at what is being taught in schools, and acknowledge a possible double standard -- though not one that is as widely pervasive as, say, the effort to interject Christian symbolism or ritual into the classrooms. Take the case of Yogi Agia Akai Sing Kalsa. It isn't clear whether he wore his robes and turban while teaching "relaxation" techniques to students; if he did, however, it is dangerously close to the problem of outside ministers and priests wearing religious garb or other symbols when being called into public schools for whatever reason. State-church separation advocates have already objected to the public schools calling upon outside "motivational" speakers or "counselors" who are affiliated with evangelical religious groups. In Salt Lake City, Utah, Mormon school volunteers are now enjoined from wearing any religious decoration which identifies their affiliation with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

   And what about the pseudoscience and lack of critical thinking that may be conveyed in some school activities? The plaintiffs cite a visit by an outside lecturer identified in one news report as a "mineralogist" who implored students to hold crystals close to their bodies and "feel the power." And why would a self-proclaimed psychic, telepath and new age church minister, Nancy Weber, be considered an appropriate lecturer on the subject of creativity instead of, say, a professional artist or psychologist?

   Nagging questions remain for now, but the Bedford case deserves watching.

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