Q&A of the Day – The Department of Education’s Role in Faith Declines & an Increase in Violence
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station page in the iHeart app.
Today’s entry: @brianmuddradio Hi Brian. I heard you make mention of the first generation of students under the NEA and their mental issues while filling in for Denali last night. I began kindergarten in 1980. Can you elaborate?
Bottom Line: This is an issue I first addressed in 2018 when Harvard’s research on faith and mental health outcomes helped to complete a picture of the impact of two events that set the stage for a significant rise in mental health illness, school violence and a subsequent decline in morality and decency in society. The 1964 Supreme Court ruling opened the door to ending religious references in schools and the eventual establishment of the Department of Education which implemented the policy nationally in public schools.
Entering 1981, the first full year of operations for The Department of Education, the average education outcome for Americans was 2nd in the world (with only Australians ahead of us). Religious holidays, references, and prayers were acceptable. Over the next twenty years, entering the 2000’s, we experienced a 300% increase in diagnosed depression. At the same time the United States slid to 17th from 2nd in grade school education outcomes (we’ve fallen to 31st most recently).
The decline directly coincided with the creation of the US Department of Education and the implementation of its various agendas. According to the Pew Research Center, only 6% of Americans didn’t identify with any religion or faith in 1980. More recently, that figure has skyrocketed to 29%. And where is that coming from? Younger adults.
Here’s a breakout of non-believers by age:
- 64+: 15%
- 54-64: 21%
- 44-54: 29%
- 34-44: 37%
- 18-34: 44%
The proliferation of faithlessness connects directly to the rise in mental health issues in society, which connects directly to the timetable of the onset of school shootings – starting with Columbine in 1999. That was the first generation raised in the current, faithless public school system under the Department of Education. Much worse education results. A proliferation of mental health issues and subsequently more violence.
In my lifetime, the most notable study I’ve come across, regardless of topic, was Harvard’s 2018 research on the connection between faith and mental health outcomes. It’s had such a profound impact on me that I’ve cited it regularly when concerns of mental health issues crop up.
The further removed God is from our society, the worse the outcomes are and regardless of one’s religious views, society benefits from the tenants of faith – even atheists. Harvard’s study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, demonstrated powerful results. Children raised with religious activity have better physical and mental health as they age. Here were a few highlights:
By the age of 20 those raised with religious practices average being...
- 18% happier
- 30% more likely to help others
- 33% less likely to engage in substance abuse
In 1981, at the time of the creation of the Department of Education, which ensured God was removed from public school classrooms, only about 6% of the US population didn’t believe in God. Today, that’s 29%. Columbine was in 1999, not coincidently the first generation of kids who were taught exclusively under the Department of Education’s policies. And we know what’s happened since. All of the councilors and mental health experts in the world can’t replace a belief in God. It’s been scientifically proven. The rise in mental health issues, and subsequent violence in our schools, are a byproduct of a lack of faith in society, and specifically Christianity as 86% of the Greatest Generation who fought in and won World War II were Christians, whereas only 46% of those 18-34 are today. As I’ve long said, even atheists benefit from morality in society and Judeo-Christian values. There are two sides to stories and one side to facts. These are the facts.