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Twitter User Shares Evangelical Homeschooling Materials Claiming Democracy Is Bad, Leaving Thousands Of People Concerned
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Twitter User Shares Evangelical Homeschooling Materials Claiming Democracy Is Bad, Leaving Thousands Of People Concerned

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Democracy is the cornerstone of many countries. It has a deep and extensive history, its ups and downs have been meticulously recorded, and yet modern societies still tend to prefer it to any other ruling method. After all, at its core, democracy gives power to the people, and what could be better than citizens themselves deciding which direction they want their nation to go?

However, lately, there have been many heated discussions and spirited debates when it comes to what it means to be democratic. And it appears the conversation should go even deeper, as there appear to be movements (or determined points of view) that deem democracy to be less than what it’s made out to be. Twitter user QuiverfullTweets (@JClifto72622443) created a thread exposing the realities of evangelical homeschooling and its views on democracy, and it quickly went viral.

Evangelical homeschooling material claims that children taught democracy will fail

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

When thinking of homeschooling, many of us probably imagine the same material and information as one would get in school, only you receive all that at home. However, in truth, homeschooling can vary according to preference, with some sticking to the official curriculum and others choosing their own. That’s exactly the case with QuiverfullTweets, who revealed she was homeschooled to believe democracy was fundamentally bad.

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Image credits: JClifto72622443

Children are taught that democracy incites mobs and leads to anarchy

Image credits: JClifto72622443

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Image credits: JClifto72622443

Apparently, according to the homeschooling material, democracy is not allowed any setback, as the material teaches that will of the people will end up as mobs (citing the French Revolution as an example, despite the fact that the revolution was to get rid of absolute monarchy). The same revolution is also used to describe how democracy, in fact, causes a slippery slope towards dictatorship (such as Napoleon coming into power), and all this is framed as people straying away from God.

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Democracy was corrupt from the very start and so not worth investing in

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

They argue that societies who started democratic movements—Greeks and Romans—likely corrupted the very idea of democracy because in their societies, they allowed men to have relationships with one another, and women were apparently oppressed. Therefore, the whole concept of democracy is bad because, in their eyes, Greeks were bad.

“God to government, husband to wife, parent to child”: government should represent the will of God

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Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Homeschooling evangelicals believe that a country should hold God as the greatest authority, and so the idea of people having the power to rule themselves seems completely opposite from that. People should live in a godly nation, and the elected officials need to represent the interest of the higher power, not the common man. Additionally, democracy is deemed to be too lenient when it comes to punishment, especially since God was portrayed to mete out strict punishments.

Democracy is too lenient because it aims to avoid suffering

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Image credits: JClifto72622443

Homeschooling material outright claims that God’s punishment is deserved, while democracy is based on the rights of the people and would encourage them to avoid suffering (despite evangelicals believing it was deserved). Basically, democracy is too human-oriented, denying the firm and unchangeable punishment of the higher power. Rehabilitation of the criminals is also viewed unfavorably.

State and church cannot be separated and should both exist under God

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Another argument homeschooling evangelicals use against the democracy is that it separates the state and the church. In their mind, there should only be one nation under God, and some might argue this resembles theocracy, where God is recognized as supreme authority, but such term was also coined in ancient Greece (and ancient Greeks were bad!).

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Such homeschooling causes real damage to actual government processes

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Image credits: JClifto72622443

Lastly, the Twitter user unapologetically warned that such ideas ultimately get in the way of actual government, as people who were raised with such ideals and notions that democracy is doomed to fail from the start become representatives of the nation. This divide between views and understanding ends up damaging elections, laws that are passed, and other fundamental processes.

Image credits: JClifto72622443

People thanked the Twitter user for bringing this issue to light

Image credits: materialbboy

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Image credits: JClifto72622443

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Lukas Garnelis

Lukas Garnelis

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Lukas is a photo editor at Bored Panda. 4th year in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University as a graphic designer. Can do whatever he sets his mind to.

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Lukas Garnelis

Lukas Garnelis

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Lukas is a photo editor at Bored Panda. 4th year in Vilnius Gediminas Technical University as a graphic designer. Can do whatever he sets his mind to.

Violeta Pročkytė

Violeta Pročkytė

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Violeta Pročkytė

Violeta Pročkytė

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This lazy panda forgot to write something about itself.

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MagNat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every time I see some Bible quotes presented as some "proof" on how society (or worse, biology or other science) "naturally" works, I can't even.

Grace Barclay
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a South African doing her entire schooling under the Apartheid Nationalist Party, i realised when we got to high school that we were being brain-washed, propogandised. Religious fundamentalist extremist teaching is wrong. The fact that is children, youth, and teenagers who take the brunt of this is shocking. I do not subscribe to any religion at all. I have seen the fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Jewish, fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Catholicism, fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Evangenicals & fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Islam. Buddhism, Sikhism, Shinto have also been tainted by extremist. People, please let us live in peace. As to Abrahamic religions please go back to the desert to fight this out and see who is the God of Gods. I know they will have no solution, as quite frankly there is no God.

Skadi Lifdis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ironically, these are the same people screaming about sharia law and so Muslims must be banned. Because freedom of religion only applies to them. As much as they want to deny it, this country is not and never was a theocracy. Lucky for me, my mom was terrible at paperwork so I didn't get homeschooled - but my siblings did for a couple of years before she gave up. My childhood best friend was though- literally every moment of his day was dictated so when he graduated, he ended up as a "Soldier of God" in the army because he couldn't function without a strict schedule.

Bacony Cakes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why would god need soldiers? To fight the devil? Isn't the devil punishing the wicked and therefore being a good guy?

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MagNat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Every time I see some Bible quotes presented as some "proof" on how society (or worse, biology or other science) "naturally" works, I can't even.

Grace Barclay
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a South African doing her entire schooling under the Apartheid Nationalist Party, i realised when we got to high school that we were being brain-washed, propogandised. Religious fundamentalist extremist teaching is wrong. The fact that is children, youth, and teenagers who take the brunt of this is shocking. I do not subscribe to any religion at all. I have seen the fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Jewish, fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Catholicism, fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Evangenicals & fundamentalists from extreme orthodox Islam. Buddhism, Sikhism, Shinto have also been tainted by extremist. People, please let us live in peace. As to Abrahamic religions please go back to the desert to fight this out and see who is the God of Gods. I know they will have no solution, as quite frankly there is no God.

Skadi Lifdis
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ironically, these are the same people screaming about sharia law and so Muslims must be banned. Because freedom of religion only applies to them. As much as they want to deny it, this country is not and never was a theocracy. Lucky for me, my mom was terrible at paperwork so I didn't get homeschooled - but my siblings did for a couple of years before she gave up. My childhood best friend was though- literally every moment of his day was dictated so when he graduated, he ended up as a "Soldier of God" in the army because he couldn't function without a strict schedule.

Bacony Cakes
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why would god need soldiers? To fight the devil? Isn't the devil punishing the wicked and therefore being a good guy?

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