Religious music should not be sung by elementary school choirs

This whole argument relates back to a completely different argument regarding the constitutionality of public education and its validity and effectiveness in general. The best solution to this, and any problem relating to education is privatization. Were our education system privatized, religiously inclined individuals would be free to incorporate schools based on those values, while atheists could do the same. Thus, debates like this one would never arise. However, I will assume for the sake of this argument that we wish to preserve the public school system or that there is no other option. I will begin by refuting your arguments for eliminating religious themes and music from school programs. I agree that children should not be forced to participate in any activity that would contradict their religious convictions. However, does it follow that we must eliminate such activities from the school curriculum? Of course not. It simply means that we must allow them not to participate if such is their wish, or the wish of their parents. Meanwhile, 75% of Americans are still Christian, according to the CIA World Factbook. Should the rest of us simply ignore the importance of our Christian heritage to accommodate a tiny minority? If so, why? Is the United States a democratic republic, or an oligarchy, rules by a minority of those individuals who insist on making an issue out of everything that "offends" them? Like it or not, Christianity is an important part of our past and our present. Why should we simply leave it out of our public education system, which is designed to prepare our children to be good citizens? How can one be a good citizen of the United States if one is never taught the foundational principles of its culture and history? If the last fifty years of American education is any indicator, such a notion is madness. If schools should not be allowed to produce religious programs complete with religious music on the basis that it is religious and might offend some people, then one must throw out every part of the curriculum which may be construed as religiously offensive. We would have to ignore most of western history, a huge portion of art masterpieces with religious subjects, any literature which contains religious themes or undertones. Furthermore, if a curriculum does not teach from a Judeo-Christian/religious philosophical construct, it must teach from some other perspective. There is no such thing as philosophical neutrality. Why not start with the moral philosophy with which a majority of constituents hold? Currently our curriculum is geared to teach from a secular humanist, materialist, atheist, relativist standpoint, despite the fact that it goes against the express beliefs of 75 percent of the population, as noted above. Your second point is circular. You are trying to prove that schools should not have kids sing religious songs, and then you try to prove it by saying that school is not a place for religious songs to be sung. You then go on to reiterate your first argument. Keep in mind that I don't think this is the ideal solution. To me, the perfect solution (and one which I think is inevitable) is to privatize education altogether. Every educational debate could be solved by doing this. Those who are opposed to religion being taught in schools would be free to send their child to an atheistic school. Christians could send their kids to Christian schools. Muslims could send their kids to Muslim schools. The schools that performed the best would succeed financially, and the ineffective schools would go bust. We would have the best education system in the world within ten years.