The issue is about education....many if not most Catholic schools produce a better product then public schools. Many of these schools are in lower income areas, and parents want "help" if they choose to send their kids to that school. A portion of their tax dollars are going to the local public school. They want that money to offset some of the tuition fees of those schools. They aren't going there for the religious purposes as much as a better more diciplined invironment for their children. I went to catholic school for 12 years. I don't post on the religious board and I don't go to church. I don't really care. I wasn't indoctrinated. We had jews and other religions who went but they went for the education I'm not sure what happens in Christian schools, but atleast at the High School level, u don't have alot of overtly religious classwork. I had some world religion classes and some ethics stuff that fell under the Religion department, but that was about it. I think that as long as the Schools adhere the curriculum/rules set forth by the government. Then its no big deal.
The situation up here in Canada is different. We don't have the same crisis in our public school system, and we don't have the Catholic school system providing a better education. Up here the big question is do we divert funds from our public school system to fund private religious education, and in this province people are not for it. The biggest proponents of it are the Catholic, Jewish & Islamic religious organizations, but the majority of Catholics, Jews, and Muslims are saying no way. this will not lead to the type of inclusiveness we're looking to create. The beauty of our system is that all faiths are educated
'together', and have the benefit of input & exposure to different ideas and different POVs. A public secular education goes a long way towards the integration of society, and the creation of faith based schools is counter-productive to the inclusive, tolerant, society we're building up here.
As crazy as it seems, I have friends who never met a non- Jewish person until they were 18. That's crazy!