My Opinion on Whether Religion Should Be Taught in Schools

Should religion be taught in public schools? How will parents take this? In my opinion, its best that religion doesn’t enter public schools because of the controversy and media outrage that can stir up. Starting with one point of view, there are many reasons why religion needs to be talked about in the school building. One main reason is that with knowledge, comes understanding. In an article from FaithStreet, readers are told that by evidence from surveys, Americans ignorant when it comes to religion and know barely anything about other practices. This leads to stereotyping and misunderstanding about what people believe in, which is a major problem that can be avoided by learning.

Fur, studies show that teasing and bullying people about their religion starts at young ages around kindergarten, which is not acceptable at all. For these reasons, it is said to be essential for students to learn about as many religions as possible.

Furthermore, experts from Education Week remind us that it is 2016, and our student body is more diverse than ever before. Since people aren’t grasping the beauty of that reality, religion is at the root of hate crimes. As a result of this, it is that classes have the opportunity to talk about and to understand different cultures and beliefs. With basic knowledge, they will have a better idea of religion’s impact on “history, politics, society, and culture On the other hand, there are many dangers of putting a sensitive topic such as religion in the schools’ hands. In a story from the Washington post, a Jewish woman by the name of Linda K. Wertheimer tells about her negative experience, which took place when she was in the fourth grade. She makes public that one day, the school hired a woman to tell the class about how Jesus could solve their problems, and that Jesus loves them. On the other hand, there are many dangers of putting a sensitive topic such as religion in the schools’ hands.

This was an inadmissible experience because it promoted something that only the Christian parents want their children to be exposed. To elaborate, many people of all religions agree that it should be up to the students parents what is taught to their children at school, and what is not. An anonymous opinion was posted that stated, “It shouldn’t be a requirement for having religion in school. It should be a choice for religion to be a requirement. The students should a choice. Also their parents should also have a choice” (Debate).

Various others say no to these lessons because they do not want their children spending their limited math, reading and studying time discussing a topic irrevelant to the school environment. In my opinion I strongly disagree I think religion shouldn’t be allowed in a public school but a private school would be acceptable because that would be the parents choice of religion the student learns. As for public schools I think learning religion would stir to much conflict. Some parents would feel offended because of their ethnicity others would not want their child to learn religion at all. To further my point I can speak for some students imagine a student failing a grade because they didn’t pass the class teaching religion. Some students would feel like learning religion would be a waste of time.

The parents wouldn’t approve of their child failing because of the (irrelevant) subject. Also the debate of is religion even real would make it hard anyway to put in a schools curriculum. Some people would want proof that religion is even real instead of this make believe story of a man who save us all by sacrificing himself. Some parents would assume this is some kind of manipulation to their child making them believe imaginary figures, such as Santa tooth fairy etc. I think religion shouldn’t be taught in schools because of the controversy it would caused around the world even though I believe in religion I just think the world isn’t ready for it to be taught in schools This is big in the sociologist view for a couple reasons. This questions everything about what this country was founded and built on. When we say the pledge of allegiance we say “one nation under god. ” There are schools that are not allowing students to say that because of separation of church and state. Families are raised off religion and morals based off religion, if we start telling kids that there isn’t such thing called god, they will believe they have no morals and society itself would change. We would have a massive social change and kids will be raised thinking there is no god. There needs to be religion in public schools to we can keep a social order years down the road.

It might be hard for one to distinguish these two terms: “teaching religion” and “teaching about religion”. So what is the difference? “Teaching religion” regards promoting certain religious doctrines and this action is severely prohibited in public schools. “Teaching about religion”, however, means letting students know the role and the value of various religions in history, culture and development of society in USA and other countries. The tone is what really matters: when teaching about religion, one should stay neutral and objective, regardless of which beliefs he talks.

If religion was to be taught in schools the teacher should discuss both majority and minority religions, so that no one would feel offended. Speeches on religious beliefs should be very carefully built: children and teenagers are very sensitive, when it comes to peer and public influence. If anyone hears negative comments (or way too positive ones) on a certain religion, he might take these comments too close to heart – and that turns the “teaching about religion” process into “teaching religion” one. If the teacher insists on letting every student talk about his own religion, he should, firstly, give everyone enough time to prepare and, secondly, make sure, that students’ speeches will not contain promotions or insults towards certain religion.

The teacher should not forget that there are also students, who were raised in families with no particular religious beliefs. That is why such topics as prevailing of the religious beliefs over the non-religious beliefs or vice versa are absolutely unacceptable during the lessons about religion. It is well known that many religious values match the secular ones. It is only right to teach students such values as compassion, kindness, self-respect and respect for others, honesty and friendliness, and that is precisely what teachers have been doing since the very first schools appeared in the world. At the same time, there should be no religious inclines when teaching these values. The USA is the country, in which every person has the right to choose their own religion and to live by its norms, and teachers at public schools cannot allow themselves to impose a single religion on students, each of who has particular religious (or non-religious) beliefs. I think that the public school classroom is no place for me to try and impose my world formula for prayer on children who don’t share it, and for that very reason, I don’t want my children in a public school classroom to be exposed to someone else’s religion or formula. ” Hart is stating that he believes everyone should have freedom to have his own beliefs.

Other people’s religious views should not be forced upon others, especially children. People like this do not agree with those who believe that religion should be allowed in schools for various reasons. For example, many people who do believe religion should be taught in public schools argue that they have the “freedom of speech” granted to them by the First Amendment. But does this mean that one can go out into a public place and speak out anything he wants? This is where the fine line is drawn between religious and state matters. Religion should not overflow into the government funded education. Religion should not be allowed to be taught in public schools because more controversy would be present if religion was permitted, many public school officials do not know enough about other religions beside their own, and lastly, teaching children about every religion is simply impossible. These points all lead to the conclusion that allowing religion to be taught in public schools will only create even more problems and issues than were present before.

There are already arguments present in the public schools without religion being discussed. In the article “Getting Religion Right in Public Schools And, in the United States, rapidly expanding religious diversity presents daunting new challenges for building one nation out of many faiths and cultures in the 21st century and we already have enough problems with trump There is no way to get around it. The more one teaches about religion, the more people will argue about what is true and what is not true. The teachers cannot force a student to think a certain way or believe in a certain religion, but the student must think for himself and decide what to believe and what not to believe. The First Amendment of Constitution states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. ”

There are many interpretations of the First Amendment. Because of the various interpretations of this amendment, it would be hard for all of the public school systems to answer the questions: to what extent should religion be taught if it is allowed to be taught? Does giving the people the freedom of religion and speech mean that religion should not be allowed to be taught? Or does this mean that to a certain point religion should be allowed to be taught? It all depends on each situation. But, there is no need to put children at the risk of having to defend their faith in front of others who do not believe the same as they might.

Children should not be forced into arguments that they themselves cannot control. All of this to say that allowing religion to be taught in public schools would only lead to more controversies over religion and the start of many arguments that could have been avoided. Another reason why religion should not be allowed to be taught in public schools is because many school officials and teachers do not know enough about other religions besides their own. The article “Getting Religion Right in Public School” written by Charles C. Haynes states, “Despite the recent increase in study about religion in schools, many Americans still have little or no knowledge about religions other than their own—and even that knowledge is often thin” This is a problem because if public schools did decide to allow religion to be taught, the teachers and officials would have to be taught about all of the various religions first before they would be able to teach their students. This does not mean that teachers in public schools do not know of or about other religions besides their own, but it is merely impossible to really know and understand every religion present in America, just as Haynes has presented.

This excerpt clearly defines why allowing religion in public schools brings about the problem of teachers being ignorant of many religions. This alone should make people think twice before allowing their children to attend a public school which allows religion to be taught. Also, another issue is that each teacher will probably only be well versed in his own religion. The way a teacher portrays each religion may have a negative connotation, so it does not seem right that public schools should create an environment where even a child’s religion is mocked. Thomas Hutton’s article “Teaching and the Bible,” “…it’s easy to do badly” Take a closer look at your own personal beliefs.

What is your personal opinion about religion in the United States schools and abroad? Based on religious or irreligious beliefs would you place your child in a public school without a bible history class, with a bible history class, or place him/her in a parochial school? Did the myths help bring some clarification to some of the issues of Religion in the Schools? Are you for or against religion in the school system? so in conclusion, I believe it’s best to keep religion and school separate otherwise it will just influence disastrous problems. Religion is an individual choice, not a general one. So think again. “Do you think religion should be taught in public schools?

Works Cited

1. Bhatia, S., & Davie, G. (2019). Teaching about religion: Towards a research agenda for religious education in schools. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 40(3), 285-298.
2. Education Week. (2016). Religion in the public schools: A road map for avoiding lawsuits and respecting parents’ legal rights. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/opinion-religion-in-public-schools-a-road-map-for-avoiding-lawsuits-and-respecting-parents-legal-rights/2016/03
3. FaithStreet. (n.d.). The lack of religious knowledge is dangerous. https://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2014/04/08/the-lack-of-religious-knowledge-is-dangerous/31639
4. Hans, V. P., & Hans, A. S. (2016). Religion and education: A guide for the perplexed. Bloomsbury Publishing.
5. Hickman, H. A. (2019). Teaching about religion and religious diversity in the public schools: A legal analysis. Journal of Law and Education, 48(1), 1-28.
6. Jeynes, W. H. (2015). A meta-analysis on the effects of religion in K-12 education. American Educational Research Journal, 52(4), 744-769.
7. Kennedy, K. (2018). Teaching about religion in a polarized age. Phi Delta Kappan, 100(1), 14-18.
8. Lee, C., & Patte, M. (2018). Teaching about religion in public schools: What do social studies teachers believe and what do they do? Canadian Journal of Education, 41(1), 128-159.
9. National Council for the Social Studies. (2017). Religious studies in the social studies classroom. https://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/publications/se/8004/800409.html
10. Wertheimer, L. K. (2016). A Jewish writer’s argument for not teaching religion in public schools. The Washington Post.