Should not be taught in any form
Teach events involving religion (crusades, holocaust, etc.)
Have an elective on religions
Teach what each religion believes without preaching
Teach a certain religion without preaching
Have a certain religion be a mandatory part of school
Have representatives of each religon come in and speak
Other, which I will explain below
Ok, here's a question. To what level should religion be taught in school?
Should it teach the history of religion, or religious events like the crusades and inquisition? Or should they should they teach the beliefs of every belief? Or should they preach one belief. This question if for public schools. Or should religion be tossed out completely. State your opinions. Just remember, this is all in good fun
What do you think?
Knowledge is power, use it well.
Don't fear the unknown, seek to understand it
The answer is quite simple: religion is a private matter, and school must not intervene in private matter, so any form of preaching is unwelcome.
It's stupid to censure crusades or any events (real events, not things like genesis) because it deals with religion, but we must teach the subject from a perfectly neutral, 3rd person point of view. The reason is quite simple: there is more than one religion, and since we don't have to reveal it the idea of an elective on religion is stupid.
Just trolling by.
If I were king?
In elementary and middle schools, nothing beyond what is necessary.
In high schools, there would be a Religion class spanning over eight semesters which would cover the historical development of the mythologies, institutions, theologies, and demographics of a new religion every semester. The eight religions would probably be Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, and Greco-Roman paganism. Would have liked to include Scandinavian paganism, as it is part of my heritage (mostly Scandinavian on both sides), but its influence on world affairs is small in comparison to the rest.
The teaching method would be very secular and the instruction rooted in historical and scientific facts and probabilities, although individuals with a religion of their own would be permitted to teach the class if they submitted to random screenings to ensure they are being relatively impartial.
Last edited by Morality Games; 11th February 2008 at 09:06 PM.
Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world.
- Immanuel Kant
8 years? do you mean 8 semesters?
Knowledge is power, use it well.
Don't fear the unknown, seek to understand it
I think time in school can be spent on something more worthwhile then learning the different religions.Teach what each religion believes without preaching
Its also one of those things that would be very hard to teach objectivly by a religious person.
If it intrests someone, then they should be able to learn it.Have an elective on religions
Where is Pastafarism?Quote by: Morality Games
As you noticed with Scandianavian Mythology, too much religion is missing. But this class seems to be more about [concrete] history of the religions than preaching, but it could turn too easily into a preaching class.
Preaching classes would create littl' gangs in school, and with today's tension it would turn into a christian vs muslim high school war, especially if christian got a preaching class and not muslims (which would be the case in USA). I can see from here the 32 fundamentalist christian who met in their religious freaky class beating the 3-4 muslims and the only zoroastrian in the whole high school.
Imagine we create, let's say, a christian preaching class. If you are a moderate christian, the typical John Smith, and your teacher is a hardcore heebee-jeebee fundie (or vice-versa, who cares...), will you get a bad mark for accepting Darwin until you became creationist? If the teacher is catholic and you are a baptist, will you get a bad mark for not loving the Pope?
My point is, religion is too personal to be a school subject, and in some back country places it could derivate into an endoctrination center where personal issues (exemple: a christian fighting with a jew, for non-religious reasons) can become a theologic conflict (he attacked one of us, let kick his christian ass!).
Just trolling by.
Public higher learning schools offer classes in various types of religions, so I don't see why public funded high schools could offer them as electives either.
What do you say to an atheist who sneezes?
Yourdeadthatsit!
- Dane Cook
By your gang idea shouldn't we make school uniforms required in every school to prevent social cliques? And stop sports activities since they to can lead to gang like cliques?Where is Pastafarism?
As you noticed with Scandianavian Mythology, too much religion is missing. But this class seems to be more about [concrete] history of the religions than preaching, but it could turn too easily into a religion class.
Preaching classes would create littl' gangs in school, and with today's tension it would turn into a christian vs muslim high school war, especially if christian got a preaching class and not muslims (which would be the case in USA). I can see from here the 32 fundamentalist christian who met in their religious freaky class beating the 3-4 muslims and the only zoroastrian in the whole high school.
Imagine we create, let's say, a christian preaching class. If you are a moderate christian, the typical John Smith, and your teacher is a hardcore heebee-jeebee fundie (or vice-versa, who care...), will you get a bad mark for accepting Darwin until you became creationist? If the teacher is catholic and you are a baptist, will you get a bad mark for not loving the Pope?
My point is, religion is too personal to be a school subject, and in some back country places it could derivate into an endoctrination center where personal issues (exemple: a christian fighting with a jew, for non-religious reasons) can become a theologic conflict (he attacked one of us, let kick his christian ass!).
I don't think teaching people to believe in a religion is right in schools, but they should be allowed the choice to offer elective courses to study various faiths that had had a big impact on world history.
School does not have to be equal to all. There is no rule stating it must either teach all religions or none at all.
What do you say to an atheist who sneezes?
Yourdeadthatsit!
- Dane Cook
No, it means not creating another one we can avoid. I never saw a basketball team beating the chessclub with pipes because a nerd had issues with a 6'8'' dude for a deesagreement based on sport, nor did I saw the gothic beating uncouncious the cheerleaders team for a clothing matter. But religious cliques can be way more serious.
Just trolling by.
Does that mean they will be more serious?
We have religious groups on nearly every college. Do you think they cause more violence or issues than frats, gangs, or punk groups? Religious classes as well as clubs and even societies are well meshed into most higher educational institutions. I think your worries are a tad over blown.
What do you say to an atheist who sneezes?
Yourdeadthatsit!
- Dane Cook
Fixed.8 years? do you mean 8 semesters?
There would be complications like this but I don't think it would outweigh the benefits of such a class, which would be much increased understanding from an early age of the different ways and ends of the world. I think the majority of students would fall in line and be mature about it. People assumed sex education classes at school would be subject to interruptions of every kind, and sometimes they are, but in general students are silent and attentive and society benefits from them being aware of the particulars of the world of sex.Preaching classes would create littl' gangs in school, and with today's tension it would turn into a christian vs muslim high school war, especially if christian got a preaching class and not muslims (which would be the case in USA). I can see from here the 32 fundamentalist christian who met in their religious freaky class beating the 3-4 muslims and the only zoroastrian in the whole high school.
Imagine we create, let's say, a christian preaching class. If you are a moderate christian, the typical John Smith, and your teacher is a hardcore heebee-jeebee fundie (or vice-versa, who care...), will you get a bad mark for accepting Darwin until you became creationist? If the teacher is catholic and you are a baptist, will you get a bad mark for not loving the Pope?
My point is, religion is too personal to be a school subject, and in some back country places it could derivate into an endoctrination center where personal issues (exemple: a christian fighting with a jew, for non-religious reasons) can become a theologic conflict (he attacked one of us, let kick his christian ass!).
Additionally, my class would be nothing like preaching. It would be like how Comparative Religion is taught in college. To repeat:
The teachers would be straightforward and professional, just as they ideally are in mathematics, history, science, and other classes.The teaching method would be very secular and the instruction rooted in historical and scientific facts and probabilities, although individuals with a religion of their own would be permitted to teach the class if they submitted to random screenings to ensure they are being relatively impartial.
Act that your principle of action might safely be made a law for the whole world.
- Immanuel Kant
Well, since i'm still in high school, I can say religion is a pretty touchy subject. Actions like nerdvincent was suggesting isn't that far fetched. I have had other kids ridicule me and call me stupid, retarded, and even the occasional threat to punch me in the face just for being an atheist. Yes, many colleges have them, but in high school, kids tend to be a bit less mature. Also, some of the more aggressive students, are less likely to get into higher level universities since they would get in more trouble then others.
I think a class covering all religions, perhaps a chapter in history or an elective covering all religions if not the history option, may be beneficial, but only if it's from a third person perspective, not an active attempt to spread ones religion.
Knowledge is power, use it well.
Don't fear the unknown, seek to understand it
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