Religion in school (choice, America, church, atheist, religions)

[ErikaLee]

That's true. But those that choose to, still ask questions and study for themselves. Which you can do and still be Christian, I'm not saying that all Christians are brainwashed. I like to see Christians that disagree with and form their own opinions about certain topics.

There are Christians that don't have a problem with Homosexuality.
There are Christians that don't proselytize and judge.
There are Christians that don't agree with every little thing that is fed them....

I know a Catholic woman that believes in her heart that women are absolved from the sin of Eve by Mary and Mary Magdalene being the only people to stay with Jesus throughout his crucifixion and never wavering in their belief in him.

Were the men strong enough to do this? No, Peter denied him 3 times and still claimed himself Jesus's successor and ran off to make the Catholic Church. She also calls him what he is: A Woman Hater.

So, there are always going to be those that question, it is what we as Humans do.

But I do think World Religions in a World History or Culture class is good. Thinking back, I actually got some of that in High School. Just the major 3 tho - Christianity, Judaeism and Islam.

EL

[Runt]

But I do think World Religions in a World History or Culture class is good. Thinking back, I actually got some of that in High School. Just the major 3 tho - Christianity, Judaeism and Islam.

I was fortunate enough to get a very young, very liberal teacher who was either agnostic or atheist (or possibly pagan) who taught religion with complete impartiality and allowed us to discuss whatever religion we wanted and present to the class on it. This is odd, because I live in a reletively religious (Christian religious) community that looks down upon other belief systems (though doesn't downright squash them... if I'd been in a different class and said I wanted to do a presentation on Paganism, the teacher would have said something like "But perhaps you should do a presentation on a more... well known religion. Take a look at Judiasm, for example, or Islam."

[ErikaLee]

Even those religions are safe to teach in school, as far as the Christian view goes, because they are not too far off from Christianity in reality.

Mostly Judaeism, but Islam as well has some of the same basic ideas... Monotheism, submission to God, subjugation of women (had to throw that in there, sorry).

You know? I never realized I was such a feminist... Hm...

Okay, so Religion in School - okay, "This Religion Is Right" in School - negative.

Also, where do you draw the line for teacher led religious groups on school property? In the school my husband works at they have Bible Study and Christian Groups, but the Chorus teacher wasn't allowed to have a Christmas program that featured any Christian songs for fear of insulting any Jewish or Non Christian Students... but fliers for Bible Study and Signs for Billy Graham visiting our city is okay.

EL

[Runt]

The Choir couldn't sing Christian music? Holy cow! What a sorry program... when we sing Christian music in school, it is with the understanding that we are studying the history of music, and the great creations of composers... even I, being pagan, not only don't mind singing Christian music, I actually think much of it has merit musically and would be unhappy if I DIDN'T have the opportunity to sing it!

[deahca2]

But still, at the core of this is PUBLIC ( i.e.general) education versus religious education. The public schools are geared , at this time, to general education for the student. Religion falls under personal. Personal is not general. right? So, leave it out and rely upon parents or schools that cater to a personal slant on religion. Seems fair.

Deah

[Colin_Admin]

Deah, I agree with you and also if they even tried to put religion into public education then their would be an even larger debate into which religion to teach. I think if they did put religion into public schools and they chose one religion, for arguments sake we will use christianity, then you will start seeing a large amount of parents who dont belive in christianity start relocating their children into schools that teach their religion. This will start a chain reaction and maybe lead to even more forms of racism.

[Runt]

Religion falls under personal. Personal is not general. right? So, leave it out and rely upon parents or schools that cater to a personal slant on religion. Seems fair.

Aye, but the problem is where to draw the line.

1. Cut Christian music out of choir programs.
2. Cut ANY religious music out of choir programs... this includes gospel music, most classical music, many contemporary pieces, all Christmas music ("Santa" is a Christian creation...a saint)
3. Do not teach about the early development of Europe in the CE, because that history is largely religious (it is basically the spread of Christianity, the development of different forms of Christianity, the problems between Christianity and various rulers, etc).
4. Do not teach about the Middle East, because much of the culture and the government there are dictated by religion.
5. Do not talk about issues like abortion, gay marriage, or other things that are generally argued against with a religious perspective.
6. Don't talk about the pilgrims coming to the US, because many came for religious reasons...
7. Don't let kids off school for Winter Break (because everyone knows they get off so families can celebrate their religious holidays--whether Christian, Pagan, or Jewish--together without the interference of school.) 8. Ban all personal expressions of ANY religion in students at school--don't allow kids to wear crosses, pentagrams, or other religious symbols.
9. Don't allow children to EVER use the word God in any context (whether as a curse or as a allusion)
10. Don't allow children to study poetry with religious allusions.
11. Don't allow kids to say the word "God" in the pledge of allegiance (or even say the pledge of allegiance) because it is a religous issue and not a general one.

The list goes on and on.

[deahca2]

Ok. I'm confused. What did you disagree with?
private schools ( posted in my last post) like Catholic, Muslim Jewish teach religion . Are they not the alternative rather than have a religion ( which one?) taught in public schools?
<<is very confused.

Deah

[Runt]

I was arguing that it is IMPOSSIBLE not to teach religion in some form in school. It is everywhere. To eradicate religion completely from public education would be stupid; whether or not we want to believe it, much of our history and our culture has been shaped by our religions. It is impossible to understand WHY we are the way we are without understanding what be believed, when we believed it, and how our beliefs shaped our culture, our government, and our history.

However, I think arguing because of a misunderstanding. You are saying that religion should not be taught (as in preached) in school because that is not fair to the excluded religions that are NOT teached (nor to the people in the school who follow those religions). I am saying that we should teach Comparative Religion as a culture/history class... in which ALL religions are covered (or as many of them as possible) in an academic rather than theological manner. Instead of preaching about the nature of God, students and teachers would discuss what each individual religion believes to be the nature of God, and how these beliefs have affected history and government and culture.

You see?

[deahca2]

I like the idea. comparative religion seems to be the answer, and I would HOPE that atheism would be covered within that course and the reasoning behind it. ATheists get too bad a rap, IMO.
Deah