What is your opinion on religion in schools?

Question

I am writing a paper, and I need opinions from people of both sides of the argument. What do you think? Should religion be banned in schools, or should it be allowed?

Answer 1

Religion should only EVER be allowed in schools when ALL religions are being taught to ALL students. Then perhaps people may understand another's point of view a little more readily. Other than that, it's outright OFFENSIVE to force one religion onto all children in school. This should never, ever happen in a "cilvilized" society...it's outrageous.

Answer 2

You should quote parts of the First Amendment to the Constitution for starters. It gives us freedom of religion and says that matters of church and state should be separate. There are two clauses, the Free Exercise and the Establishment Clause. Sometimes there's a tension between the two and that's what most of the brouhaha and litigation is about.

People have the right to practice whatever religion they want and they also have the right to practice no religion if they want under the Free Exercise Clause. Under the Establishment Clause, the government is not to establish a church; it cannot support a church nor can it say that everyone must belong to a certain church.

The Supreme Court has said this also means the government is not to become excessively entangled with religion. Governments run public schools, and the Court has determined that prayer in public schools would violate both the free exercise and the establishment clauses. Why? Kids are under some compulsion to do what the teachers tell them, and if sectarian prayers are being said, this is, in a way, the government support of a particular religion, and the kids' right to worship or not worship as they see fit is being infringed upon.

It almost goes without saying that if prayers cannot be said in public school, in most circumstances, a religion class cannot be part of the curriculium.

I believe it's ok under the court rulings and the 1st Amendment, to teach comparative or world religions in high school, and perhaps it's ok in the upper grades of grade school as well. The catch is that the class must be taught in an academic way, and not as religious instruction or indoctrination. You need to look into this further. What is the distinction between a class in comparative religions and indocrination in a particular religion? What grades can these classes taught in?

Next, you might want to discuss why some people believe prayer and even religious instruction should be allowed in public schools. What would the benefits be? What problems would it cause for the kids and teachers? Then you could wrap up with a little discussion of whether the laws should be changed (it would take a Supreme Court decision that reinterpreted the 1st Amendment) or whether they should stay the same.

I would not omit a discussion of why don't the religions establish more of their own schools, and I'd probably put this at the end.

Answer 3

Well, I like it where it is, with a little of both.

See, if teachers and principals and faculty and such start invoking prayer and telling all students attending in the district to pray(I don't care what religion, I'm an atheist, so prayer is prayer to me, it's still prayer and religious) and not only that they have to pray, but they have to pray the way the district tells them to, it's illegal, and should STAY that way. Teachers are there to teach. Leave the religious instruction to religious schools, parents, and clergy.

But conversely, if a child wants to pray, say, before a test or eating lunch at noon, that's perfectly legal and I wouldn't want that to change, either. Kids and teachers, as individuals with private thought and free will, have a constitutional right to believe as they wish. They don't stop being Catholic, Wiccan, or Muslim just because they stepped through a schoolhouse door. Nobody has the right to tell them they can't pray or read the Bible or invite a friend to services. It's their belief, it's what they do.

It's just when the district starts telling kids and teachers they all have to believe the same and pray the same once they come to school that it becomes illegal. Then they're taking away that personal right to private thought and free will.

So therefore, I wouldn't change anything, at least overall. Obviously, there are kinks in this system as there are in any legal system. Some cases are clear-cut, others are more in the gray and harder to judge. Mistakes get made, but mistakes also get fixed as well.

So as long as it's private and personal, knock yourself out, it's perfectly legal. When it's sanctioned and led by the faculty and district, it's illegal and should remained forbidden, far as I'm concerned. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want my kid's English teacher telling them what the "right" way to believe is. They're my kids, I'll teach them about religion myself tell them my own thoughts on the matter, not the district's.

Answer 4

Ever heard of separation of church and state? If the school is run by the state, religion has no place.

I personally have nothing against religion being taught in something like a "Religion and Mythology" class, but you run into the question of which religions to teach, how to fairly represent them all, and who is qualified to teach such a class to present unbiased views of several different religions. It's really a can of worms that is better unopened.

Answer 5

I can help you with this one (we went over this about 80 times for both sides in debate and logic class)
For religion in school:
Yea, why not? People should be able to worship thier god[s] freely any time. It is America isn't it? I mean, when they first established this government, they based it on religion. They said that one would be able to worshihp whoever they chose. So, why would we not keep those values?

Against religion in school:
Why would we want prayer and the Bible or the Torah or the Koran or whatever y'all worship and base your life on in schools? It's a place of knowledge. Not of beliefs. It's a place where people learn facts, and maybe facts about theories, but not theories themselves.

Hope this helps... It's only a summary of the arguments, so they aren't that long...

Answer 6

I am agnostic and I believe that religion should be kept out of schools. Not every child is christian and therefor you will be denying some child their religion. I believe that religion and morality is taught in the home and not in public schools. There is a separation of church and state, so if public or charter schools are paid for by the state there should be no religion. As a taxpayer I want that to be upheld.

Answer 7

Religion in schools is another way to ostracize children, make them feel left out or insecure. In other words, religion in school is another way to bully kids. Just as they're are all types of children's personalities, some children will not be that much into religion, or their religion will not allow them to partake with "others" of different religions. Meaning that they would feel uncomfortable or left out, children such as Jehovah's Witnesses, Jewish Children or Muslim Children. The Witness children are taught that Christ Jesus is God's Son, but they are taught not to mix or congregate with others of different religions, much like Mormon children. So, while the school is praying Witness children would sit there with there eyes open, quietly respectful for their friends, but not pray.

The Muslim and Jewish children do not believe in Christ Jesus, except as a holy prophet, not the son of god as the Witnesses and Other Christians do, also the Mormons. So, by praying a christian prayer in front of them, its pretty much an admission of "our religion is the correct one, yours is the wrong one." Now, if the school led different prayers for each group, that would be wonderful, but this is WHITE AMERICA and we simply don't allow FAIRNESS in white america, do we? So, that won't happen. Its our way or the Highway. We will have no apostate religious prayers in our schools, but hey, Christianity can be SHOVED DOWN their throats and theirs nothing wrong with that!

Sick on our part! BAN PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF RELIGION IN SCHOOL or ALLOW ALL RELIGIOUS DISPLAYS NO MATTER THE RELIGION!

Answer 8

teach your own children morality and faith. other persons have no right to impose their political or religious ideas on my child...children are like sponges to the information given to them by adults placed in a position of authority over them. It is quite unfair to impose this on them and is illegal...it's not just religion, any ideas that are not just reading and writing and math must be scrutinized to prevent this violation of young minds. However, the school should not interfere with the personal life of anyone either, there is nothing stopping a child from exercising his own faith in a quiet personal way...there are no mind police....yet

Coincidentally, my son 15 read the Bible in study hall on his own just to say he had read it. It caused a small furor among the people around him, but it was mostly curiosity on their part. They at first thought he was very religious...until the next book he read, The Illiad of Homer. I have a hard time getting him to believe in my version of god, but he definietely has a faith in something, I know he will be a good person because he really is looking for answers and I know he's no fool.

Answer 9

Religion should only be taught in schools when it is taught as a subject. What i mean by this is when the various religions are discussed and explained, That way kids grow up knowing that there are different ways of worshiping god and we all don't believe in the same things. Let them discuss and debate it, it wont do them any harm it might broaden their view point. What i disagree with is any one religion along with its doctrine solely being taught in public schools

Answer 10

Keep it out! Public schools are made up of the general population. That population has many different beliefs. No matter what you did, you would be offending someone. Sunday school is the place for religion. School is for learning. I even think the Pledge of Allegiance could possibly be offending to people of different faiths...one nation under God???? What about Jehovah, Allah, Muhammad??? I am a believer but I just think it should be separate.