Would a world Religions class be appropriate in high school curriculum?

Question

Do you think High school kids would benifit from a class on all MAJOR world religions?
We preach religious tollerance but many don't know what the other religions believe. This could help them understand were the religion come from and what their beliefs are.

Some thoughts pro and con are welcome.

Answer 1

Yes, I think it's important to teach people about various religions. Ignorace adds to conflicts. If people knew more about other religions than their own I'm sure they would get along with each other better. They could understand each other better and know each other's culture better, which would make it easier for them to live in harmony with each other. Religion is a big part of some people's culture and it's essential to know more cultures than your own in today's world.

Answer 2

I think it's an excellent idea.

Having a basic understanding of the traditions of various cultural groups is an essential part of being a citizen of the world.

The difficulty will come when some religious adherents object to their beliefs being examined in an objective and non partisan way. This is most likely when the dominant religious system comes under the same sort of scrutiny as its minority competitors.

But as a principle for teaching kids how to think rather than what to think, I reckon such a scheme has a lot to recommend it.

Answer 3

this would make a great court case and could be used to get things such as prayer back into the schools (not a proponent of forcing people into prayer but we should be able to meet (teachers and students and pray if we want). Why on earth do people listen to these who want to isolate religious expression. Religion is a big part of life it should be allowed in schools and a class for world religions is a good idea. Perhaps atheism could be taught there as well as an anti-religion along side agnoticism etc.

Answer 4

I did a topic about different religions in year seven, which is the last year of primary school here in South Australia. It was useful in that it gave us a broad understanding of most of the major religions, but to be honest I think there are more important things kids need to be learning.

Answer 5

It would really depend on how, and by whom, it was taught.

The optimum would be to have people from each religion come in to teach about it.

NOTE TO ICHEEKNOWS - What "ichee" does NOT know, apparently, is that prayer is *already* allowed in public schools. I'm sure that you want to know what is factual about this, so check the Department of Education's official standing on it. You'll find that religious expression on public schools is restricted only in that prayer cannot disrupt classroom activities, and it cannot be led by a school official.

Here is the site:

http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/religionandschools/prayer_guidance.html

Page down to "Applying the Governing Principles in Particular Contexts"

I'm sure you'll want to disabuse others of the idea that prayer is not currently allowed in public schools, right? Because we all want to know the truth of this, and serve the truth.

Answer 6

The problem that many would have in our country is that there are Religous Zealots who would choose to "push their religious views" on others using this medium. A number of young people are easily swayed by either friends or adults with little or no true care about other's faith. I feel that a parent is the best one to teach religious belief to their children. A husband is told to teach his children about GOD in 2Timothy and I believe that it is best that he does. Have a great day!
Eds

Answer 7

Absolutely. I think it would be a great idea to expose children to as many religions as possible to eliminate the ignorance that many have about other religions.

The problem with religious instruction in general is that it is too insular. This would be the opposite to insular and would pave the way to more free thinking and criticism of dogma.

Answer 8

I believe so. I've taken a world religions classes and they really open your eyes. If our children are to leave school and go out into the real world, shouldn't they be prepared.
By not teaching there is more out there then what they see you are just asking for trouble.

Answer 9

Absolutely. Religions are a major part of world societies and politics. If Bush had ANY notion of the various Islamic factions in Iraq, the war might not be such a total disaster.

Answer 10

This is a wonderful idea. Of course, it would have to be an elective and not a requirement. The reasons for this are obvious of course. But yes, and I would make sure that MY child was in attendance.