Religion in schools...Please, I'd like feedback on these questions.?

Question

At my school, they say we are allowed to learn about religion as long as we learn about all religions.

I have just finished the 7th grade and am going into the 8th. But, the only religions we have learned about have been Christianity, Judism, and Islam.

Doesn't 'all religions' also include the pagan religions as well? Or will I learn about those later on in my school life?

I have learned about religion in my History class. Also, do you think it should NOT be required to learn about different religions, or should we just have an elective course on it?

What is it like at your school (if you still go to school) or what was it like (if you have already finished school)?

I would like to know what you think. Religion has seemed to interest me lately.

(I'm Agnostic by the way)

Answer 1

All religions should be included and it should be part of every social studies course. I doubt that a fair standard will be applied. My school taught about the western religions but skipped everything else. My teacher even told the class that buddhism was a scam and said that all buddhists were in cults that give their money to a con man.

I didn't get a good comparitive religion class until college.

Answer 2

I went to small-town public school, so while there was some peripheral information on religion (especially when dealing with things like the Crusades) in History class, that was about it. No real World Religions classes, or anything like that.

For the most part, you're not going to learn much about anything other than Christianity, Judaism, or Islam, unless you get into an Asian History section, which'll likely include Hinduism and Buddhism. I wouldn't expect to see any real teaching on any of the Pagan religions - from what I've seen, even in college level courses, anything on Paganism is independant study.

Personally, I'd like to see a sort of intro level World Religions class for highschoolers, just so that folks have a general awareness of the fact that there are other religions out there, and some vague clue as to what those religions believe. Makes it a little easier to interact with people.

Answer 3

Nah. You covered the big three and that's pretty good for middle school.

When I was in middle school (92-94) we didn't really discuss religion. We had social studies and learned about different cultures and the religions that they practice, but never delved into what the belief systems actually were.

In high school, you might get into some of the eastern religions and philosophy (shinto, buddhism, etc.) but you'll probably only scratch the surface. There just isn't enough time to get that detailed about it because your teachers have a whole curriculum to get through.

Once you get into college, though, there are several classes that deal with religion and can get very specific.

If you want my advice, read up on religion in your spare time. Check out philosophy, too. It rules.

Hope this helps!

Answer 4

I think it might be difficult to learn about ALL religions. I believe new religions are being discovered among remote tribes all over. Not to mention offshoots from main branch religions.

I think we all get to a point where we ask "why am I here?" and "what is the purpose of life?" and "when I die is there more or will I just cease to exist?". You will find many who have an answer for you to these questions but beware of those who claim to have ALL the answers. Religion basically boils down to faith (the belief in that for which there is no real evidence).

In my school it wasn't really covered. It was assumed you'd be in church on sunday tho (small texas town).

I tend to view religion as a form of mental facism wherin you gain emotional security by sacrificing intellectual freedom.

It is , in the end a very personal thing. I personally find comfort in the testimony from those who have experienced near death experinces. You might check out a book called "life after life" by Raymond Moody.

Answer 5

I don't think you should learn about religion in school. The majority of the "teachers" teaching that religion aren't familiar with it and are only teaching it to you from their point of view. If they offered you an elective course about religion and there were actually going to be people there that studied and practiced the religion than maybe. But I don't think you should have to do it unless you wanted to. We never learned about religion in my school. Simply because all of the teachers were "Christian" and didn't believe we needed to be taught anything but christianity. I'm all for learning about religions and being able to make an honest educated decision about which religion you would like to follow. That's if you choose any religion at all.

Answer 6

When I was in school, it was Christianity or nothing. We didn't think much about it back then because that was the accepted way of believing. At least now you are allowed to hear about other religions. Unfortunatley the Pagan beliefs and religions are completely left out. They aren't considered "mainstream" religions and therefore won't be included in your curricullum. Search the web and read some good books on Pagan beliefs to educate yourself. Don't wait for the school system to offer this information to you--they probably won't. We live in a country that is predominatly Christian and, as a rule, Pagan beliefs are not accepted in mainstream America. Good luck in your search--Blessings.

Answer 7

I was offended by being forced to religious worship in school - it was in effect child abuse, but it still goes on in the UK.

As for religious studies, I think you are right that they should be as broad as possible, but unfortuntely RE teachers often have very narrow knowledge. They usually do not even know the history of Christianity.

Religion is a fact of all human societies ever recorded, so there is clearly something in our make up that predisposes us to institutionalised delkusion and bigotry. It seems most likely down to "in group/out group" tribal prejudice, and this is borne out be the three religions you have studied (which all stem from the same root but which have had their followers at each others throats for millenia).

Understand religion and you will not make the mistakes it has led people to over the ages. Like following it.

Answer 8

I think it wouldnt be a bad idea to have a religion course...as long as it was an elective class. There could be an AMERICAN religions class, or a MODERN religions class...and that would narrow it down. Otherwise you would be trying to learn about ALL religions, which would take years haha. I think that would be a good idea for people who are REALLY interested in religions, and those who werent wouldnt have to take it. It would still be there if anyone was interested though.

Answer 9

I think that teaching ABOUT religions (a variety of religions) is good--teaching religion itself is not acceptable.

Finding someone with the qualifications and temperament to teach comparative religion in a public or high school is pretty much impossible. The closest thing would be to include an overview of religious beliefs and practices the context of learning about different cultures or historical periods.

We learned about Greek, Roman and Norse mythology in my Gr. 13 English class, and as part of that we learned about the cultures and religions that gave birth to those mythologies. It was the best possible way of teaching about them.

Answer 10

You should have also learned about Buddhism as it is also one of the world's largest religion, but is considered "godless" by most Christians. Your school seems to be picking and choosing only those religions that support a montheistic view.

I think all schools should teach about the great religions; it is a part of history. How can you understand all the killing that has gone on in God's name, if you don't study the religions that promoted it.

My school did not teach about other religions, I had to learn on my own.