If I said that algebra was against my religion, would I be allowed to opt out of math class??

Question

I don't get it. Why are you allowed to skip out on biology class just because you disagree with something they teach. I could say I disagree with algebra based on my religious principals...would that get me out of class too?

Answer 1

I'm a libertarian, so I say yes. You should be allowed the right of deliberate ignorance. I say this is your life and you should be allowed to live it as you want so long as it does not impact on another's right to do the same. Which means that if you choose a life of deliberate ignorance, do not come near my kids!

Answer 2

Probably...but then you'd never be able to pass an SAT or college placement test.

Those people who opt out of biology class will turn out like a lot of the ignoramuses you see here on R&S who don't understand the very point they are trying to debate. Just because you don't agree with or believe in something (i.e. Evolution) doesn't mean you shouldn't be knowledgeable about it. I'm sure you've noticed most atheists are more knowledgeable about the Bible than most Christians. You have to understand the other side's point of view in order to argue it.

Answer 3

First you have to get a group of morally bankrupt mathematicians to come up with a half ****** theory of "Intelligent Algebra" and write some math books about it, get some local protests going that highlight the difference between that and actual algebra, get some fundamentalist wack jobs on the local school board and then they can restrict the school curriculum to only teaching of "Intelligent Math Theory" in Math Classes. You can apply this strategy to any field of study that threatens your religious beliefs.

Answer 4

No, because most math teachers believe in God, and most biology teachers do not...

According to a 1996 survey, belief in a god that is "in intellectual and affective communication with humankind" and belief in "personal immortality" are most popular among mathematicians and least popular among biologists. In total, about 60% of scientists in the United States expressed disbelief or doubt in such a god. This compared with 58% in 1914 and 67% in 1933. Among leading scientists defined as members of the National Academy of Sciences, 72.2% expressed disbelief and 93% - disbelief or doubt in the existence of a personal god in 1998.

A survey conducted between 2005 and 2007 by Elaine Ecklund of University at Buffalo, The State University of New York and funded by the Templeton Foundation found that over 60% of natural and social science professors are atheist or agnostic. When asked whether they believed in God, nearly 34% answered "I do not believe in God" and about 30% answering "I do not know if there is a God and there is no way to find out," According to the same survey, "[m]any scientists see themselves as having a spirituality not attached to a particular religious tradition." In further analysis, published in 2007, Eckland and Christopher Scheitle conclude that "the assumption that becoming a scientist necessarily leads to loss of religion is untenable" and that "[i]t appears that those from non-religious backgrounds disproportionately self-select into scientific professions. This may reflect the fact that there is tension between the religious tenets of some groups and the theories and methods of particular sciences and it contributes to the large number of non-religious scientists."

Richard Dawkins asserts that religions make predictions about the real world which makes them testable scientific theories. The argument is that gods and deities that answer prayers inevitably require an overlap with the natural world and thus become observable and testable:

Mathmaticians on the other hand, tend to believe in a higher order and God.

Answer 5

In the state I live in you can't even opt out of biology. It is a requirement to graduate. However, if your religion prohibits you from studying something you must be able to prove it and then they will find another activity for you.

Answer 6

Algebra was invented by a true religious muslim scholar. Its name Algebra is Arabic work Al-gebr and from Jabr wa Muqabla given AlKhawarzami (known as Alhazen in Europe). Religion is base of its invention.

Answer 7

Religion and science is perfectly negative to each other. They simply cant mix. But in your case algebra and biology are already a part of a person's life. Biology and algebra one basic fundamental of life. Your religion cant exist without biology.... how would they know if they are human....... algebra too..... they're life would be a living hell without numbers.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO LEARN!!!!! and no one can stop you!!!! life is nothing without education!!!

Answer 8

I think that as a Christian, you would want to know everything you could about evolution in order to effectively refute it -- otherwise you're just arguing from ignorance. Where as I don't think students should be forced to do dissections, I do believe that they all should receive a good education in the general branches of science. Science is not a matter of belief.

Answer 9

Absolutely! i think a person should be able to be as stupid and as uneducated as they like

there is already so much competition for good jobs, why not let the ignorami take themselves out of the equation?

with any luck they will stop reproducing as well

it would be in all of our best interests if the fundamentalists of all religions would just opt out of society as a whole and leave it to those educated enough to run it.

Answer 10

Go for it. You can always take it up all the way to the Supreme Court. Well, not so much, because that's what home-school is for.
Still, Algebra really shouldn't go against any religious doctrine.