Should religion remain in public schools?

Question

I'm doing a Research Paper based on the topic above, and I just wanted to hear others opinions!!!

Thanks a lot!!!

Answer 1

Contrary to what some have said he founding fathers wanted religion taught in public school. would research Dr. Benjamin Rush the founder of the American education system and see what he believed . he wrote a 10 part article outlining the public school system.

In the 1960"s it was decided that the school system should be taught from a morally neutral position . years later the designer of the system said they had failed . and it failed because they forgot about evil.

here are some qoutes from our founding fathers.

lament that we waste so much time and money in punishing crimes and take so little pains to prevent them…we neglect the only means of establishing and perpetuating our republican forms of government; that is, the universal education of our youth in the principles of Christianity by means of the Bible; for this Divine Book, above all others, constitutes the soul of republicanism.” “By withholding the knowledge of [the Scriptures] from children, we deprive ourselves of the best means of awakening moral sensibility in their minds.” [Letter written (1790’s) in Defense of the Bible in all schools in America]
• “Christianity is the only true and perfect religion.”
• “If moral precepts alone could have reformed mankind, the mission of the Son of God into our world would have been unnecessary.”

"Let the children who are sent to those schools be taught to read and write and above all, let both sexes be carefully instructed in the principles and obligations of the Christian religion. This is the most essential part of education”
Letters of Benjamin Rush, "To the citizens of Philadelphia: A Plan for Free Schools", March 28, 1787

here is what Thomas Paine had to say
“ It has been the error of the schools to teach astronomy, and all the other sciences, and subjects of natural philosophy, as accomplishments only; whereas they should be taught theologically, or with reference to the Being who is the author of them: for all the principles of science are of divine origin. Man cannot make, or invent, or contrive principles: he can only discover them; and he ought to look through the discovery to the Author.”
“ The evil that has resulted from the error of the schools, in teaching natural philosophy as an accomplishment only, has been that of generating in the pupils a species of atheism. Instead of looking through the works of creation to the Creator himself, they stop short, and employ the knowledge they acquire to create doubts of his existence. They labour with studied ingenuity to ascribe every thing they behold to innate properties of matter, and jump over all the rest by saying, that matter is eternal.” “The Existence of God--1810”


and George Washington

It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and Bible.”

“What students would learn in American schools above all is the religion of Jesus Christ.” [speech to the Delaware Indian Chiefs May 12, 1779]

and last Noah Webster

In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed...No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people.”
[Source: 1828, in the preface to his American Dictionary of the English Language

“All the miseries and evils which men suffer from vice, crime, ambition, injustice, oppression, slavery and war, proceed from their despising or neglecting the precepts contained in the Bible.” [Noah Webster. History. p. 339]

“The Bible was America’s basic textbook
in all fields.” [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p.5]

“Education is useless without the Bible” [Noah Webster. Our Christian Heritage p

We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry, would break the strongest cords of our Constitution as a whale goes through a net. Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other." --October 11, 1798


The general principles upon which the Fathers achieved independence were the general principals of Christianity… I will avow that I believed and now believe that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God.”
• “[July 4th] ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.”
–John Adams in a letter written to Abigail on the day the Declaration was approved

Answer 2

Look, there's something you have to understand. Public school is crap. I'm an atheist and ,until a few days ago, I considered myself a liberal. But public school is absolute crap. Find yourself some other Christian friends to hang out with. Do...whatever it is good Christians do. Oh, and one more thing. Since you're going to a public school, if you want to be something some day (talking about money. I'm sure you could 'be something' just by being a stand up Christian) you've got to take over your own education. Learn to read stuff in your spare time. Stuff like chemistry or whatever it is you plan on doing for money. Do NOT rely on public school to teach you anything beyond 3rd grade reading and basic algebra. Hell, beyond multiplication and division. In fact, beyond addition and subtraction.

Answer 3

I'm a Christian, and I don't want religion to be taught in public schools, not even on a comparative basis. And by religion, I'm including atheism and pantheism.

When a child is taught that Earth has a mind of its own and so it prepared itself for the arrival of living things by adjusting all the anthropic factors just right, it that religion or not? Even if it's done in a science class !!

Edit: To one of my previous questions on the creation-evolution controversy, I learned that there is no law prohibiting the teaching of creationism in public schools in U.S.

Answer 4

Well, the schools shouldn't be used as a front for missionaries in the form of teachers if that's what you're saying, nor should kids be forced to pray.

But they should have the option to do so. Muslims must do it 5 times a day so definitely. Kids should also have the option to study theology and broaden their awareness of how different people see the world.

Answer 5

I believe a basic overview should be given of the major world religions. Other than that, religion does not belong in public schools. Religion should be taught at home, in church, or in religious schools that people CHOOSE to send their children to. In colleges I don't see it as a problem because people are electing to take those classes.

Answer 6

I think so.
It should not be forced. But it should be optional.
They have biology classes teaching evolution and kids HAVE to take that.
There shouild be a class that explains all religion so that kids can at LEAST have a choice of which one they want to believe in. evolution, or some religion.

If they removed all religion from schools then they need to remove all evolutiuon based classes.
because neither belief cane be 100% proved. and nothing that isn't proved should not be taught. so if they teach one, it is only right to teach the other.

Answer 7

No. There is not any place for religion in public schools. Why? Because there are literally HUNDREDS of religions and who is to say which one is correct or if they are all full of BS? When you are trying to teach the masses...which is exactly what public schools are, you can't choose because then others will miss out.

Answer 8

Did your teacher approve the wording of that question? Because according to Supreme Court rulings, religion is not supposed to be in the public schools at all. So it can't remain where it does not already exist. You need to re-word your question.

Answer 9

Should students be able to learn about different religions in school? Sure. Should public schools encourage the practice or beliefs of one particular religion over another one? NO, NO, NO.

Answer 10

Assuming you're not talking about the US, since religion isn't in public schools here, then no. It shouldn't be there in the first place. And if so, it should be taught from an appropriate mythological perspective.

Answer 11

ONLY in a Comparative World Religions course, where dozens of religions can be compared, their histories can be studied, and NONE is considered any more important or valid than another. Those who want to focus on ONE particular religion can do so at home, or in a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque, where it won't disturb or violate the rights of anyone else.