DO you believe that ALL faiths should be educated to our kids..?

Question

or do you think that we should not educate our children about all faiths so that they understand what other people are doing around them rather them thinking they are strange or odd and making fun of them?

I am not saying have religion in school, i am saying educate children in school about the basics of all the faiths from an educational book reading perspective not by participating or undertaking any rituals or such. I DO agree with not having that in Public schools but private schools only.

What do some of you think? Better to educate and remove the ignorance or keep it as we are and let the hate continue or do you not think it would make a difference either way?

I think parents should raise their kids the way they want but they should also be aware what the other faiths are so they are not ignorant to them when they see someone of that faith the first time.

Luna * yes that is what I mean. Not practicing it but educating yourselves about it that is all I mean.

I never thumb down either so if you got one it was from a LOSER who does not respect others anwers!

What the is Kid Nation? Sorry DUDE IM 40 years old!!

The Choose - yes I know what you are saying, so dont you think that if we EDUCATED the extremist better it MAY stop? I do not mean every faith that would take forever, but at least the majority of Main faiths and even non faiths.

To not understand ones enemy if that is how you extremist view it is true ignorance. That is why more Pagans are open to learning than most others.

I am glad to see SOME moderate Christians answer though, thank you. Any one that says NO shows their ignorance and are a part of the worlds problems. Education is the key!

David v - I dont mean teach them how to practice these faiths but let them understand what they are and why people in Islam pray as often as they do, or what Ramadan is or Hanukkah? Does that make more sense?

Appolini - THAT IS GREAT, that is exactly what we need here in the USA. As you can see the extremist do not understand me but most seem too which is good. I am not saying any ONE faith should be taught but a class on the basics of the worlds major religions past and present. thank you!!

LJAY - YES that is EXACTLY what I mean!! TY

So BLONDIE you would rather your kids have NO clue what a Jew is and why or what a Muslim is and WHY? It is not teaching them to practice it it is teaching them to understand it! BIG DIFFERENCE!!

Sweet Sweet - YOU are so correct!! I have been to 4 of 7 Continent and so many countries I am amazed at how ignorant Americans are in the world today. ty!!

GANNA - Yes I know you are correct but the concept is what I am getting to. I know it could not happen over night , but it has to start some day and somehow, I do not pretend to know the correct way to do it I just think it is important to be well educated period in all things religious, historical, geographical etc etc.

Education is good no matter the subject mostly!

Dan C - Yes you see my point, you are afraid for your kids I truly understand and that is why i think education is the key somehow and if done right one day it could reduce not wipe out religious hatred more with better understanding of each others ways, but you are correct it is dangerous now and I hope one day we can change that!

juexue - yes I understand what you mean and agree. I would expect an answer just like this from a Buddhist, it shows your openness compared to more closed minded one with no names mentioned of course.

TO MAKE IT CLEAR I DO not think it should be taught as a religious class but a Historical class about different Religions only. That is harming nor making anyone do anything against their faiths.

Answer 1

I do belive that it should be an elective that can be taken for college and/or highschool credit for all schools, both priavate and public. We need a world view, Americans are to close minded as is. If we have the futures views and intellect expaned we can compete with other countries. The American Education doesn't even match up to the supiorosity of a European or Far Eastern education. We need to expand and have class on all religion. As long as it isn't being preached, I'm fine with it, and I hope that one day we will have that option for the benefit of future America. Also children need to know their options of what direction they want to go in life, everyones views are diffrent, and they don't always know how to go about things. So isn't preventing a good knowlege of religion depriving the future?

Answer 2

Hehe.. I second the "Kid Nation" bit.

The religion episode was a good stunt, but it really showed how these kids are influenced by their parents. Some kids were open and understanding and others were close-minded and set in their ways. It also showed that this is a touchy subject, but that we can come together. It can be hard for kids to break out of what they are taught by their parents, whether it's racism, abuse, religion (sorry to lump it in with those two =), etc...

I personally believe all faiths should be taught, and I will do so with my children. This is up to parents, however, and like you said... public schools doing this, except perhaps as an elective course, would be a bad idea.

I was raised Christian, and I read the Bible and listened to Bible stories on cassette every night. Around the age of 11-12 I started to think outside what I had been taught, and rather than get upset and shut me down for thinking this way, my mother did something that was great for me: She gave me many different holy texts and some books on religion. I learned a lot about myself and others, different societies/cultures, and how to be a good person.

Answer 3

Wow, this is a serious question.

Not the School. There is someone out there in a Neighborhood that has a mission minded church or temple. And just because this is something they need, it doesn't need to be legislated.

I'm pretty sure this is one of the reasons New Americans left Jolly ole England, and there is a Separation of Church and State.

Only my opinion, but it only does Good to teach any child the virtue of doing right and the punishment of doing evil.

How ever it is taught; we have a responsibility to care for the others around us, whether we like them or not, it is a necessity!

I remember Sunday School when I was a little kid. We read nice little stories about how this Shepherd with little lambs came to make people well and cleanse the leper.

Break the Hard Law. Love one another.

There is nothing wrong with teaching your children what other faiths believe, because if what you have is real. It will stand up to any other belief.

If not, perhaps I have learned a thing or two.

Bless.

Answer 4

This would be much like the teaching children all of the variations of sexual orientation and sexual preferences and practices BEFORE they have had development and understanding of at least SOME of the basics with time--- in their overall development and at the appropriate points IN that development !! To DO so would only serve to confuse the child and give them FAR more information than they had Foundation --on which --to place it !!
I'm sure that it would be an atheist's dream -- to take children that have had no true religious foundations laid -- and slam them with every religious dogma and theology and veiwpoint as they could IN ORDER TO confuse them into "walking away" from ANY and ALL religions--- because of it !!!

There is an appropriate TIME in a persons education and development that other religions and religious views can be introduced -- explained -- and taught --- without the confusion brought on by the lack of foundations on which to lay this information --- and , through this process there could be a little better understanding between peoples of ALL faiths --- but, not until the individual's life is founded and steady with some fundamentals at core !!

Answer 5

I don't believe mandating education on different faiths will eradicate the hate. First of all, there is no way to educate them on all the faiths, because there will always be someone's group that got left out and we would be in the court system forever trying to placate everyone. Second, if you ever could settle on who's group you would teach about, it would be another 50 years before they all were satisfied with what you were teaching about them. Then you would have all the issues of the things that go on that they would NOT want discussed that inevitably WOULD be in a class
with kids. Then you would have all the issues of those who don't believe anything that would demand their turn, etc, etc, etc., the list would go on forever. And in the end, I do not think it would change anything. I am not trying to be negative, I've just been around for 55 years and seen that the world does what it wants and believes what it wants, loves who it wants, and hates who it wants, regardless of what else is going on or how much information is shared. There are still people who believe you can get AIDS from touching someone who has it, and no amount of scientific evidence put forth will ever change their minds. But your thought was a nice one. Wish everyone could see things that way.

Answer 6

Teaching one's children about morality and faith is a primary parental duty. Proverbs 22:6. History is rife with examples of what happens when the government legislates religion. Children will accept what they are taught as being true. The main purpose of this proposal is to weaken faith by reducing religious studies to an academic exercise and by presenting all faiths as being equal.

Students have enough problems trying to learn the basics without turning the schools a political/social policy/religious arena. Parents have a right to protect their children against philosophies and faiths that they regard as unworthy of belief.

There is general agreement as to what is taught in most courses. That is NOT true of religion. Schools do not present several views about whether 1 + 1 = 2 and let the students decide, thus one might wonder why so many people are eager to see that someone else's child is forced to hear about religions that the child's parents regard as invalid.

If you believe what you read in the papers, then you might think that diversity is mandatory and that one must accept everything. That leads to intellectual anarchy. Try as you might, gravity will trump every effort to argue against its existence. You can challenge the laws of physics all you want, just be prepared to lose.

Somewhere, somehow, the thought that there are no absolutes when it comes to social relations and religion has been portrayed as true. It is not - just ask most people what they really think and, in particular, what their religious beliefs are. Not everything is susceptible of regulation or can (or should) be controlled by popular opinion.

I wonder how many respondents have taken the time to diligently study and understand one religion, much less several others.

Answer 7

I think it's a really important part of a child's education, but it 's important that it is taught by people who really understand the religions, preferably through meeting representatives of all the major religious faiths.

One of the cornerstones of my idea of raising my daughter (and her siblings when/if they're born) is letting her meet many cultures and many religions already in the good-night readings from fairytales from different corners of the world. I think it's a very good start in life if foreign people you meet awaken associations to the fairytales of your childhood. If the first association when you hear the word muslim would be "One Thousand and One Nights", not "Al-Qaeda and terrorism", and Chinese names made you remember the "Monkey king", Indians made you think of old Indian stories, and so on, I think the world could become a much more peaceful place.

This of course doesn't mean we should have a naïve fairytale picture of foreign people and their leaders, but a true understanding of other people almost presupposes you have some kind of fundamentally positive emotion about foreign people.

I'm a Buddhist, but I will sure let her hear about Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Taoists, etc, and about their cultures and beliefs - preferably also meet all these kinds of people already as a child, and let her see they're all human beings with feelings and hopes.

The main cause for conflicts, hate, oppression and contempt is for sure ignorance and misunderstandings.

Answer 8

If the school wants to spend all the extra money to set up religion classes and to fend off the inevitable lawsuits then it sounds like a great idea for electives. If as you say it was tought purely educationally on what the beliefs/rituals are and not encouraging any one religion or belief or participation in said rituals in any way.

But I plan on trying to keep my child away from religion until he's old enough to understand people and their motivations for doing things and basic science, this way if he chooses to get into religion later in life he will do so with the proper amount of skepticism. And I won't keep him from religion by making him wear earplugs and blindfolds and such but by telling him any time religion comes up that it's just something that another person believes and tell him he'll learn about it when he grows up. And I don't plan to push my views on him, and the only thing I will tell him is the solid fact that no one knows for sure about anything in that area. Of course I don't have an absolute plan yet but that's generally what I'm going for. Because when a kid learns something at a young age (especially from a parent) it can become cemented into his mind. So I want him to grow up out side of religion so that if he does end up picking one he can judge them all as an outsider looking in and not have any preset biases. And yes I realize that will be hard, that's just what I hope for.

And you better believe I'd reaise all kinds of hell if I found out my child was being taught to follow a certain religion at a young age in school. When he's older he'll have his own opinions already but if a teacher that wasn't supposed to be teaching about religion starts recruiting small children for her own there would be trouble because that's just wrong.

Edit: Just to clarify, I don't think they necesarily SHOULD teach about religion in school, but I wouldn't be opposed at all if they did and did it in a secular context where NOTHING (NOTHING!!) was taught to be fact, it covered as many of the largest religions as possible, and was not a required class. Although if taught in that context I wouldn't even be that opposed to it being a required class. It's good to know about cultures besides your own.

And the answer that tries to explain why children are more susceptible to blind faith is wrong, if I read his answer correctly. It sounds like he's trying to say children accept religion so easy because they haven't been corrupted. When in fact the actual reason you can teach a 3 year old that an all powerful invisible being created and controls and knows everything and he'll belive it is because, and I hope this doesn't blow your mind, but a 3 year old has the mind and intellectual capacity of a 3 year old! They only know what you tell them and what they can feel/put in their mouths. I could feed a 3 year old child my opinions on politics every day and tell him that the president is king of the world and he'll believe me because I'm an authority figure which he learns to trust, he has no experience in anything I'm talking about so he assumes I must have some special reason for knowing these things, and a young child has very concrete thinking and doesn't necesarily know the difference between fact opinion and conjecture. An older person doesn't just have too much "crap in their heads", they have learned more about reason and logic and know that everyone older than them doesn't always tell the truth and can tell the difference between fact, opinion, and conjecture.

The reason I stopped coming to this part of the site is I always end up typing something long and rambly like this that is loosley if at all connected to the question because other answers are so damned outrageous. Sorry.

Answer 9

I think it is vital for parents and schools to teach about various religious beliefs.....if you don't understand something/don't know about something you are bound to be unsure of it/fear it, and it's followers unnecessarily. It should be taught in both public and private schools, not as religion, but as history. The US is sorely lacking in it's knowledge of other countries' histories and peoples. For instance, Judiasm isn't just a religion, but also a history of a people. That religion was reflected in many of their actions and their beliefs about life, just as Christians' histories have greatly affected British and US colonization and expansion. These religions still have a great impact on history, as people still believe and act often times in a way that corresponds to their faith. If we don't understand the basics of their beliefs, how can we ever truly understand the history behind it?

Answer 10

Yeah, sure. I mean, there is just as much evidence for all faiths. Why should we tell our children that only one faith out of the thousands available is real when there is the same lack of evidence? But on the other hand, this would take up an awful amount of the time a child has to learn. Other more important subjects like science and maths would suffer.