Would you be opposed to a theology class taught in public schools?

Question

I have been following a local lawsuit regarding a Bible class being taught in a public school.
http://www.aclu.org/religion/schools/29738prs20070516.html
Anyway I often thought a theology class would not be so bad because I believe if more people understand various religions then maybe they would not be bickering so much and learn some mutual respect.
There is a quote in the linked article that kinda sums my thoughts up on this:
"It's important for students to be educated about religion and the role that people of faith have played in our history, but the Bible course being taught in Odessa gets a grade of F for failing to comply with the Constitution. The course is not designed to teach about religion — it's designed to promote religion, and a very particular religious viewpoint at that."
What are your thoughts?

It doesn't matter if it is an elective. This is a public school.

Answer 1

I would like to see a world religions class taught that explores and explains as many major religions that can be covered within a year or semester. I think so many people in this country need to know that others besides Christianity exist and are believed in as much as Christianity.

Answer 2

It's a problem even if it's an "elective" course.
The problem is the point and curriculum of the course -- who decides? Unless the teacher (and the teacher's supervisors) are completely unbiased, the course will never be unbiased. It will present one viewpoint to the exclusion of others, and *somebody* will be pissed off about it.
It always amazes me that christians think it's just fine to have a religion class in public school as long as it's *their brand of christianity* that would be taught, but would fight to the death if anything else were being taught. Try to teach a class on the history of Islam in a public school and see how up-in-arms the christians get.
They want their narrow viewpoint taught, but fight to exclude all others -- completely hypocritical.
Our constitution has the simple answer to such problems: don't teach any religion in public schools, period. Leave religion to churches, and leave education in other subjects to public schools.
Peace.

Answer 3

No. Religion has no place in public, taxpayer supported schools. The place to study religion is in the home and church...

Besides, which religions would be covered and who would make the decision?

Would it be Christianity? If so, Catholic or Protestant? If Protestant, which one? Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran??? What about Shintu, Hindu, several Native American beliefs, Muslim, evangelical, fundamentalists. What about Orthodox, Anglican? Atheism?

A "theology" class would have to cover ALL the beliefs in the world....equally and without prejudice. There aren't enough hours in a school day to do so.

Keep religion where it belongs...and out of the public arena. Schools are for education in the important subjects, mathematics, history, civil and social studies...not religion. If someone wants their child to have a religious education, there are plenty of religious schools everywhere. Pay the tuition and send them there.

If an older student wishes to know about such things, there are plenty of places to look for and research information - on their own. Many colleges and universities offer theology as paid courses....

Keep religion OUT of the public pervue.

Answer 4

I would not have a problem with comparative religion being taught, if it was taught in a way that did not promote any religion. I think this would be very difficult to do unless the class was taught by an agnostic or atheist. (Oh, that would sure go over well!) I see theology as the study of God from a particular viewpoint, at least that is how my theology classes were taught. I would have a problem with that.

Answer 5

Well, I do believe that's a wonderful idea. Would you believe the Bible was the only "text" book in the one-room class room in small towns? Our forefathers were grandly taught from the scriptures and most grew up to be mighty smart people like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and many other presidents. The people who learned biblical principals were strong community members and leaders and took pride in their country. The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Gettysburg Address were penned by men who were taught from the Bible in those one-room classrooms and their faith is majestically evident in those documents. Now I ask you, why is this so alarming to you? Unfortunately, your school isn't trying to convert you but rather using the Bible as an article of literature. If you learn about Satan and God, you won't be psychologically damaged in any way but you just might learn something. So write your essays, pass the course and maybe next time you'll learn about Hinduism. I wonder if your argument would be the same?

Answer 6

So many people lack a fundamental understanding of what theology is. It is the study of God, His divine nature, and His attributes. Moreover, it is the study of man's attempt to reach out to God, or gods which is defined as Religion.

Get this fundamental truth down, and everything else will fall in line.

If they can constantly teach on a theory called "evolution," which is defined as evolving from one known species to another from a single originating cell, than it should be okay to teach an alternative to that theory with a class that is based on historical facts and supported by science. Teach them both side by side and let the educated students decide for themselves.

Then again, it will most likely never happen because man is afraid of realizing that there truly is a God and that there self-righteousness will get them toasted and burned like a weenie roasting on a open pit barbecue. Don't forget the ketchup!

Answer 7

I don't want religion taught in public schools. Many public schools can't afford the basics and are cutting back on music programs. Besides, there was a course recently taught in a California school that was totally biased in favor of Islam. When talking about Christianity the teacher would use words like "they believe", "they feel". When talking about Islam they said "Muhammad is a prophet", "Allah is God", making it seem like a fact instead of a belief. What guarantees do we have that the class would be fair? Let churches, mosques, temples, parents, preachers, etc. teach about religion.

Answer 8

Having gone to public school in the Bible Belt, and learned about the major world religions, their gods, and their effects on culture in world history class, I wouldn't think anything about it. But my teacher insisted on respect for all beliefs, whether she embraced those beliefs personally or not. She gave each belief equal time. It was a great class.

I can only wonder, is that kind of teaching a thing of the past? Or do we only notice the people who aren't teaching it right?
Short answer--done correctly, it helps promote understanding.

Answer 9

I would be opposed to THAT type of "theology" class, I read the article and that's just ridiculous. I'd expect a theology class to expound on all types of religions, make kids learn the definitions of key words, know the main viewpoints of each religion, the history of each religion, etc.

But actually teaching the kids from the KJV and asking how it changed their lives is NOT public school material.

Answer 10

Lord help, not in elementary school. It's hard enough to teach Reading, Writing, and Arithmetic, LOL. Please don't put anything about religion on the CRCT or ITBS (standardized tests).

We have enough on our plates as it is.

In graduate school, I took a course on "The Bible As Literature."

Somehow I don't think that the people who would take such a class are the kind to bicker anyway.
Mutual respect can be taught without religion having anything to do with it.