should religious people be made to study philosophy of religion?discuss?

Question

this is a question asked in my philosophy of religion class

Answer 1

Religious people? If you mean men and women studying to be pastors, etc....then yes, I think the philosophy of religion should be a required course.
Each individual church....Protestant, Catholic, Baptist, etc....has its own doctrine and tenets, to be sure...however, the nature of God, evil, miracles...these are all things that take more than words to explain. They transcend the doctrine and tenets of a single church and become vitally important for all Christian groups to agree upon. The significance of religious language is such that one word can change an entire belief. By learning to think, well sorta sideways (not the best explanation but...) religious people can then more exactly explain, define and relate God to the lives of the congregation.
Most importantly, religious leaders can find an acceptable, less contentious way of letting people know that belief in God doesn't preclude science/scientists from questioning...nor does it mean that believers must stand opposed to the scientific community.

Answer 2

Should atheists and agnostics be made to study philosophy of religion? Give me a break. All people, regardless of their beliefs, might benefit from such study, but they should study the subject by choice, not under compulsion.

Answer 3

YES!!!, because that way they will soon all either slit their throats or denounce all religion (I'm an atheist). There is no god (yes, lowercase) for us on Earth, and clear cut philosophy points to this. Religion is to control masses of dumb people, and if the religious people will all denounce it, our planet intellectual leve, and therefore quality of life, will rise. This does require a lot of thought for religious people, but I am sure all atheists and agnostics will agree with me.

Answer 4

I think that most people need more education on spiritual matters. In my own life when I fell into a state of darkness I stayed there for 14 months not having a clue as to how to extricate myself. Finally by grace of God the light of the Holy Spirit found me and began to illuminate my life. Since the darkness turned to brilliant light in an instant, it seems to me knowledge of God's truth is what I sorely lacked. I would hope that we can convey this to everyone so that if they every find themselves in the Dark Night of the Soul they know what to do.

Answer 5

In an "ideal" world, no one should be made to study anything.
However, everyone could benefit from the comparative study of all religions and belief systems. Knowledge IS power.

Answer 6

i might say philosophy is greater approximately posing questions and finding the answer to those questions, while many faiths are comparable in that it solutions questions (nevertheless it ought to no longer ask them, it solutions the follower's questions) yet with the aid of a collection dogma and preparation.

Answer 7

made to? you mean forced to? Like with some jack booted thug standing over them with a machine gun?

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say: NO!