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World Religions as a course should be mandatory. Honestly, just throw it into every elementary school's social studies curriculum and we're golden. Field trips to visit places of worship to learn more about it from the religious leaders, lessons in class from an impartial textbook, and activities based on traditions from the religion. Everyone learns more about the history and customs of a religion, kids have a bit of opportunity to explore their faith and see if they find something that matches their belief system, and they learn to be tolerant of other faiths because they know exactly what those other faiths entail.
Plus, religions are really interesting when you get into the whats and whys of them! It's not even like this kind of thing would affect anyone's standing religion. Unless your kid is so dumb/closed-minded that he or she can't take in information about other religions without feeling the need to convert to them or something, all they'll be doing is learning. And that's not a bad thing. Religious education that focuses only on faith and instilling it should be kept to religious schools (which should still have the above curriculum regardless of denomination, imo). |
If religion is going to be taught at schools, then many religions should be taught, and not just one. I came from England, so religion was a mandatory subject, and we only studied Christianity. I don't find that fair, because I would've liked to learn about Buddhism or something else as well ._.
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Studies of Religion was a course offered as a Year 11/12 elective at my high school, and I chose it because I thought it seemed incredibly interesting. Unfortunately, the way the schedule worked out, I couldn't do it and had to pick something else. But the point is, I was interested in it and I chose it. It wasn't forced upon me.
I think the only subjects that should be compulsory at school are the skills that will help everybody through life: English, Mathematics and some sort of overall Wellbeing course that covers things like health and kindness toward others. Every other subject should be optional, and I do include Science in this. Beyond the very basic, every student should be able to customise their educational experience based on what they feel will be of benefit to them specifically. So no, regardless of how many religions are studied or how un-biased it is, religion should absolutely not be compulsory in schools. Very few things should. |
Well I agree, SR, that you should not have many mandatory classes in school.
However, what I don't agree with, is that you don't think Religious Education should be one of the few mandatory ones. Maybe it's because of the "Religious" in the class name, but if you think about it, what it is, is basically teaching tolerance. And maybe in Australia your core principles are focused on only allowing one group of people to dominate (hey, I don't live there okay) but I'm positive that at least the US has a policy in the Constitution that explicitly gives religious freedom and tolerance as one of its core values of America. So if it's in the core values, it should be in the core cirriculum as well. After all, weren't we the most open country in the world at one point? We should strive to maintain that position, and since the world is opening up, it's not just the US now - it's the whole world that should teach tolerance in school. Edit; also California state standards
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Amazing! Exactly what I am trying to get at and like I was taught in London. I have forgotten some specifics of certain religions but I do know their beliefs and respect them for that. It makes one more tolerant and understanding. |
I would be personally offended if any public school mandated religious studies. Only if my child was interested in the subject would I allow it, and only then if the course material covered many religions rather than one or two only.
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Omg. Califiornia have got the right idea there. What droomph just outlined is what I feel is the perfect way to teach religious material - many different religions over a long time.
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I Don't mind tbh, even though i'm not interested in most religions
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I have to agree with RL on the religious studies, and I actually find it a bit strange that both your child has to be interested in it and it has to cover 3+ religions for you to accept it, Jay. What if your child is in high school and has decided he wants to study one religion in particular so he takes a course in just that religion? Would you not allow him to? I guess I was raised with pretty much 100% freedom when it comes to my parents dictating what courses I would take so I just can't understand if you have an intelligent kid, telling him he couldn't take a course he wanted to take, haha. I wouldn't be against having a Philosophy of Religion course instead though. I've taken both Theology and Philosophy of Religion, and they're very different things. Theology is from the inside; you imagine how people worship as a believer, and not from the outside. Philosophy is from different philosophers, some within religion and some outside it, applying logic and philosophical arguments to different parts of religion. |
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I envision this scenario: my child would be a part of a non-traditional household, given that his or her parents would be a gay couple. In the course of learning about certain religions, my child would most likely learn of most religions' condemnation of homosexuals. He or she then could then think that all people of those religions hate gay people and my child could become frightened that people might harm myself or my boyfriend (or husband should we be married). This is, of course, a hypothetical situation in my part, but this is sort of happening right now here in Ontario, and in the U.S., where children of gay couples are being told in school, by teachers and staff, that being gay is wrong. So no, I would most certainly be offended if anyone were to mandate religious studies as part of my child's education. I would rather my child make up his or her mind whether it is a subject they wish to study, and only after I'm certain they are able to mentally comprehend that belief is not reflective of reality. Hence I think the course should only be offered as an optional class in high school and in post secondary schools (colleges and universities). Religion belongs in the home and in church. Not in the classroom. |
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Again, it's education not religious preaching. It is not an organised religion teaching it, in fact I know two Religious Education teachers personally and both of them are Atheist. |
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In addition, I have to say that in all my education I haven't once had a teacher even mention gay people to a class. Or abortion for that matter, and all of these were long, in-depth Catholic-specific classes (not the kind that are being spoken about here, but the kind that gets deeply into theology so would be much more likely to bring up that issue). Think of it this way. The students would probably be studying at least Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and smaller religions such as Wicca. In only a year or two. In reality, when you look at religion from an overhead perspective and start from the basics, being against gay marriage is just a footnote in the overarching theology of Christians. Instead of that, I'm sure the class would instead focus on the New Testament, the early history of the believers when they were persecuted, some basic doctrinal things (how people become saints, where people go when they die, consubstantiation, etc), and then on to the next religion. I also agree that it shouldn't be taught until later though, at the very earliest the beginning of middle school but preferably 7th-8th grade and above. Before that too many children are just too impressionable and a lot still believe that everything a teacher says is right just by the nature of them being a teacher. |
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Have you SEEN some of the shows on TV lately? They're the most gay inclusive/friendly shows out there! So much so, all we hear about are religious groups whining and complaining that there are too many shows portraying gays in a positive way! Quote:
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Alright Jay I was taught Greek Gods last year. Was I particularly happy to learn about a fake religion? No. But I got over it, and I'm still a Christian, not some Olympia-worshipping freak. It's about learning their values, not worshipping it. I learned about hybris and Niobe and how that caused her to fall from glory, how you should love others, like in Narcissus, and how Zeus finds man disgusting and will destroy them one day.
So by the same note I think teaching different religions isn't going to affect any child in any way. The important word here is "teach". If it is "preached", like at a sermon, then obviously the child will become very influenced. But we're not preachy preaching, we're teachy teaching. We must make that distinction first. And jsyk being gay is okay in 99% of religions, including Christianity. So yeah it's not something you should care about. And as Toujours said lots and lots of religions are skimmed over and there are never any debates other than Q&A time. Nonetheless it accomplishes what it was set out to do, which is to promote tolerance. Though I also agree that it shouldn't be taught until middle school. Little children aren't going to have to worry about religion and the world issues yet - that's why they're so innocent, and we should hold on to their unbiased opinions until they start forming their own and start thinking for themselves, at around adolescence. We should provide them with critical information of the world in an unbiased way at this point so they don't grow up to be racist. |
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While you've demonstrated you learned much during your religious studies, by your comments, you've also demonstrated that you hold other religions in contempt, and are more then willing to express that contempt. Which leads me to ask, just what is it that you were learning when you took religious studies? It certainly wasn't tolerance. This is why I would not want my child to attend such a class. Too many people willing to condemn others for practising the wrong religion, or for not practising any religion at all. |
I think no because there would be alot of controversy between parents as well as teachers of a different religion. For example, if they taught Christian religion at a public school, it is possible Jewish or those who belong to no religion there that could be offended. I would love that because I am Catholic, but there would be too much controversy.
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I think Islam is fake and wouldn't be Muslim myself, but I don't think that they are teaching a religion that is promoting violence and thus will be more mellow and less suspicious around them. That is the only point of these Religious classes - to teach tolerance. Quote:
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Anyway, back on the topic, I do think educating individuals about all the major religions as well as educating them about the prevalent philosophies of the non-religious should be compulsory, as this is a subject where even if you're cheating your way through the class, you may glean just enough from the notes to actually have a decent understanding of where someone of another religion is coming from. |
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I do not believe in a God, am an Atheist, but I would not call any religion a fake one. I simply do not believe in a deity of any kind. Christianity is a genuine religion. Islam is a genuine religion. Wicca is a genuine religion. None of them are fake. They are all real, they all exist, and they are all practiced by many. By calling them fake you insult the followers of those religions. A better way to describe your feelings about other religions is to say that you do not agree with them, which is accurate and non-prejudicial. As I said, you learned much about the particulars of certain religions, but what you didn't learn obviously was respect for them. This is a danger when dealing with religion and is precisely why it should not be made mandatory in schools. Too many people unwilling to show respect for others whose beliefs differ from their own. |
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And at my school, we learned religions and how they work, we learned Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. |
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Your point about teaching tolerance is well-received, though. Even then, I don't support a compulsory course in something that isn't necessary for survival in the world, but supposing I did, there are far better ways of teaching tolerance than through learning about religion. Why not a course on different cultures in general? It could absolutely include religion, but it's quite short-sighted to focus on exclusively religion when there are so many other aspects of different cultures that students could be learning to 'tolerate'. Quote:
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Lets do a hypothetical: say a Wiccan posted in this thread and said, "I was taught about Christianity last year. Was I particularly happy to learn about a fake religion? No. But I got over it, and I'm still a Wiccan, not some Jesus-worshipping freak." How would that make you feel? |
I would be fine with it. It's their view of the world, after all.
Now if they started to reject them and started to kill them just because they were Christian and all that good stuff, I would definitely have a problem with that. But I don't, and won't, have a say on someone's opinions. That is what I'm trying to get at - that religious education won't make you consider any religion any more or less acceptable to you, but it will make you know that they're not all going to blow up planes and stuff. Quote:
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I feel like you all are being a little hard on droomph here. Basically he said something that was mistook as something else. He's clarified that he doesn't mean the religions don't exist, just that he doesn't agree with them (and thus in his opinion the gods are fake), and yet you all are jumping all over him for it.
Pedro, what's wrong with a child wanting to be a religion different from their parents? Why is that a bad thing and something we should be afraid of? |
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