Teach Religion in Public Schools?

Top 5 according to what metric? Number of morons fooled into believing in said idiocy? Please.

A class in underwater basket weaving has more merit than a class on religious nonsense. Keep that idiocy in the home or in schools designed to promote such stupidity.

 

Go ahead and ignore teaching your kid religion (what it is, what it means). One less thing your little heathen will understand about the world. More advantages for my kids. Please, ignore religion.

 

Reminds me of what they do in Germany. Schools offer religious courses that include Roman Catholic and Protestant variations, and then "Ethics" for a non-religious option.

Still, I don't see the point of spending tax dollars teaching religion. People do just fine indoctrinating their children at home and in churches.

 

Are you saying it's good for even non-religious people to have at least a basic understanding of religion in order to understand the risks it poses? You know, I'm tempted to agree there. Being subjected to religious indoctrination is one way to gain an understanding of how cultish, non-critical, ideological thinking works and just how powerful and detrimental it can be on both a personal and social level. However, I think this can and probably should be studied in a more impartial way in public schools.

 

Unless the little heathen is being taught something relevant, say:

Alright! I know that was easy. Nevertheless, if the little heathen is being taught something useful in the stead of religion, then he might (perhaps) have an advantage over a kid who has been taught about the New Testament.

 

You just don't get what I'm saying. Do you so blindly hate religion, that when you hear the word you automatically recoil? Are you that afraid of religion?

I'm suggesting a comparative religions type class, not teaching how to be one religion or another. I think it would be helpful in this day and time if we learned about what different religions believe, and how that has influence the world.

 

Wow, you just don't get the point. Are you that hateful of religion?

A lot of our current (and past) world politics are influenced by religion. To think that shouldn't be examined is just short-sighted and foolish.

 

IMO it should be a part of world history curriculum based on the fact that religion contributed to the shaping of world history. If there was a "world religion" elective class I wouldn't have an issue with it, I assume it would be similar to the one I did in college and its one of the few textbooks I saved because it was informative and interesting. Wife did the same and actually studied Buddhism quite a bit after and we still have some little statues in the house after that, they are cute little trinkets in the house that mean nothing except that they are decoration no different than a clown statue or the Bilbo/Frodo bookends that I have from my childhood.

I was raised Catholic, i'm probably atheist but I claim agnostic since its easier, I still participate in prayers over thanksgiving dinner to appease my mother, still go to funeral mass and do the stand/sit and take communion, its no big deal.

The fact that I was raised in a quasi-religious environment helps me have a better understanding of those that have deep faith although I don't truly understand it but it helps me to be accepting of their POV, I see no reason at all to mock those of any faith, I just tolerate it.

 

I mostly agree. Not teaching religion is like not teaching art. It's an intrinsic part of human behavior.

I don't care how much energy you put into restricting religion's influence. You can't one-up Satan, whose been doing it for a lot longer than you.

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All mutually exclusive, huh?

 

Not necessarily, but since you won't find two people who'll agree on which religion should be taught first, we can hardly blame teachers for saying that it should be taught out of schools.

And if I may be a little cynical, when every student will have straight As in science, philosophy, history or foreign languages, maybe we might start thinking about using some extra time teaching religion.

 

"Religion has no place in public schools" is a belief.

 

Which religion would you teach in public school?

 

I am not advocating that public schools teach religion. I am just trying to show that not wanting to teach religion in public schools is a belief/value just like how wanting to teach religion in public schools is also a belief/value.

 

I would like to thank both of you for "getting it" and trying to educate the others. Whether they like it or not religion has played a HUGE role in the shaping of this world and will continue for.....well probably the end of man. Ignoring religion because you think it's stupid is in and of itself stupid.

Understanding religions can help navigate the waters of the world much better than walking into a meeting with Muslims holding a deli tray of Pork for lunch. Then indicating that you don't care because you think their religious beliefs are stupid. Good luck for that meeting going well.

Education should be the corner stone of understanding.

 

& you believe the two are equivalent? Not in the US - the nonsectarian, secular nature of government has been settled policy for a long time now - going all the way back to the Constitution, as we've noted before in this thread. That being so, you can advocate to change that policy - but it's going to be an uphill battle all the way, & there is a very large segment - the majority, I think - of federal & state government, the population & voters, the various churches & majority of civil rights groups & organizations that will oppose such an effort every step of the way.

Witness the growth in membership & funding that have accrued to ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Separation of Church & State, & similar civil liberties organizations since Trump has unveiled his interregnum. The Supreme Court ruled on Roe v. Wade a long time ago, as political issues go. No matter what Trump may have promised, there is no clear road to overruling the Supreme Court on Roe.

 

While your kid recites bible verses, he can make sure he puts extra napkins, ketchup, and a straw in the bag for my kid waiting for his at the drive thru window. The idea that bronze age fairy tales are an advantage is laughable.

 

Hate religion? Nope. Religion is fine, it's the religious that are the problem and you're making that point for me. I'm no more afraid of religion than I am of Santa Claus.

A stupid waste of time. Religion is for the scared, ignorant and weak minded who are preyed upon by the scam artists and pedophiles of aroganized religion. Keeping those idiotic fairy tales out of public schools is important. If you want to lie to your kids at home, go for it. If you want them being lied to in school, send them to one of the parochial schools the specializes in duping rubes.

 

Disdain is the more accurate feeling I have toward the religious and organized religion. Your fairy tales have no place in public schools, deal with it.

Negatively influenced in all cases. If people could break free from the emotional baggage that is religion, actual progress can be made. I see absolutely zero merit in teaching organized stupidity in public schools. Thankfully, in this country religion is dying a slow death. We won't be seeing fairy tales 101 in any public school curricilum. Perhaps some of the more bible thumpy southern states will pollute the minds of their youth, but they've always lagged in education anyways.

 

Can you name a class that covers Islam but does not cover any other religion?

 

I'd teach comparative religions, and include Islam(Sunni/Shia/Sufi), Judaism(Orthodox/reform, etc.), Christianity (Catholic/Orthodox/Protestant/Mormon), Buddhism, Hinduism, Scientology, and Animism.

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The OP isn't suggesting we learn the above. He's suggesting a class in which people learn about what different religions believe, not as a way to proselytize. Are you afraid that people will become religious from that?

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You seriously can't see that knowing about Islam and what Muslims believe wouldn't be helpful in decison-making in the world today? You are far too close-minded to actually understand the idea being presented. You see the word religion, and you panic and see proselytizing.

 

Try teaching philosophy and history without teaching religion. That would be funny.

 

What would make me laugh would be listening to you explain to kids how people can blow up children over a "Bronze Age fairy tale."

 

There is a reason religion makes people less intelligent. They spend all there time reading about and discussing the musings of neolithic goat herders. Non-religious kids spend their time reading science readers, and learn about real things. It was all the great innovators are non-religious.

 

I don't care what benefit you think people would glean learning about superstitions. They have no place in public school. You betray your neutral standing by mentioning what i'm sure you think is an inferior superstition to your superstition, islam. You can drop pretense that you care about decision making or worldliness in the teaching of fairy tales. Your silly fairy tale has no more merit, or is any less nonsensical, than any other fairy tale.

Religion is firmly the domain of silliness, ignorance, and bigotry. It has no place in public school. I would consider even study hall to be a more productive use of time. At least there is the ability to accomplish something.

 

Sure, let me demonstrate for you.

Sometimes son/daughter people believe really silly things that make them believe things are real when in fact they aren't. When people are scared they do really dumb things. Some people are so scared of what they don't know that they will hurt other people to try and make them feel as empty as they do.