Religion taught in schools?

[emma01]

Just wondering if at your school (highschool) they teach religion or anything to do with it? Do you like it that they do/don't teach it?

At my school, they teach it. It is the one subject you HAVE to take right through until we finish. Personally I think it is pointless and stupid. It's a bum class for me, its so boring and i just get into trouble. My last 3 years are really important like we have NCEA (which i THINK is equivilant to US SAT's - it gives you credits to get into university) and its like choosing subjects that are needed at university..but i have to waste a lesson talking about something that i dont even care about. I think it should be offered as an option, but its kind of weird that we HAVE to take religious studies over something like English.

[Loving Linux Penguin]

I think that the schools (public at least) should be teaching science, mathematics, English, History, etc. Religion does NOT belong in public schools imho as everyone has different beliefs and it would be impossible to teach religion without offending someone. Private schools are a different matter altogether, as you're paying for attending the school and some are geared toward people with specific religions.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I think it should be taught in schools but should be optional. Religion has such a profound and historical effect on society that I think it'd be rather foolish to not have it taught. Even if one doesn't believe in a certain religion, it's good to understand what it is so one can appreciate its weight in society. For my school, it was taught in some history courses but there was no true religion or theology course. Since history is somewhat of an optional course (i.e. optional at a certain grade/year), I vote for it being optional.

[Loving Linux Penguin]

In the context of history, it is often taught. But I've never seen it as it's own class and I personally don't think that it should be treated that way.

i.e., We are taught in history that the Jewish believed (and still do) in one God, etc. etc.

That's fine.

But teaching religion in of itself is imo a bad idea.

[Khadra]

I think that learning about at least the basics of the major religions should be mandatory curriculum. They never taught religion at my school, but I wish they did. I think it´s pretty and interesting, and definitely important. As long as it´s teaching objectively and not preaching a particular religion, it´s a great course to have.

[Pelios]

They did teach it in my high school, because it was a Catholic one you had to have it in order to graduate. I really did enjoy learning more of my religion.

[TheBabyEater]

Indeed, I've never been in a world history or geography class that didn't touch on the religions of the world. In my geography class we were required to know what was in each religion, like important monuments and who they pray to and whatnot. But that's teaching of the world, not teaching religion. I'm cool with that, because we learned about other religions.

It should not be required to know too much about a certain religion like Christianity for instance. God should simply not be taught in public schools as like... a religion. Ugh, it's hard to explain the difference. But it's there. XP

Religion is a choice.

[TakeTheLeap]

Yes, we have it. Yes, it's a required subject. However, I go to a private Methodist-affiliated college. You don't have to choose to go here, and you know the required courses before you choose to go here. Therefore, no one who goes here has any reason to complain about it as it was their choice.
It's only one required class we have to take, and there are choices as to which one you take, as long as you take one religion course. Yes, most of them are Christian as we are a Christian university. However, they also have an intro to world religions course.

[Age of Ignorance]

At my school (as with most Victorian, Australian public schools), religion isn't taught. We are told that the one reason it's not taught is because there aren't enough religion teachers in the state that would work for a public-education paygrade. Yes, the paygrades for teachers here are absolutely bullturds.

There are schools around the state that teach religion, but they only teach the religion that the school is affiliated with - Islamic schools school those of Islamic faith, and therefore would most likely teach Islam as opposed to Christianity. These subjects at all religious schools are compulsory - and even some private schools. However, throughout the state, Religious Education as a class is recognised and the overall Study Score (the mark given to you for each subject you take; out of 50) will add towards your ENTER score (a score similar to a G.P.A - but not quite).

So, even though Religion is a required subject at some schools, it adds towards your mark to get into University.

My girlfriend goes to a Catholic-affiliated school. She took R.E. accelerated, which meant she did the year 12 class in year 11. The school seemed to preach, rather than teach... I wasn't impressed - and the fact that the school accepts anyone of all backgrounds and religious beliefs, I was almost frustrated by the prospect.

[Melody Pond]

Our school is not a religious school but we have 1Religious Education lesson a week. From years 7, 8, 9 we learn about all different religions and ethical issues but in year 10 and 11 we focused on Judaism because that is what our GCSE exams were on.
I used to complain that we only had 1 lesson a week. I used to go back after school and during lunch. I ended up doing better in my GCSE R.E where I only had one lesson a week than in others where I had more lessons.

I then went on to chose Religious Studies at A level because it is my favourite subject. At A level we continue the focus of Judaism and expand on the ethical issues to include ethical theories like Utilitarianism and Situation Ethics.

I enjoy my religion lesson because they are interesting. My school doesn't preach or try to convert us because it isn't a religious school they don't care what religion you are. Since I am agnostic I enjoy learning about different religions and I find it really interesting. I also enjoy the ethics and the debates that we have.

My brother went to a Church of England school and he disliked his R.E lessons because they tried to convert him a lot. He liked the ethical debates they had in the lesson but that was because he was against what the teachers were preaching so it started a huge debate.

[MegaMadness]

I go to a Catholic High School so it's compulsory. I don't really like it, considering I don't really believe in god. But it's part of what I signed up for, well my parents signed me up for. So I just do it. I find it's an easy class, basically just accept whatever the teacher says and makeup that I have strong feelings for god when ever I'm asked. I managed to get A's in it, so it's not hard at all. I occasionaly like to debate with my teacher, as do members of my class, but she never really listens and when we ask questions, her main answer is it was in the bible so it must be true. which annoys me alot. But overall, I guess it's alright, it's a time waster and easy class for me.

[ThrashAttack]

I dont beleive in religion, simply becouse i dont want to run my life by a set of rules and people telling me what to do and when to prey. I have no problems with religion or followers of religion however.

[Double X]

In my public school it's taught in the context of history. I wish I could take a religion course, it would be fascinating.

[FriendZoneMayor]

we have one class that's called "History of World Religions" but I don't think that really counts.

[noise94]

Well, it's a Catholic school so yeah. But nobody takes it seriously. Not even the teachers. It's not an exam subject in my school so nobody bothers their time with it..

[Alex xox]

i go to a catholic and anglican school so it is compulasary but it really fun with the teachers although there are some i dont like

[TheLittleNinja]

It's compulsory to take at least the short course at GCSE, full course is optional. I quite like it, although no-one in my class really cares about it, I find it fun to have debates and learn about other religions - I feel it's something you should understand

[Woo! Imagination xD]

When I was at school It was cumpulsory until third year and then optional for the last two.

I don't mind it being taught in school, however, I think with my school, because it was 78% muslim, they concentrated on Islam and Christianity. I think I would have found it a lot more interesting had we studied other religions.

I think that because they were teaching religions that we all knew about, we saw it as a bit of a doss subject. If however, we studied things like Buddhism, Sikhism, Hinduism, Judaism and other religions like that, I would have found it a lot more interesting. I did actually once suggest something to my teacher however was told that it wouldn't be right when we have so many people in the school that are the religions that were being taught.

I really think it should be taught because everybody needs to know about other religions being that we live in such a multicultural society, however, I don't believe that we should only learn about the more dominant religons.

x

[bitesize]

Ireland is mostly a Christian (and mainly Catholic country) so most primary schools are taught religion, we did Bible studies, but it wasn't very intensive.
In secondary school, we were taught religion up to the third year (age 15) and were examined in it in the Junior Certificate State exams, (GCSE equivalent) but it's less Christianity-based and is basically the study of world religions, which I don't have a problem with really. It's an option subject for the Leaving Cert (A-level equivalent) but I didn't choose it.

[John 6:29]

I don't think religion should be taught in public schools, but I think that they should not frown upon discussing it and expel teachers who allow conversations of religion in their class rooms. It should be in a controlled environment, meaning if people get offended they should stop the discussion. However, this brings to the point of macro evolution, there's logic to disagree with macro evolution, so I don't think this should be taught either. Many of the charts etc. they use to prove their point have been found to be lies and/or folly, yet they still teach it as fact. I think they should teach observable science and not theoretical science.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Michael.

I don't think religion should be taught in public schools, but I think that they should not frown upon discussing it and expel teachers who allow conversations of religion in their class rooms. It should be in a controlled environment, meaning if people get offended they should stop the discussion. However, this brings to the point of macro evolution, there's logic to disagree with macro evolution, so I don't think this should be taught either. Many of the charts etc. they use to prove their point have been found to be lies and/or folly, yet they still teach it as fact. I think they should teach observable science and not theoretical science.

I have not heard of these charts you speak of that were untruthful but supposing they are, the amount of evidence for the theory of evolution is immense. There are scientific research journals dedicated only to this and many other journals have numerous articles. If you then say it's not observable, you obviously haven't studied it or if you have, you're too biased or don't understand it. Let me give you an example of how it's observable: "super-bugs". Bacteria that evolve to become resistant to vaccinations. Why do you think there is such constant advances in vaccinations?

There are more and more genetic and molecular studies showing how certain genes can elecit various features and provides evidence for evolutionary theories, such as for the fin-fold theory. Here's some information on what I'm talking about: http://books.google.ca/books?id=LNnr...theory&f=false. After reading that, this article provides a brief summary of how molecular evidence supports it: http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs.../zeb.2009.0593.

What about the similarities between human embyros and embryos of other organisms (i.e. Chordata)? Or, what about the involvement of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) in limb development and other genes? I guess we should scrap all that.

So let's see, you're against teaching evolution and religion. Are you willing to go all the way and say don't teach science at all? All science has an aspect of theory to it so if you claim not to teach theoretical science, then just what do you want to have taught?

What is your logic to disagree with macro-evolution?

[hopefaithlove]

Catholic school..loved it. Hence why I'm transferring to a Catholic college.

[Bean]

It's optional with my school. I don't think it should be compulsory, unless you actually choose to go to a religious school. I think that the optional religions course should cover all the main religions though, and not just try to push one onto its students.

[CoffeeAddict]

Yea, I had to do Religious Education when I was at school, and we had to do it every year until we graduated. In my last year, I almost always skipped it, and my mum found out because my teacher had written about it in my school report. She had a go at me and my reply was, "well it was either skip bible class, or maths, which one would you have preferred?" That was pretty much the end of that discussion.

[losing touch.]

yeah one 50 minute lesson a week from 1st year to 5th year [year 7 to year 11] and we had to take GCSE RS[religious studies], we focused on Islam for the exam. i got an A* and i still don't know much about Islam.

but gcse RS covers lots of other things like euthanasia, abortion.. loads of moral issues and stuff like that. it's not just religion based which i thought was good..

[Xujhan]

Originally Posted by Elle.

yeah one 50 minute lesson a week from 1st year to 5th year [year 7 to year 11] and we had to take GCSE RS[religious studies], we focused on Islam for the exam. i got an A* and i still don't know much about Islam.

but gcse RS covers lots of other things like euthanasia, abortion.. loads of moral issues and stuff like that. it's not just religion based which i thought was good..

I actually wish that there were a mandatory morals/ethics/critical thinking course in every school system. And ditto for a course on healthy relationship skills. I think those two things are more important than any single traditional class, yet they're never taught.

[jellyfish]

I was taught RE ins chool. But we only learnt about Sikhism. We touched on Islam and Chrstianity, but I think a wider spectrum of religion should be taught, Buddhism for example.

[Lizzie]

I think that the top five major religions should be taught in public schools: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And then with other less populated religions thrown in for a nice overall coverage of religion in general. While I think that primarily morals and values should be taught at home. Some families do not teach their children tolerance, and that is such an important thing to learn. So I think that schools should step in and help with teaching tolerance and spreading knowledge about other religions and belief systems. Knowledge can only make the world a better place. Even if ignorance is bliss.

[l0stCause]

the problem with teaching religion is it becomes hard for teachers to stay unbiased, and it allows for a lot of arguments. i think religion should be part of classes in fields like history and sociology so u can understand how the have effected ppl's lives for better or worse but is own class i think could have a lot of problems

[Just Peachy.]

In Biology class we are taught evolution as a way that we might have got here.
There is more then one idea on how we got here.

If you're going to teach one side, teach the other..

I Wish they would teach religion in school, or atleast the idea of how we got here from a religious stand point. I wish they would teach that part while they taught evolution that way we have both sides..

or I wish that evolution was not apart of Biology class. I wish it was a sperate class that you have the option of taking. If that were the case, I wish religion was an optional class to take too.

[MadPoet]

Originally Posted by Lizzie

I think that the top five major religions should be taught in public schools: Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. And then with other less populated religions thrown in for a nice overall coverage of religion in general. While I think that primarily morals and values should be taught at home. Some families do not teach their children tolerance, and that is such an important thing to learn. So I think that schools should step in and help with teaching tolerance and spreading knowledge about other religions and belief systems. Knowledge can only make the world a better place. Even if ignorance is bliss.

I agree. I think it would be nice to learn about other religions besides Christianity. I've attended a Catholic school for the past five years. I attend a public high school nowadays, and in World History class I have always found the subject of other religions extremely interesting.

If the religion class were solely to learn about Christianity, I would not want to take it. I've learned all there is to know about Christianity over the past five years. I want to learn something new. Seeing as I was enrolled in a Christian school, I never learned much about other religions. I feel a bit uneducated when it comes to other religions, so I feel that it would be great to have a religion class that taught about all major religions. I would definitely take it.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Lyndsee

In Biology class we are taught evolution as a way that we might have got here.
There is more then one idea on how we got here.

If you're going to teach one side, teach the other..

I Wish they would teach religion in school, or atleast the idea of how we got here from a religious stand point. I wish they would teach that part while they taught evolution that way we have both sides..

or I wish that evolution was not apart of Biology class. I wish it was a sperate class that you have the option of taking. If that were the case, I wish religion was an optional class to take too.

Huh? Biology class without evolution? That certainly is possible but when it comes to studying anatomy and physiology, it's useful to know why the anatomy and why the physiology is the way it is, and not that it is this way so learn it! It's like saying one will teach chemistry but just no math. How do you do any stoichiometry, any calculations, any interpretations and understanding?

Religion is by itself, if it's optional, then it doesn't effect other subjects by not taking it but for evolution being optional from biology, biology is based on evolution, it's a way of understanding biology of modern organisms. It's a way of understanding ecology, microbiology, etc... . Hell, it can even affect non-biological courses, such as psychology and anthropology. By not teaching religion, which non-religion classes are affected? None. Which non-religion classes are affected? None.

I agree that it would be good to teach religion in schools, at least have it as optional but it would create a large hassle. For example, finding a teacher who isn't biased to one of the religions taught. Despite these and other hassles, I still think there should be at least an optional religion class.

If one is to offer a biology class, then evolution is part of it. It doesn't need to consume the entire biology curriculum but at least some of it, the basics, should be taught. Let me give you an example of why it should be taught:

Question: For mitochondria, why are there more membranes around it?
Answer: They were free-floating independent of eukaryotes and got engulfed, a symbiotic relationship formed, etc... . That is an evolutionary view BUT is pertinent to modern microbiology. It affects the physiology of the cell and would it really make any sense to teach how the physiology is based on the extra membranes and emphasize there being more membranes without saying why or how they got there? Not really.

Just out of curiousity, have you taken a course in biology that dealt with evolution?

[Just Peachy.]

@YN
Oh I see now. I never really thought about it, where evolutional was that big a part.
I actually have taken a biology course as a sophomore in highschool. Maybe evolution didn't seem as important in that class because of it being in highschool.

At my school, they taught that evolution was how we got here. A little about monkeys and evolving..but nothing in depth. That's the only biology class I took..
We weren't taught anything beyond that because of the curriculum.. so sorry about that.

I never thought of it in a way that you would have to find a non-biased teacher..
I don't know.. I just think that religion being taught in schoold should atleast be an option.

But wouldn't that be a problem? There is obviously more then one religion..so what religion would be taught? Who would teach it? Would it be a class with every religion included. I can see where it becomes a hassle.. but it would be optional.

Sorry for this jumbled post.. lol

[Gingerbread Latte]

It was taught in my school and we HAD to do Christianity and never got a choice of any other religions.
Tbh I think it should be optional and that it shouldn't be restricted to just Christianity.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

Originally Posted by Lyndsee

But wouldn't that be a problem?

I'm afraid I haven't a clue what you're talking about. What are you referring to?

Originally Posted by Lyndsee

There is obviously more then one religion..so what religion would be taught?

More than likely the "main religions", such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judiasm and Buddhism.

Originally Posted by Lyndsee

Who would teach it?

A teacher who has university or college degree(s) in theology, history of religions and of course, the teaching degree.

Originally Posted by Lyndsee

Would it be a class with every religion included.

Not at all. Given the amount of religions in the world, there would simply be too many religions and not enough time to adequately learn them. There are also beliefs that are more philosophical and don't worship a deity so they wouldn't be considered a religion by the usual definition. It becomes a concern because if these beliefs are not considered a religion, then do any of them get taught? Assuming they are not a religion, beliefs that are theistic are many in number, so many they wouldn't all get taught in detail.

I suppose it could be possible to teach numerous religions and the philosophical beliefs, however, due to the time constraint, the most that could be taught is essentially a definition of each religion. So the first thing to consider is, how much in-depth teaching would one want for the school? Teaching the definition of each religion and not much else is pretty useless.

I think the study of religion, particularly the major ones is important, because it's something that effects so much of the world population, and it helps you understand where people are coming from. It may help students between understand the world, history, cultures, etc. I think such a class should be compulsory.

We had RE between the ages of like 11-15/16, but the problem with our classes were that they were generally taught by history or geography teachers who werent really interested in the subject, and I think their discontent with being there passed on to the students.

[Penguin Queen]

We did at my old school- complusary for a few years then it was opptional. I think its actually quite important to understand what different people believe and to learn about different cultures- so the kind that simply teaches this is what buddists believe, this is what sikhs believe, this is what christians believe etc. should be complusary. Its taught me so much about life.

[Guile]

Originally Posted by !!!YOU'RE$NUCKING$FUTZ!!!

More than likely the "main religions", such as Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Judiasm and Buddhism.

Judaism isn't a main religion there are only about 12 million practitioners around the world, and about half of those are in Israel. Yet Islam and Christianity make up more then half of the entire world, therefore they should be taught, along with Buddhism and such. Judaism is unimportant in comparison.