How Can Religion Be Taught In Public Schools

Is it ok for students to express religious beliefs in class discussions, or through assignments? If you were Brittany Settle you would probably answer “No”. Settle v. Dickson County School Board, 53 F. 3d 152 (6th Cir. 1995), Brittany’s assignment was a research paper and her topic was drama approved by her teacher, which she later changed, without approval, to “The Life of Jesus”. The teacher refused her paper and Brittany received a zero. The teacher gave six reasons why she refused Brittany’s paper. Court ruled that Brittany’s free speech was not violated, by having to abide by a teacher's curriculum, and the teacher has control over the curriculum and classroom.

The question of whether or not religion should be taught in public schools has been an ongoing debate among parents and teachers for decades. In the article “Religion and Education: The Pitfalls of Engaging a Complex Issue” Martin E. Marty and Jonathan Moore express their views on the matter. They express that religion in public schools could potentially bring conflict to families. They also support the other scenario that religion classes would inform students of the different beliefs of the people they will meet throughout their lives. Religion in the public school system is still an ongoing debate, one that needs to be resolved. The children that will be affected by the outcome of this debate are the future leaders of America, therefore, we should not take this decision lightly. Children everywhere and in all schools need to be taught about different religions so they can make a firm stand for what they believe in.

In schools, the place where Americans first learned critical fundamentals and values of freedom, religion is separated from home life to school life. In the United States, 89% of public school teacher’s cannot lead a class in prayer, 36% can teach a class comparing religions in different countries, and only 23% can read from the Bible for examples of literature (citation). Without religious instruction in schools, students are not granted with the option to display their faith and practice their religion in a school setting. Despite the advantages, some Americans argue that teaching religion in public schools can be dangerous and harmful to students. Schools disapproving of students practicing

Whether religion should merge with the school curriculum is in question. It is in the best interest of the community that church and state stand separated. Within public schools pupils should feel both protected and comfortable expressing their freedom of religion, regardless of their belief structure; religion has developed a social stigma that may provoke students to suffer discrimination, and separation has helped prevent this from being a reality.

Being taught and being preached to are completely different things. While one encourages religion the other simply explains the way different religions work. Students should learn about all religions to avoid future discrimination without fully understanding what a religion is. " There are many parents and educators who consider first grade too early to teach about religion in school(Wertheimer)". Many students do not begin to learn about religion until the eighth grade, this can become an issue because by that age many students are reluctant to learning about something that is not familiar to them or may simply not be interested. We live in a country where every time we go to the store we see people of all cultures and religions. It is important for all people to understand different religions to insure each one is respected. There are also other occasions where people may be comfortable with their children being exposed to one religion but not another. For example when a school in Kansas had a presentation sponsored by a United Methodist Church very few parents had an issue with it."If that community had a Muslim group come in and wanted to do that type of presentation, they would have been up in arms(Boston)". In our country Christianity is the most popular religion and many other minority religions, such as Muslim, are extremely

Issues involving public schools and religion have been topics involving intense debate. It is difficult for the government to elucidate the appropriate boundaries of religion in the public schools. It is true that teaching about religion is permitted in the public education systems, but the real question is where the margin should be set between teaching religion and simply teaching about religion. It is almost impossible to teach about the history of the United States without teaching that religious beliefs associated with the history, artwork, and literature. More than the public is lead to believe, The Constitution permits religious activities in and around public school buildings. It is unfortunate that the

In recent years teaching or the individual practice of religion in school has become a very controversial topic. There are many different views on this matter and even more opinions on how it should be handled. There are people on both sides of the spectrum, there are those who believe that it should be taught and allowed in school, and there are those who believe it should not be taught or practiced in school. There have been cases brought to court about how religion should be taken out of schools, or if it should be allowed. There are many differences that cause concern between public schools and private or religious schools regarding education. For example, could it be that single – sex schools (which are only seen in private

A wall of separation has long been established and it is understood that two basic institutions of society can influence one another, yet neither will dominate the other. The issue of teaching religion in school can be judged by this principal. A strong point addressed, which I agree with, states that teaching morals and values is different than teaching religion.

According to Susan Black, in her article entitled “Teaching About Religion,” in the April 2003 edition of American School Board Journal, teachers need to know which topics are permissible in classroom study of religion, and they need to know which instructional techniques may be used. She states that unconstitutional instruction includes assuming that all students are Christian, teaching from a Christian perspective, and requiring students to define their personal relationship to God. This is a valid point, because many teachers are not correctly prepared to successfully explain world religions. Olivia Godfrey of The Knightly Herald, in her article entitled “Why Religion Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools,” explains how many teachers only know enough to teach about their own religion, but not the other religions that may be present. Clearly, this could make some students feel left out or uncomfortable, so it is a justifiable reason to not teach world religions in public

“Should we teach religion in public schools? It made me cringe. Why? The United Sates is currently in the unenviable position of being near the bottom of the list of industrialized nations when it comes to teaching religion in public schools” (Gaylor). Devotion and religious discussion are completely different from school and academic discussions. Also not to mention accidentally insulting one's religion and having it look cruel in the media. Both views about religion in public schools are completely accurate, but the most logical and ethical side of the argument is allowing schools to merge in religion with school education. The public needs to make a compromise and agree to disagree. “The rights of non-believers and minority faith observers must also be defended under the system and our constitution, if our state is to thrive in the 21st century as it did at its founding” (Middleton). Disputes over religion in public schools need to be dealt with inside households and not in confrontations at school. Leave decisions about when and how to pray at home. If a student decides to express their religion, then let them express it. Everyone needs to be respectful and careful of the way they deal with religion in public

Public schools should not be the place for religious practices for many reasons. Firstly, there a several different ways in which having those practices in public schools goes against the Constitution, and the Establishment Clause, which does not allow public schools to endorse any religion. Secondly, as children are minors in age, so are their minds. Children can easily be swayed in a certain direction if they witness an authority figure expressing a certain belief. Having religious practices in public schools also goes against many science classes with the

In a country founded on religious freedom. The debate of having religion in our public school system has been the source of and enormous conflict. This question dates back further than the 19th century but its still foundation of many heated discussions that presently takes place in this day and age. The vast majority oppose to the thought of religion being present in our public school system. Relying on “The First Amendment” of the US Constitution. Which states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. This amendment also established “The Separation of Church and State” which is the political and legal doctrine that establishes that religious and government institutions

Religion in public schools has always been a controversial topic in the United States. Growing up in a public high school, religion was not brought up often. Prayers before sporting events wasn’t something that happened, and the only time God was talked about was during the Pledge of Allegiance. While my school was like many others in the United States, some public schools continue to leave religion in school, which risks the violation of the first amendment. Even with this risk, several public schools in small towns teach religion because the majority of the kids are the same religion. But according to the first amendment, this is unlawful.

This article offers information about the religion in schools debate in the past and various rulings supporting or dissenting religious practices in schools, rather than presenting an argument. The author states that the majority of debates over religion in schools stems from the establishment or religion clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, which calls for separation of church and state, and the challenge schools face in order to balance separation and religious freedoms. The article then gives a brief rundown of the history of various United States Supreme Court rulings dealing with related issues, as the Court has protected students’ individual rights to pray, wear religious dress and express their beliefs on

A highly controversial matter throughout all the countries in the world which has been one of the hottest topics of discussions among religious and non-religious people is whether religion should be taught in schools. A number of people positively believe that practicing religion in schools is as beneficial and advantageous as science, art, business, biology etc. That always has brought up the old question of why those group of people are so sure of where they stand? What kind of logic is backing up this opinion? Those who mostly are not open to new ideas or even worse than that is to not giving a single thought or a chance to anything but what they have been told or taught or have believed in. Why people can’t live and let others live as well?