Religion And Education : The Pitfalls Of Engaging A Complex Issue

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

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

Education plus God equals success. While this statement is true, the job of incorporating the truth about God into everything taught is becoming increasingly more difficult. Schultz charted public education’s view of reality, truth and value throughout the history of the United States to show how an unbiblical worldview has increasingly taken hold of society, the educational system and

For centuries, the debate has existed whether or not to allow prayer in public schools. Many Americans feel it is not right of the schools to teach religion. With all the diversity associated with the United States, public schools cannot select one standard religion to practice, due to the cultural and religious differences in the country. Not only are schools the storm center of controversy involving religious differences, they are the principal institution charged with transmitting the identity and mission of the United States from one generation to the next. If we fail in our school policies and classrooms to model and to teach how to live with differences, we endanger our experiment in religious liberty and our

This article analyzes the First Amendment of the United States Constitution in order to persuade the reader that religious education should be included in school curricula. However, Chaffee argues that public schools may not hinder nor prohibit the teachings of a specific religion over others, as “Public schools uphold the First Amendment when they protect the religious liberty rights of students of all faiths or none. Schools demonstrate fairness when they ensure that the curriculum includes study about religion, where appropriate, as an important part of a complete education” (Chaffee). Chaffee then mentions Professor Charles Haynes, a First Amendment scholar, master teacher, activist and change agent, whom he has spoken to about the matter.

The First Amendment defines and protects the religious rights of all individuals based on the establishment and the free-exercise clauses written into the U.S. Constitution. Public schools are presented with a unique challenge trying to balance these religious freedoms students’ are entitled, while simultaneously maintaining a separation of Church and State. To facilitate an understanding for school personnel, public schools must take proactive steps such as establishing clear policies and organizing workshops to ensure teachers become knowledgeable about a student’s rights to religious expression. Although, these steps may provide important guidelines, they may fall short of eliminating all debates and avoiding controversy among the diverse student population.

Religion is one of the largest controversies in the world, due mainly to different people with different backgrounds and cultures are in America. Religion creates positivity and brings people together, but can also cause arguments and debates. America founded its nation on religion; however, society has slowly pushed it away year by year. Religion is being pushed out of our classrooms, schools, and communities because of the miniscule percentage of people in America who aren’t religious. People are becoming offended easily by religious topics, which is causing the negativity among American citizens. America’s youth are being deprived of an education that includes world religions and culture. There hasn’t been a single successful effort to reinstate religion into schools despite efforts to slowly take away the changes that have been made to take religion out. I propose to reestablish religion into Athens High school because it forms good morals that will help America’s youth become better contributors of society.

Religion is by far the most controversial and non-debatable topic in the world. The topic of religion is hard to speak about and debate because it is solely based on faith. Faith is defined as having complete trust and confidence in someone or something. Everyone has faith in something whether it’s having faith that a loved one’s surgery will go well or faith that they will win a race at a track meet. Many have faith on some things, but not someone like Buddha or Jesus or maybe Muhammad. But why is that? The answer is because the schools aren’t giving these kids any education when it pertains to beliefs and religion. As a result, young children and young adults do not know what they represent. Many atheists say that religion should not be discussed in schools at all because it offends their beliefs of not having any beliefs at all, but freedom of religion should express every type of belief briefly so kids have a true shot at picking a type of lifestyle to live.

he question of religious involvement in public education has been a controversial topic since before America was a country. Thomas Paine, one of our founding fathers, expressed, “As to religion, I hold it to be the indispensable duty of the government to protect all conscientious protesters thereof, and I know of no other business government has to do therewith,” (“20 Quotes”). While the separation of church and state was a necessity made clear by Thomas Jefferson in the first amendment of the Constitution, the question differentiating freedom of religion and freedom from religion remains intangible. The public university of Arkansas State confronted this debate in September of 2014 after the death of two of its esteemed football team associates.

To counteract the changes that America is experiencing, as the framers of the constitution foresaw, certain laws such as the first amendment are able to be applied differently in special situations like towards the public school system. Banning religion in public schools is such an important issue, because the school curriculum is unable to accommodate every child’s religious needs or offer the same amount of coverage to each religion represented in America. If parents feel as though the instruction of religion is such a pivotal aspect that should be in their child’s life then perhaps a private school that is tailormade to teach and interpret religious aspects would be better suitable. The principle of religious neutrality forbids schools to give religious objectors a substitute that is, from a secular perspective, superior to what other children get. The material instructed in public schools should enable “the minds of school children to be open to various possibilities [in which allowing] that both creationism and evolution be introduced, without religious applications” (Phy-Olsen 98). Modifying the school curriculum for any such child or group creates not only isolation but also negatively emphasizes the differences between students. Students are unable to achieve their full potential with religion in schools, because they will be lacking the sense of

However, it would be more beneficial for schools to include religion in their curricula, for it prepares children for their futures. Since there are various religions in the United States, none of which are limited to a certain area, students are bound to come across someone who practices a different faith in their lifetimes. If public schools were to include theology, children would be more open-minded, aware, and tolerant of these religions, thus preventing discrimination, prejudice, and even violence and acts of targeted terrorism in the future because of these differing beliefs. Religious education would benefit children of all ages, religions and cultural backgrounds, as it would provide them with a better understanding of one another, and a sense of companionship and acceptance from their

However, teachers who in the classrooms have not been adequately prepared to take on such a sensitive and sometimes controversial issue. It is important that the educational system employs teachings that are able to fairly and effectively teach students about religion (Passe & Wilcox, 2009, page 104). This is where the change in the source of religion in schools needs to begin. Passe and Wilcox state, “teachers can be leaders in demonstrating how to do it well” (2009, page 106). In this quote, Passe and Wilcox are referencing the kind of impact that teachers can have on others and society by correctly leading in a way that shows that religion can be taught in a way that is acceptable. The problem lies within the curriculum. Passe and Wilcox’s focus on the changes that are occurring in the curriculum in our educational system and how there has been changes and the focus has move away from where religion should be taught and what content it should be taught with. Passe and Wilcox state that “social studies … is gradually disappearing from the … curriculum in favor of literacy and mathematics (2009, page 104). Within our schools, there is the less focus on social studies because of it does not hold the same value as other subjects because of their importance on standardized tests. Passe and Wilcox makes a firm point by state that “we cannot teach history without teaching about religion”

In America today we all have choices to make in regards to our religious beliefs. Many young children are brought up today confused about religion and the significance it plays in their lives. There are many sanctions and rules now on what can and can 't be thought or displayed to people on public property, but it wasn 't always like this. In this paper I will be discussing the American religious experience in regards to the impact religion has in the public schools.

The subject of religion in public schools is one that has been debated vigorously and passionately. The warriors from the Right and Left fail to appreciate the facts because they are caught up in the rhetoric and have difficulty viewing this emotional topic dispassionately (Haynes, 2011). Both sides are right about one thing: this is an important subject.

When we look at the United States, we see a a nation found on the basis of Christianity which is put together to follow the bible and principles of God. Yet we live in a world where at some public school 's like Kankakee School District 111 that I attended where the bible isn 't taught or spoke on in classes. Although at private school 's they focus on Christianity because of the school being “private” rather than public. I feel like Christianity should be taught in public school 's just like private school 's teach it because some families can afford to send their children to private school 's, while other families are less fortunate that they have to send their children to a public school. Within the ever changing population growth and the changing of religious views, it 's becoming difficult keeping the Christian value in public school systems since new religions and new beliefs are flooding into the nation let alone the school systems. I see that private education cost thousands of dollars each semester to stay in school while public school doesn 't cost nearly a few hundreds of dollars if any. Public school 's get treated so differently than private school 's in every way because at private school 's you get a uniform whereas public school 's parents spend money to make sure students have clothes to wear five days of the week. Private school 's focus on religious beliefs with uniforms, statues, buildings and etc, while public schools doesn 't have