Religion 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.

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

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.

There are “more than 2,000 complaints a year by members of the public concerned about violations of the separation between church and state”, with many of the violations occurring within educational systems in the United States (Gaylor, 2014). This is an ongoing issue because many Americans honor the separation principle, while a small portion of the population does not. Religious references and moral values are an important aspect of a child’s life, but should not be taught in public schools. Annie Gaylor published a well written article called “The Dangers of Religious Instruction in Public Schools”, which describes what happens when religion is brought into the picture. In earlier times, it was proved that religion creates tension, inconsistency,

As of the moment religion is included in most of United States school’s curriculum. Religion is permitted in the curriculum for public schools, all throughout the United States. With religion in public schools, the schools throughout the United States can and most likely will be more diverse and could be more accepting towards students who are different and do not fit in with other students because of their religion, which will reduce the amount of religious discrimination in the country. Religion in schools allows students to have a wider range of historical education, learning about what started theit faith. Religion should be included in the public school curriculum because it provides a more diverse group of students, if it is not included the students will not understand other’s religious beliefs, the power of religion should be embraced, students will be forced to conform to the rules of society’s norms, and students will have a wider range of historical education.

On the other hand, in the American culture both males and females can attend school to get an education and earn a degree. The American culture does not teach about religion in their schools unless is a private and/or religious institution. In public schools the classroom are integrated males and females, there is no segregation based on gender, and they all learn the same educational subjects. The students have a choice to further their education if they desire after they have completed high school. Attending public school is free and mandatory for children ages 6 to 18 years old. Both genders have the same opportunities to learn and once they reached the 18 years of age, both males and females can marry if they desire.

2. Many of the people who first came to America, came because they were looking a place to practice their religion freely. If students did not learn about religion in school they will have a harder time understanding people of different religions. Students should not be forced to read from a Bible or anything like that, the main focus is to help them understand new people of different religions.

To better understand how religion affects our society, I asked how many people classified themselves under a certain religion. Almost ¾ of the class replied that they did categorize themselves in a religion whether they are Christians, Jewish, or any other religion. Not only did they classify themselves as a certain religion, 93.33% of my peers agreed that religion has in fact shaped the world in which we live. Out of the same 30 asked, 10 of my peers said that religion should be left out of school all together, only a 33.33%. Finally, an even 80% of students said that they would enjoy participating in a religion class as I’ve outlined if Liberty was to offer it in the

Another reason why a variety of religions should be taught in schools is because it educates students so they can have a right to choose their religion. Many people tend to stick to their family religion because they are not educated about other religions and so they do not have the same flexibility as others when it comes to choosing a religion for themselves. If schools teach students a variety of religions, students will have an understanding of a wider range of religions and by having this knowledge, they are able to choose what type of faith they would like to believe in. Instead of teaching only one religion, a whole range of religions should be taught, in order for people to select a religion that they truly believe in. A fair amount

Public schools have different clubs and organizations that support religion. Most of these organizations are in support of one religion, where it should be for many different religions. In a school with many different students, not every student will have the same religion. There are many different religions that makes it impossible for every student to be pleased through organizations or even with courses at the school. Religion is something that should be very personal and private (ACLU Joint

Fear is a natural emotion instilled in every capable human being. Fear is often caused by lack of knowledge. Religion has caused fear in many people’s lives, due to the fact of not knowing and fearing things that are different than one's own belief. The diversity in today’s society calls for a great need to educate children on the different religious beliefs of others. Seeking knowledge about religions helps further education as well as social skills. This knowledge could also cause a troubled child to change for the better and improve academically as well as socially. Another great benefit of putting religion as a school curriculum would be that there are great career opportunities when one has a degree majoring in religion and or theology.

Do you want your children taught what they should and shouldn't believe? In the United Kingdom, state school are required by the Education System Act 1944 to teach religious education. This encompasses a variety of religions but there is undoubtedly a heavy focus on Christianity in many non-denominational schools. These schools are designed to avoid religious discrimination, and yet they stick to one religion without thinking about those who do not follow it. Pupils from a range of faiths attend these schools, as well as non-religious students, and they should not have to put up with preachings that they do not believe in. They feel excluded from any religion-based activity they are made to take part in. Many non-denominational schools have

Religion in public schooling is a major controversy proven by the fact that Americans have been debating the place of God in schools almost repeatedly since public education got its start in the country nearly two hundred years ago. As the United States becomes

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.

Some teachers may have a personal bias against certain faiths or religion in general. These problems can be dealt with. According to this article, “To address the challenge of teaching about religion without proselytizing, we must explore the assumptions and causes underlying each set of factors…” (Passe, J., & Willox, L. 2009). We should ask ourselves what lies beneath the problems of teaching religion. We should look to see if prejudice and impartiality are factors motivating against religious teachings.