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Should Religion Be Taught In Schools Essay

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Understanding and weighing perspectives from different people, cultures, and schools of thought are important global competence skills that all students should develop yet even though America is one of the most religiously diverse countries we remain perilously ignorant about the entire subject. Should world religion be taught in public schools or is it too controversial? Well the truth is, students have a First Amendment right to religious expression in schools. Furthermore, religiously motivated hate crimes are on the rise, the student body is more diverse, and religious literacy is a key to a well-rounded education.
The First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of …show more content…

According to the U.S. Department of Justice's Hate Crime Victimization report, the percentage of hate crimes were nearly three times higher in 2012 (28%) than in 2004 (10%) (blogs.edweek.org). This number will continue to increase, and in order for it to decrease the people need to start understanding these scary statistics and make a stand for a more peaceful society. Also, the student body is so diverse that this type of teaching would just be simply important for everybody to learn. Not only are they diverse in gender but in the average school 5.98% are Hispanic or Latino, 0.99% are American Indian or Alaska Native, 30.63% are Asian, 7.73% are black or African American, 0.13% are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 55.60% of our students are white and not multiracial, and 7.57% are unreported (registrar.wustl.edu). To ensure that students of less familiar cultures and religious traditions feel included and safe in their learning communities, teachers need to provide opportunities for all students to share unique aspects of their

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