Should Religious Education Be Public Schools?

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

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

I volunteered at Chiefland Elementary School, under Ms. Sidorenko’s supervision. After doing my twenty hours of volunteering at Chiefland Elementary School, I have gained new knowledge on how religion works in schools. If you grew up in a small town area like I did, you would know that religion around here is not a touchy subject with many people. Many faculty administrators who work in the school system happen to be Baptists or Christians. Therefore, people are able to throw in religious assessments here and there without getting into too much trouble. In this case, at this school, everyone goes to the same church or partners with each other’s churches. Before I go on, let me just say, even though I am a Christian, I think that religion shouldn’t be a topic talked during school hours. My reasoning for this is because children are there to get an education and to learn about the world around them. Teachers barely have enough time to teach the concepts that are mandatory, if we add religion it will just offend students and teachers won’t be able to get their job done. Now that society is changing and is starting to accept individuals more, I have noticed this school is having a hard time accepting that.

The world is not what it used to be, people do not surround their lives around religion anymore, especially youth. There are so many other pressing topics that are circulating the world today that religion is no longer in the spotlight. Therefore, since times are changing rapidly, education systems should follow. Realistically speaking, students are not as devoted Catholics as the Catholic school expects them to be. As someone who has been in a catholic school for my entire life, it is fair to say that my peers do not take the religious aspects of Catholic schools seriously. Mass has commonly become an excuse to skip and sleep in or do other assignments. Religion is considered a “joke class” that students do not care about. Prayers on the announcements have become a great way to waste class time or it is simply boring. Catholics who created the initial catholic schools would be rolling in their graves at the disrespect students give to catholic schools. It is evident that religion no longer fits into the norm of schools. There should be a time and place

In my opinion Evolution should be taught in school but so should Creationism. I think students should be able to choose which theory to learn in school. None of either theory should be forced on students. The argument between teaching each one is that Evolution is a proven historically fact according to the National Academy of Sciences. The majority of those people who desire for creationism to be taught in the public schools cite that it is scientific. They push for the teaching of creation science which is defined as "scientific evidence for creation and the inferences from that evidence" (Tatina 275). The inferences from that evidence are "sudden creation of the universe from nothing, recent formulation of the earth, creation of man and other biological kinds, a worldwide flood", and

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 more religiously diverse, its shared doubt on this issue becomes more prominent. Not even the Supreme Court, with its muddled and unclear ruling on the establishment

Evolutionists have largely tried to control curricula at the level of national and state standards, and view the inclusion of creation models in public schools as a central part of the larger problem of the poor quality of science education in American schools. Creationists have typically worked on the local and state level, appealing to first amendment freedoms of religious practice and expression and attacking the validity of evolutionary theory.

The objection to evolutionary theory and it's teaching began well over 100 years ago. Charles Darwin proposed in 1859 that populations of organisms underwent evolution through a process known as natural selection. Three years prior to the publication of this theory, in 1856, he wrote of "creationists" in a personal correspondence (Darwin, 1856). The notion that scientific theory conflicts with and rejects religious dogma has been a persistent, pervasive one. Religious organizations continue to push for the acceptance of creationism or intelligent design in school today. Despite the numerous legal cases brought to forth to force the teaching of creationism in public schools, we of the school board maintain that creationism has no place within our schools.

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.

Have you ever wondered if evolution was the one and only way that humans came to be? Well, you are wrong! There is another side to this continuing argument. The United States Supreme Court declared that restricting an educator's right to teach the theory of evolution is unconstitutional. Disclaimers conveying the theory of evolution of humankind as the only explanation or development is unconstitutional. I believe that both creationism, and evolution both be taught, if anything. Let the students voice their own opinions based off their beliefs and evidence they individually gather.

In an article published in the New York times, by Laurie Goodstein, she revealed that a poll conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life and the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, revealed that 64 percent said they were open to the idea of teaching creationism in addition to evolution, while 38 percent favored replacing evolution with creationism. It is important to note by this poll that the idea of teaching our children other theories of how this world was created was supported by more than half of the polled population. It needs to be understood that when these teachings are given the opportunity to be introduced in the public school settings, teachers must maintain a very bias approach as to not sway their students into believing one side or the other but, rather let them decide for themselves through research and study what they will believe in.

For years the United States government, and the majority of the science community, has been pushing creationism out of the science classroom in favor of evolution, because creationism is considered unscientific by most scientists (Baker). Many scientists think that creationism shouldn’t even be mentioned, for fear of legitimizing what they think is unscientific (Reece). Regardless of all of this, the United States public acceptance of evolution remains low and support for creationism remains high compared to other western countries (Baker). Because of this there are some scientists and educators pushing for teachers to start

One of the avenues of influential learning is in school. The place where students spend half of their life. Going to school aids students in acquiring knowledge, establishing rapport and developing skills. When students attend school, they showcase not only their characters traits and attitudes, but they also carry with them their cultural differences and religious practices. (Green & Oldendorf, 2005). Looking at how diverse our society is, the question of teaching religions and their ideologies at a school-level rise. Whilst the state practices neutrality towards religion, there are still issues and challenges when it comes to accommodating religious diversity and its integration in the education system (Berger, 2013, p.104). Therefore, integrating religion in the education system can lead to