Not in an answer to your question, but in the answer to mine. I have found this thread so intriguing I mentioned it to a close friend that studies religion at a university. We have shared many personal thoughts and I know that their answer would state my thoughts and feelings better than I would. And I was right. Besides it would wound my image by being so thorough and eloquent.
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You asked if religion ought to be taught in the schools. As an academic in a religious studies department, I spend my days studying religions from around the world, and teaching other learners of all ages about them. Let me be clear: I am NOT a seminarian, and my own religious convictions are not at question here; the question is whether I believe that religion should be taught in the public school system. My answer to that question has to be a qualified yes.
I say "qualified" because I do not agree that elements such as the Lord’s Prayer ought to be incorporated into publicly-funded classrooms. There is a key difference between PREACHING and TEACHING religion. Yes, we ought to TEACH religion to our youth, but public education is not the forum for PREACHING it. In other words, we ought to expose young learners to the idea of religion, and present to them as fair and even an image of each of the major religions as possible.
But I am overshooting the question. The point is not HOW to study religion; we need to ask WHY include the study of religion at all? The answer to this is very simple. Culture is very much grounded in religion? Even in a supposedly secular society, such as that in Australia, North America, or western Europe, our values are very much defined by the religious heritage of our countries. Our legal systems, our basic morality, and our social structure are all inextricably linked to our Christian history. Other countries' systems are entwined to an equal extent in their own religious histories. We need, as citizens of a global village (though I cringe to use that over-worked term), to be able to recognize each others' cultural viewpoints, and without a basic understanding of religion such a recognition is impossible.
This brings me back to my original point about preaching versus teaching religion. One of the most profoundly religious people I know, a young Catholic, was asked to moderate an interfaith discussion between Catholics and Muslims at a recent youth event in my city. Though she is a highly educated young woman, her upbringing was so sheltered that she knew essentially nothing whatsoever about Islam, and came to me at the last minute to learn some rudiments in order to conduct her discussion. Considering the state of current affairs globally, an understanding of what Islam is and is NOT, seems essential. How else are we, as citizens, to make informed decisions about international affairs? This young woman’s religious education has consisted solely of preaching, in other words, of devotional literature and orator, and she has had no teaching whatsoever, no chance to explore the beliefs of others, no chance to understand cultures other than her own.
Obviously, then, I feel that teaching religion is extremely necessary and relevant in today’s world. One might ask, however, why a system combining both teaching and preaching is unsuitable? My answer. It is perfectly suitable in denominational schools. In publicly-funded schools, however, it is insensitive to students of anything but the religion of majority (Christianity). Yes, I said above that the moral and social structure of this society is rooted in a Christian past, but this does not mean that Christianity is the only religion present TODAY or in the future. Young people of all religions need some understanding of Christianity to function in this culture, true; but they no more need to practice Christianity (through public acts of prayer, such as the Lord’s Prayer) than Christian students need to participate in comparable acts of devotion in other religions to achieve that understanding. It is a wonderful thing to observe a religious ceremony as a guest, to be allowed to watch and learn about another faith in that way. Being forced to daily take part in (or even observe) a religious ceremony which is not one’s own, however, tends only to heighten tension and frustration, and to decrease respect for that other religion.
In conclusion then, I believe that religion does have an integral role to play in the school system. The common practices of today, which say in effect either "This is what we believe, and it is the truth" or "This is what they believe, and it is wrong", do nothing to foster understanding or global citizenship. We need to teach our students about religions (in the plural), rather than preaching religion (the singular).
There are, of course, many questions remaining: what religions should constitute the "major religions" about which students will learn? How best to teach these religions? How can we best cater to those who want
denominational education, and how ought those programs be funded? Those, however, are questions for another time...
SO THERE.
