Religion In School Essay

Religion is defined as, “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs” (Shravan, ND, p. 1). Religion in American schools has been in question for two hundred years. Au.org stated, “A nation that was once relatively religiously homogeneous has become one of the most pluralistic and diverse on the face of the globe. Scholars count over 2,000 different denominations and traditions in our country” (ND, p. 5). The arguments range the entire spectrum from all religion in schools to no religion in schools and everything in between. The government is required to be neutral on the topic of religion. N. Feldman put it like this, “The court tends to ask whether a state’s action has a “secular purpose” or whether it “endorses religion.” This reflects the widespread, everyday assumption that you can easily tell whether something is religious or secular. Yet in practice it can be hard to say. Indeed, to what extent the state’s action is religious or not is often precisely what needs to be explored. The source of the confusion is the mistaken notion that the categories “religious” and “secular” are strictly binary, like an on-off switch” (2007, p. 1-2). The religious and secular worlds overlap in many aspects of life. Often times in the sciences, the idea of secular teaching is evolution. Yet evolution is part of Atheism. Atheism is a religion or a worldview. Worldview is simply the way one views the world. All world religions should be taught in schools because it is already happening, it is fair, and it is cons...

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... that may have been previously required by the school boards. Children still are allowed to pray or read religious texts in school, but only the children are allowed to do so.

Because it is already happening, it is fair, and it is constitutional, all world religion should be taught in schools. The understanding of the Supreme Court and its rulings has been greatly confused and misconstrued. All religions should be taught so that people have a better understanding of each other, thus decreasing violence caused by misunderstanding of the religious sort. The first step to making all world religion available and taught in schools happen would be to teach teachers to teach religions. Once headed in the right direction, though a far cry from prefect, the children of America will be much better rounded. They would learn what they believe and what others around them believe.