Religion Should Be Taught In Public Schools

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“If we ever forget that we are “One nation under God,” then we will be a nation gone under” -- Ronald Reagan (BrainyQuote). Ronald Reagan makes a great point. America was created as a place for religious freedom. Now that freedom is beginning to be stripped away from us. One of the biggest reasons is due to the argument concerning whether or not religion should be allowed in school. It is believed, by many, that allowing education and religion to coincide is going against the first amendment. This argument is one that dates back to the eighteen hundreds, and has yet to be resolved. It is an American citizen’s right to freely express and learn about religion wherever they please, including the public school system.

Many individuals believe that the first amendment prohibits religion to be taught or exercised in a public school setting. They believe this because they feel as if it infringes on an American citizen’s right. Often times there can be discrimination against minority groups. An example of this was after the 9/11 attack in New York. Discrimination against Sikh-Americans became increasingly worse because they were often accused of being allied with Al Qaeda. People are worried that if we do teach the religion in school, bullying will grow to become an even bigger problem (“Religion in Schools: A”).

The United States was founded by individuals looking for religious freedom. Since this was the basis of colonizing America, the leaders believed religion needed to be included in the constitution. James Madison became very involved in the process of deciding what was to be added into the Bill of Rights to protect the different religions. In the end of the rewriting and rewording, Madison’s amendment was finalized to say “Cong...

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“Religion in Schools: A Look at How Religious Practices Influence Education.”

Sitemaker.umich.edu. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

“Religion in Schools.” Edweek.org. 4 Aug. 2004. Web. 28 Oct. 2013.

“Religion in Schools: United States and Abroad.” Religioninschools.weebly.com. Web. 1

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“Religion in the Public Schools.” Archive.adl.org. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Schiffman, Richard. “Why We Need to Start Teaching About Religions in School.”

Huffingtonpost.com. 3 Apr. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

“School Prayer.” Wikipedia.com. 10 Nov. 2013. Web. 13 Nov. 2013.

Smietana, Bob. “Schools Make Room for Religion.” Usatoday30.usatoday.com. 18 Aug.

2012. Web. 30 Oct. 2013.

Wiggins, Jeremy. “Top Five Court Cases That Changed Religion in School.” Afa.net. 27

Aug. 2009. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.

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