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Religion and its effects on children
Religion and its effects on children
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Regardless of what religious practice, you follow bringing your children into those religious practices is called indoctrination, and is always wrong because you are bringing out a concept that the child has no hope of understanding and developing an opinion at a young age. “My aunt told me that when you were saved you saw a light and something happened to you inside (Hughes 125).”
In Christianity parents enter you into the religion just a couple of weeks after your born, usually after you are born a Christian parent will bring you into church to get a baptism (different denominations have different practices) and as you are growing up the core values of Christianity are ingrained in you by Sunday School and Bible Study. Judaism instills there values in you from the minute you are born by way of circumcision and keeps you faithful by making you ‘believe’ that you will become at man at your bar mitzvah when you turn 13 years old. Islam usually has you thrown deep into the culture since people who have the same mindset most of the time surround you, and just like Christianity the core ...
lcomed and participate in helping in the Christian community to which the parents belong, and they may enjoy doing so, by helping with charity work or doing small tasks in church that can make they feel special. It is also a great comfort to many small children to pray to God, as they can feel more secure and relieve some of their anxieties. So, although I agree that some good can be drawn by introducing children to Christianity, I feel it is wrong to expect from them the level of commitment that being fully Christian means. This is why I think that baptism and confirmation should be left until the child is old enough to make his/her own decision about religious life, whereas I find no wrong in letting children draw good from finding comfort in praying or enjoy making themselves useful by helping out at church.
Until the early 1960s, religion was accepted in most public school systems across our nation. One of the main purposes for school in early America was for religious purposes (Prothero). Benjamin Franklin stated, "It is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand." Thomas Jefferson stated, "The question isn't what religion is true. The question is what religious traditions do we need to know something about in order to be an effective citizen." Something that can be beneficial to our nation should not be taken away. Even though religion offends some people, it should be allowed in public schools because of its influence on America and western civilizations, and its ability to help form closer relationships.
In her article “Beyond the Wall of Separation: Church-State in Public Schools”, Martha McCarthy, a Chancellor Professor and chair of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, makes it clear that her aim is to inform educators of the legal history and constitutional precedents of the Establishment clause and Free speech Clause of the First Amendment with an attached understanding of how educators should implement these findings. She summarizes and analyzes key Supreme Court rulings over the course of the 20th century as they pertain to religious expression in public schools. She clarifies the usage of both the Establishment Clause and the Free Speech Clause, including recent changes in trends that have been noted in the Supreme Court during the last decade. From the late 1940’s to the 1990’s most Supreme court rulings focused on the Establishment Clause to the increasing exclusion of the Free Speech Clause such that students were increasingly limited in the ways they were allowed to express themselves in school even in a private manner. In recent years, however, it has been noted that forcing students to suppress their religious expression is itself a religious statement and one that denies the role of religion in people’s lives. McCarthy notes that the public schools must take a neutral stand in relation to religion such that they do not defend or deny its role in people’s lives, either directly or indirectly.
Freedom of religion is a right that is granted to all citizens under the First Amendment of United States Constitution (U.S. Const. amend I). This gives individuals the freedom to express their religious views however they may please. Controversy arises when the topic of religion is brought up in schools. A great example scenario is when a student submits an assignment representing Jesus Christ when asked to come up with a paper and drawing of their hero. It is important to understand what rights students have when it comes to incorporating religion in their schoolwork. This paper will examine the legal issues regarding the grading and display of the assignment containing religious expression that is submitted by a student and how the First Amendment applies to classroom assignments in schools.
wrong to many, but when religion has a home in public schools, it singles out
"God help, I'm so lost!" If you listen carefully, this is a common thought that is heard throughout many schools in the nation. Is this thought appropriate? The following statement clearly shows that the law allows students and adults to practice religion, but at the same time be respective of others and their beliefs even if they do believe or if they don't. "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 the people peaceably to assemble, or to petition the government for a redress of grievances." (First Amendment, The Constitution of the United States). Prayer is not normally permitted as a scheduled part of classroom activities, because it would result in the violation of the principle of church-state separation, which has been defined by court interpretations of the 1st Amendment to the U.S, Constitution. The separation principle is extended to Public school as an arm of the government, with an exception which can be permitted if, during the school year, a mixture of prayers, statements, etc are delivered, using material derived from a number of different religions and secular sources. So far, this has never been tried in a school or ruled upon by a court (Religion in Public).
Our beliefs grow with us from childhood. From the moment you are born the family influence begin to impact your way of thinking. A child is like a sponge that absorbs ideas and beliefs. Beliefs are taught to a child on a daily base, such as just listening to the parents and their opinions from everything including politics and social problems and even opinions about how others behave. In the family is where a child takes there first steps to learns their moral values. It is from their parents that a child is taught right and wrong. In many cases this is through religious training. Religious beliefs or the lack of religious beliefs has a great influence on a person's beliefs and values. A person does not need to have a religious background in order to have values or...
Religion in school can be defined as the practice of any personal religious belief or act in a place of education. To say that religion is a big topic of interest to a lot of people in the United States today is a bit of an understatement. The debate over the separation of church and state has been going on without end for years. With many different perspectives on the matter and even more opinions on how it should be handled. Since the beginning many people have challenged the role that religion has played in education. Should schools teach religion? If so, can they do it evenhandedly? Will they misinterpret the religion wrong? How many people would be offended? Would we be better off without it so that it doesn’t cause controversy? The problem is can we truly answer any of these arguments without the opposite side disagreeing? Many of these questions are rooted from the same controversy that is happening in schools today. Aside from the separation of church and states comes one of the vastly debatable topics of education allowing religion which is prayer in school. While a few believe that prayer in school is constructive to the development of a child and their faith, others may conclude that it could completely denounce the faith of a child. Because this is an ongoing controversy further research on whether religion should or should not be allowed in public education is usually boils down to two major points the First Amendment and is religion good for our children? Could we potentially have a compromise or could the two opposing sides meet somewhere in the middle?
Children begin to form new beliefs and ideas of their own, the family influence is still there, but just not as strong. Also, peers become a major influence on a young person's thinking. To express their newfound values a child will often go through a stage of rebellion where they reject a lot of their parent's values. This doesn't mean that they have taken on a whole new belief system. It just means they are expanding the values, thinking, and belief system from the home with new ideas and thoughts. The country where you are raised is one of the major influences on a person's values and thinking process.
“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.
Relationships are something everyone looks for in their life. People want to eventually meet that forever person. Relationships can make a person happier, stronger, and a better person. It can make someone do things they never thought they would do just because they are in love. Relationships can also change a person for the worst on the other hand. It could lead to a person never knowing the true meaning of love. Trust is a big part of a relationship. Once your trust has been violated because your partner cheated, that cheating changes how you view relationships, and you become less trusting, less sweet and thoughtful, and more revengeful. When you get cheated on you will think it was your fault. Having terrible thoughts because that one person
While students are attending public schools they should be aware of their religion options. The student should have the right to practice their religion as they please, just on the own time. Yes, religion plays a huge part in molding a person but, should be practiced when the time is available, not in a classroom setting. The government should have the ability to control the protection of the students that just want to learn. The capability to regulate the religious practices while attending public educational institutions should be left to the government. Faith, religion and belief, usually are three words that are used to describe one situation, although these words have three different meanings. To have faith in something or someone you must first believe in it and also accept it as well, but have a belief without evidence. Religion is a belief in a heavenly superhuman power or principle, such as the almighty or creator to all things. Everyone has faith and belief, but not all believers believe in the almighty. Allowing religion into public schools while everyone attending not having the same belief is unfair, unconstitutional and is complicated to teach to a verity of students.
A child only knows what it is taught, so if a child is only taught that their religion is the correct religion, they will believe that only their religion is correct. Children acquire the concept of religion before they can even think on their own. Children start going to church pretty much once they are born, that is if their family is religious. They are preached the stories of their religion from a very young age. So they learn to accept the stories, no matter how extreme the stories are. People believe what they’ve been surrounded by their entire life. They are told that there is a God and they don’t have the knowledge to question it, so they believe it. God then becomes unquestionably accepted, like waking up every day is. Ideas that are formed young typically have a great influence throughout a person’s life, this is why religion targets children at such a young age. Children are encouraged to come to church and participate in gatherings for young kids. It is easier to convince a naïve child than an educated adult.
Indoctrination is essentially the act of teaching or inculcating a set of beliefs without questioning those beliefs. At the outset, indoctrination is a questionable practice if it prevents critical inquiry and reflection and it can be argued that it is morally wrong if it obstructs rational and independent thinking. Inculcating faith or beliefs can be seen as a worthwhile goal if learners are equipped with the necessary
Imagine what the world would be like if all schools taught religion. I think that the world would be a better place, especially if all students believed in what they were learning about. However, what if schools were forced to teach children about all religions equally? I think that it would cause a lot more confusion. People wouldn’t know which of the religions to believe in. Dan Dennette is an America philosopher, an evolutionist, and is also known as one of the “Four Horsemen of New Atheism.” Dan Dennette has been in several broadcasted debates, has received several awards for his research and understandings, and has been made more famous through his Ted Talk, called “Let’s teach religion- all religion- in schools.” In his Ted Talk he tries