Should Religion Be Taught In Schools

547 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Why was religion important in history

A topic that has recently been debated throughout the United States is whether religion should be taught in schools or not. Teaching religion in school would help students understand religions and their differences. However, some people claim that religion in schools would only interfere in students learning, when it is the total opposite. Religion in school allows students to understand and no more about the historical events that have happened in the past. It is an American citizen right to express and learn about religion wherever they want, including in schools.
Firstly, religion should be taught in schools because it teaches students their moral values. At the present time, public schools already are dealing with some very troubling issues that have continued to happen throughout the past years. Teen pregnancy, school violence, bullying, and drugs are just some of a large array of problems that are on the rise in public schools right now. Bringing religion into schools would help children to become more well rounded and well adjusted to the world around them (Jones). By educating children about the world’s many religions, we can show them that each faith is simply one culture’s attempt to explain the unknown (McAfee). Teaching religion in …show more content…

The United States Constitution states that, “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 (Amendment I)." The constitution therefore, allows students to have the right to pray alone and talk about their religious views with their fellow students in school. School would not only be a great way for children to learn about all different kinds of religion at a young age, but also understand what they all mean. Banning religion is school would be unconstitutional for it would go against what the constitution allows people to

Show More
Related

  • 1970s Religion and Policies for Today

    3124 Words  | 7 Pages

    I vividly remember sitting in my ninth grade world history class, only six short years ago, when my teacher announced that next week we would begin a four week study on world religions. A nervous murmur swept through thirty students, all thinking the

    Read More

  • Prayer in School: One Hypocrisy of Our Democracy

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    The First Amendment states “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof”. There are several ways to apply this to the issue of prayer in school. Arguments can be made for both groups of people who are for and against prayer in school. What does it all boil down to? Freedom of religion still applies, just do not organize or endorse it in our schools.

    Read More

  • Christian Groups Are Sneaking Religion into Schools

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    There is a time and place for religion, but public schools is not one of them. Although religion has the potential to unify some kids in school, it is not unifying to all. This leaves room for disagreement to destroy bonds between others. Once groups are separated by religion, the unification as a whole is eliminated. “Religious wars breed disunity” (Museveni). If religion can be kept to the family and community, there would be less conflict in public schools.

    Read More

  • No Prayer in Public Schools

    735 Words  | 2 Pages

    Praying in school was first addressed in the Supreme Court in 1962 in the Engle v. Vitale case. The Establishment Clause inserted and stated Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion. The court ruled the Union Free School District in Hyde Park, NY had violated the First Amendment by directing the principals to cause the following prayer to be said aloud by each class in the presence of a teacher at the beginning of each school day: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country” (Longley, "Public"). I agree with the court ruling because not all students in a classroom share the same beliefs. To cause everyone to say this prayer surely violates their rights.

    Read More

  • Religion in Public Schools

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The American Education

    1841 Words  | 4 Pages

    At this time, religion played a major role on the educational system in the sense that all types of religious groups were represented in the American school system, but they were challenged with how they could be loyal to their religions beliefs. With the 'Pledge of Allegiance' present, some people felt as though the values of Americans and the "Creators'" beliefs should be taught in the classrooms. Of course, others felt that religion and school should be separate. As a result of disagreements such as these, many problems arose.

    Read More

  • Should Religion Be Taught In Public Schools Essay

    500 Words  | 1 Pages

    Religion has always been a hot topic in today’s world. No matter where a person may go people are talking about it; except in public schools. School has such a big impact on children because they go everyday. In public schools they only talk about one subject regarding religion, one belief -evolution. Schools should have other options for students to learn about the existence of our world and the lives that occupy it. For example, creationism. Creationism is the belief that the universe and all living organisms originated by acts of divine power, as illustrated in the Bible.

    Read More

  • Essay On Controversy Over Religion In Schools

    1433 Words  | 3 Pages

    "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).

    Read More

  • Prayer in Public Schools

    2069 Words  | 5 Pages

    Religion is one of the most controversial issues in society today. The concern of allowing prayer in schools is an on-going debate and has resulted in numerous lawsuits. Religious school clubs, after school activities, curriculums, and moments of silence during school are just a few of the court cases that judges have administered. People in favor of prayer in schools believe that their children can only learn certain values through religious practice. On the other hand, an individual against religious practice in schools views this issue as an infringement on his or her children’s rights as Americans.

    Read More

  • Religion in Public Education

    1751 Words  | 4 Pages

    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?

    Read More

  • Against the Prohibition of Posting the Ten Commandments in Public Schools

    983 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion was and is beneficial to schools because it sets a positive tone. Schools and teachers setting a consistent positive tone for students was broken when prayer was taken out of schools. Prayer helped teachers to set an enlightened tone among their students’ day, as well as aided them to push them in a positive direction. The positive tone in schools helped to promote unity. Teachers are supposed to be positive role models to children, as the absence of both mother and father in homes continually diminishes. There is also less bullying among students when religion is in schools.

    Read More

  • Religion Should Be Taught In Public Schools

    2643 Words  | 6 Pages

    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”).

    Read More

  • Prayer Should Not be Allowed in Public Schools

    1052 Words  | 3 Pages

    Annie Laurie Gaylor quoted Thomas Jefferson in her article The Case Against School Prayer, “No citizen shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever…” and that to “compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of [religious] opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical” (Gaylor, 1995, p. 7). No man should have to be subject to anything that he does not believe in. Prayer should not be allowed in the public school system because of the idea of separation of church and state and the First Amendment.

    Read More

  • Religion Should Not Be Allowed in Public Schools

    1284 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Importance Of Teaching Religion In Schools

    1286 Words  | 3 Pages

    Dan Dennette 's speech about teaching all religions in schools has some truth to it. I do think that all schools should teach about religion. It is critical for students to learn about their religion

    Read More

More about Should Religion Be Taught In Schools

Open Document