Religious Education in Public Schools

Over three hundred years ago, the first colonists set up public schools in the New World to meet their needs and desires for religious education. Many of the people who had recently moved to the North American colonies did so to escape religious persecution. They created schools first for the purpose of religious education and secondly for basic academic skills. Today’s attitude towards the public school system has changed dramatically. The first amendment, which promises the separation of church and state, has been interpreted to mean that religion has absolutely no place in public school curriculums. However, the events that took place on September 11, 2001, and the reactions of the public, showed the need to include religious tolerance and religious education in schools today. Including courses on world religions increases tolerance and understanding between students, which leads to a deeper understanding between adults.

Today’s students in the United States live in an extremely pluralistic society. Many ethnic groups and races routinely meet and interact in neighborhoods, schools, and public places. Schools are one of the first places that young adults identify, meet, and interact with people different from themselves. Therefore, schools are an obvious place for students to learn how to successfully live in our diverse society. Research says that although we know what we believe, most people do not know what others believe, why they believe or how to reconcile these different beliefs. A common human reaction to something that we are unfamiliar with is fear. Therefore, when students do not understand someone of a different religion or culture, they often fear those people. In the United States, Christianity is the most practiced religion and it is often Christians who stereotype others. “Religious intolerance inhibits the realization of a healthy pluralistic democratic state” (Rosenblith & Bailey, 2008, p.146). Religious education with a focus on awareness and tolerance within schools helps students become more open-minded and understanding. In her article “One Nation, Many Gods” Carrie Kilman (2007), describes the need for religious education and provides an in depth example of how a world religions course has been successfully incorporated into the curriculum.

Some people believe that the Constitutional promise of separation between church and state means that schools cannot discuss religion at all. However, public schools can legally teach religion in a fair and neutral way as long as they do not show preference for one religion. Kilman examines a small school district in Modesto California that implemented a 9th grade world religions curriculum in 2000. The main purpose of the course was to increase student respect for religious diversity. Teachers worked together to create the curriculum from scratch. They asked local religious leaders for their input to ensure that their information accurately portrayed beliefs and ideas. The course is extremely structured so that there is little chance for teachers to influence it with their personal beliefs. The course itself covers Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism for equal amounts of time. During each unit, students study the history, basic tenets, and societal significance of each religion. There is an opt-out program available for parents who do not want their children to participate in the course, but in the seven years of the program less than 10% of parents have done so.

After taking the course, students showed more respect for other students of different religions. When students chose to do or not do things due to their religious beliefs others within the school did not judge or make fun of the students, but instead understood and respected why students made certain choices. After the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001, reports of religious-based bullying increased dramatically in many schools across America. However, only one year after the course had been implemented in Modesto, there were no reports of hate crimes in their schools. This is a great testament to the importance and success of the world religions course.

Other countries, such as Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom and Germany, have already implemented courses that aim to create a religiously literate society. They define religiously literate as studying all major world religions, texts and civic contributions. They aim for increased knowledge, understanding and respect. By this definition the course in Modesto is training religiously literate students.

Rosenblith and Bailey examined the religious literacy courses in the UK. When students leave the course, they should have an understanding of universal civic values, knowledge and understanding of religious diversity within religious traditions, and appreciation of the many ways religion influences civic life. In other words, they focus on how religions have contributed to society as a whole. These classes are only offered in high schools because they believe students are old enough to have their own beliefs and are not easily influenced by new ideas. The teachers in the UK must go through a significant religious studies program before teaching the course. They are well trained in religious studies, not just Social Studies like many US religion teachers.

These two examples of successful education on world religions in public schools emphasize the importance of this type of education. Both of these programs showed that it is possible to teach about religion without teaching religion, or more appropriately preaching religion. The success of these programs should also alleviate the fear that some parents have expressed about teaching about religion in schools. Students did not show signs of questioning their own faith or converting to a different religion. In fact, some students may have learned about their own beliefs. The goal of education is to make students more knowledgeable and able to successfully function in the world around them. Religion plays a major role in the world, regardless of whether we would like it to or not. Many times, society focuses on the differences of religions instead of their common features and beliefs. A course in world religion enables students to see the similarities between their own beliefs and the beliefs of others. Even if there are only a few similarities between what they believe and another religion studied, at least students leave the course with an understanding and respect for that other religion.

References:
Gollnick, D. M & Chinn, P. C. (2009). Multicultural education in a pluralistic society (8th ed.). Upper Saddle River NJ: Pearson.
Kilman, C. (2007, November 1). One nation, many gods. Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, 73(3), 14-20. (ERIC) Retrieved September 26, 2008, from ERIC database.
Rosenblith, S & Bailey, B. (2008, March 1). Cultivating a religiously literate society: Challenges and possibilities for America’s public schools. Religious Education 103(2), 145-161. (ERIC) Retrieved September 26, 2008, from ERIC database.