Religion in Schools

By Felicia Zheng

Religion is a divisive topic in today’s political and social climate, and I believe this is mainly due to misconceptions, stereotypes, and a general lack of understanding. So many people have negative perceptions of foreign faiths because of the half-truths and outright lies that they have been told. How can we as a society battle religion-fueled hate? The key lies in our schools.

It is in these precarious times that we need our public education system to work now more than ever. I believe that by including education on religions in the mandatory curriculum at public schools, we can reduce the amount of ignorance and animosity in our society today. Students must be exposed to other religions and cultures before it’s too late. Very few colleges require taking a religion course, and as a result, most people never take do. How likely are people to explore it independently beyond their school years? Realistically, if a person doesn’t learn about different religions before they leave high school, they never will. A high school’s job is to prepare students for the real world and to produce responsible and conscientious global citizens. How can they complete that mandate without educating children on the wide range of global religions?

How many times have we heard about the Dust Bowl? The revolutionary war? I agree that these events hold value in our history, but by reducing the time spent reviewing topics that students have learned many times over, we can save time for education on religion. I applaud our school for incorporating major religions like Islam into the curriculum, but I hope they will consider expanding the scope to include more variety. At the very least, I recommend setting aside a unit for students to chose a religion to explore and create a presentation to teach their classmates. This would allow students to get a glimpse of other religions in a time-efficient manner. Educating youth on the topic and encouraging tolerance will help them gain a more accurate and fair perception of the world and give them the tools they need to become fully functioning citizens.