Religion- To Be a Part of School life or not?

Religion is commercialized and full of fanatics. It isn't being treated as a path to god, but more like a war club. Also praying all the time kind of wastes time. There is no proof that allah, vishnu etc existed, so singing songs about them for hours is a waste of time according to me :)

Yes, it should be taught, but not preached. There is a fine line between the two, and that boundary should not be crossed. In my opinion, schools and any other form of educational institutes should always be secular in nature, but even then, religions should be addressed from a neutral and unbiased perspective, without either preaching or detracting it - let the students do that part. It should neither be taught as absolute truths, nor as stories. Again, let the students make up their mind and form their own views. It should not be taught in the science class though; there are plenty of other classes like religious studies, history, social science, etc, where religions can be addressed.

Religion plays a very important part in the world we live in. It shapes people's way of thinking, and has/had significant effect on people's psyche, their behavior and actions. It is the most relevant and significant sociocultural issue at this age. Ignoring it ain't going to take us anywhere. Whether you are a religious folk or an atheist, you should have a sound knowledge on all world religions, their histories and their effects on the society.

But the real question is, how long and to what extent do we go on controlling these issues? We may be able to control schools from brainwashing children, but can we monitor what is happening inside the four walls of the house? I am more concerned about children being brainwashed by their own parents or family members than schools. And by brainwashing, I don't mean just teaching, or even preaching one about religion. I mean like instilling an irrational fear into a child from a very early age - even before one has formed the capability to think of his own - like if you don't follow the particular religion, you will be burning in a fiery hell for an eternity.

thanks for replying guys =]

i respect your opinions respectively, but i have to say PhoeniXof_Hades, i completely agree with you. i believe that knowledge is important, and in the world today, religion is a major aspect of countless people's lives, and so even if you dont believe in any belief system or follow any religion, its vital to have some understanding of the world's major religions. i also agree with your point on not forcing/subjecting someone to believe something, it should come from within, and following a religion should be a personal choice in my opinion.

I would say absolutely not.....there is no need to mix religion with education or politics.....
Religions teach us the way of life...the schools are meant to impart knowledge, to teach the students to differentiate what is right from wrong and to make them good citizens of their country......let the parents teach the kids about religion...its their job not the teacher's job....when we include religion in the syllabus it does not remain objective anymore...it becomes subjective...

I went to a Catholic school in India and we had morning prayer. We were Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Jains, Sikhs all saying the same morning prayer. When we were teens many including myself (for a time period) were atheists. As a student the prayer did not hold any "religious" or even "spiritual" significance for any of us. It was more "routine" and "disciplinary" rather than anything else. We did not give second thought to it.

Ultimately "words" become "prayers" only when there is internal "reverence" attached to it and that cannot really be taught. It grows within people. So we gave our daily prayers to "Eternal God, Creator of all" even gave thanks to "God" at the end of the day. But seriously what was "God" to anyone really. People make a big deal of having to pray to "God" but "legends, myths and people" become "God/Gods" through faith and belief. So what if we have to pray we still have the freedom to make our own Gods and destroy them when we get sick of them.

I know for many people prayer is personal and religious. Saying a prayer as an atheist can be offensive or having to say a prayer of a different tradition can be difficult to accommodate. I respect and agree with that opinion. My views simply stem from the mechanization of prayer in many religious schools. It really ceases to be meaningful prayer.

Anyway, Catholic schools in India do have varying degrees of Catholic culture. Way back in the day Bible studies were mandatory for all students. Now only Catholic students can be expected to take it. Our school did away with Bible studies and taught "Moral Science" instead. We learned about Jesus, but Buddha, Krishna and Mohammad as well along with all the fables and tales that teach us morals. I am a libertarian all for secular education - but I kind of miss that "heart" in secular education. Probably because even parents these days have no "heart" in their upbringing.

Back to the question. In general religion as in preaching should be out of school. Religion is personal and it is the choice of parents solely what sort of religious upbringing they want to impart. However, Private schools if run by religious organizations by all means have the right to propagate their religion in the school. Parents enrolling their children know that its a Catholic/Islamic/Amish whatever religious school. The purpose of the school is to propagate a faith with education. So they are willingly exposing their kids to that sort of religious training. Personally, I like the discipline and style of religious schools. If I can afford it I would want my kids to go to a Private religious school. I think I am free spirited and free thinking enough to provide a good counterbalance.

However, religion as a factual part of the curriculum should not be done away with. In fact in many ways religion is necessary. Religion is a part of history and you cannot do away with religion and Empires, and the spread of religion. You cannot understand the Spanish Inquisition, the Holocaust without understanding religion behind it. Religion is part of Sociology, to study cultures and societies and social behavior you have to know how religion influences it. Religion is a part of Political Science and you have to know how religion has influenced politics. You cannot teach all that to third graders - but by eight grade they are already learning issues that involve religion and to separate religion out of it would be keeping their perspective incomplete.

My school is called The Nottingham Bluecoat School and Technology College and this is a Christian School but there are different ethnic minorities but sometimes we have to attend the church because it's either Ash Wednesday or another celebration. They even have groups at breaktime or lunchtime so that they can form little Christian groups so that they can talk about the religion.

Quoted from the website.
"As a Church of England school we work within a Christian framework. We aim to provide the best possible education in a supportive and disciplined environment so that every student may prepare confidently for adult and working life. Our commitment is to help everyone to reach their full potential, including those of exceptional ability and those with learning difficulties."

At the end of every Church service, they always do a pray but I don't bow my head but I obviously pray to Allah, I could not go church on a Monday morning but I have to go because the system is different and as a college student we get EMA which is money that comes into our account every week and if I didn't go to church then I wouldn't get the money but I would say that the school uses religion as part of school life I certainly do and they also allow Muslim students to use a prayer room so that we can pray which shows that they respect all religions and they make sure that they talk about religion every week.

Every week, they always use a quote from the Bible depending on the topics that are relevant to the quote given.

so it seems like a majority of us in here are for learning about religions in school, but not so much for preaching in school.
thanks everyone for sharing your opinion =]

Very good topic..

Someone has said in one post here that whether you follow or not, you should have a strong background of religion. I totally agree to the fact.

I went to one of the Ramakrishna Mission Schools. The prayer songs were selective, more of what can be dedicated to all the GODs. But the religious bit ends here. Although it's an Hindu Mission School, we were never taught about any specific religion. We used to celebrate all the festivals of all religions. So, if properly followed there is nothing wrong about having religious study in the school. Rather I think we should have such classes in school.

Personally, I don't follow any religion at the moment and I think my education in private religious school did help me to think in broader sense and to take the decision of not following any religion.

I've never beenn to a religous school, maybe this is why God & me aren't friends :(