SHOULD we be teaching religion in schools?

[JustSleepAlready]

In light of recent events. I don’t think teaching about different religions is a negative thing per say- it promotes knowledge, understanding, and CHOICE. I’m not sure if I agree with specific schools for specific religions tho, perhaps this is mind blocking kids to other possibilities /beliefs in life?? Like I say, I’m not sure. I’m not religious, have never practiced religion. I have nothing against anyone because of their religion. I guess I would have something against you if you mean harm to me or my family ( despite your religion. Although if it’s BECAUSE of your religion I guess in a way I am against it?). What do others think? I’m in no way skating or referring to any single religion. As a ND person, just wondering what others think?

I don't have a problem with different religions being taught in school at all. However I do think religion and school should be separate otherwise. I still remember being given detention in school for refusing to pray as a teenager and that still irritates me now.

I absolutely think we should teach religion. It enables a non-biased explanation of why the student / person in the street in your class wears a headscarf / turban / keeps their legs covered in hot weather and helps to counter parental "interpretations" that may be given to children at home. In non-religious households, families may not know enough to explain religious views. RE at GCSE includes visits to different places of worship etc. which is an insight into other communities in your area.

I think we should teach about religion, without bias, but with respect for each religion.

I don’t think it should be taught in schools. I think respect, tolerance, consideration and kindness etc should be but there is no need for the teaching of religious stories etc.

Teaching about religion and teaching religion are entirely different. I approve of teaching about religion.
I am less keen on teaching religion, but my children went to a faith (c of E) primary and I think it was a great school. I don't think the religious elements did them any harm and they were used to them so didn't really mind. They both chose to put No Religion on the recent census though!
I liked the caring ethos of the faith school over the other school in our village.

Learning about it is the greatest cure to religion

RE should be replaced by Sociology/Social Studies in both primary nd secondary, with absolutely no reference to any religion being 'true'. Learn about festivals, rituals, places of worship and (for older children) absolutely open up a debate about morality within religion. The subject would also include other aspects of social studies of course, such as sex inequality, why stereotypes are bad, class division, some philosophy (NOT 'Be Kind' wankery), immigration and emigration, international politics etc.

All religious schools need to be ended ASAP. Religion as 'fact' has no place in schools.

Comparative religion should be taught for sure. It’s important for children to appreciate different world views, beliefs and cultures.

Religious instruction, no. Publicly funded schools should be secular, and no preference given to any religion.

There's a huge difference between teaching religion and presenting it as fact and what should be followed.

So, I think R.S classes are absolutely fine, and it's great for young people to have an understanding of the various religions and their rules. But it's not okay (unless in a specifically religious school) to push hymns and prayers etc.

I think religion, like other concepts and beliefs in life, should be taught in a neutral, this-is-what-some people-believe way, then kids can make up their minds. I don't think it or anything else, (including many scientific theories) should be taught as right or wrong.

I don't think a specific religion should be practised in schools unless they can practice all religion and non-religion. Therefore, I think it's fine to have separate schools for practising specific religions and people who don't practice that religion should either stick to the rules of the school based on their religion or not attend. In the same way, people who practice specific religions shouldn't demand that a secular school implement their religious practices.

I agree, teaching about religion is good; teaching religion, I'm not keen. Like it or not, cultures and literatures across the world are pretty incomprehensible if you don't know anything about the religions that informed them.

I don't think school is the place for teaching religion at all; I especially dislike the crappy watered-down version of Christianity that gets peddled in some C of E schools. I'm C of E; I want my DD to learn some accurate basic theology and liturgy, not 'Jesus wuvs all of us'.

@ChaToilLeam

Comparative religion should be taught for sure. It’s important for children to appreciate different world views, beliefs and cultures.

Religious instruction, no. Publicly funded schools should be secular, and no preference given to any religion.

This. DS is at a secular school where they teach about religions and beliefs -- I specifically sent him there after the colossal waste of time and intelligence that was my own (religious) education. The school makes classrooms available after school if groups of parents want to arrange for religious instruction independently.

We should be teaching about religion - what the different faiths believe, how faith impacts society and the state, the upsides and downsides of faith, the role faith played and still plays in colonialism and the oppression of women and the LGBT community, the psychology of faith - all of it. And then let people make their own minds up.

I think it is interesting to study different religions (though some may find it boring in which case they can drop the subject at some stage); it broadens the mind and helps us understand other people. Philosophy, ethics and culture will be involved.

However it does need to be taught well by people properly equipped to do so as there are so many sub-divisions under one umbrella. Any Jew will tell you that where there are two Jews there will be three opinions.

I very much enjoyed comparative religion.

Yes I think we should, as there is ignorance about faiths which some people use to justify hatred or in other ways for their own ends. Under the banner of religious studies.

Yes. Know your enemy. It is so important to teach children the different faiths but also the way that religion controls the actions of governmemts; the impact on society (limited good, lots of bad) . The more that learn about religion away from the religion with a critical line of questioning the better.

Tolerance of other faiths (and, in particular , none) and respect for their beliefs isn't a universal feature of every religion is it?

The reason religions target children is to try to sow the beliefs deeply so that they are recruited for life rather than allowing them to make their own judgments.

All of this needs to be kept out of schools.

@jessstan2 - such a good point about people needing to be properly equipped to teach it! It bothers me that a lot of RE seems to be taught by people who don't actually have much qualification (I know a fair few schools where RE is covered on the side by someone whose subject is something else). I have bad memories of RE at school, taught by an incredibly partisan Baptist woman, who would preface discussion of eg. Hinduism, Sikhism with 'of course I don't really understand this, it all sounds very far-fetched ...'. We were in Leicestershire and with exactly the demographic you'd expect; it was fucking rude to a large proportion of the class.

Comparitive religion inherently concludes one base faith that is presented as the "norm". It's better to present all faiths in a more objective way. It's more accurate and less likely to offend.

What @BrumBoo said!

Teaching religion is important not least because it would have really helped some to work out that they're never going to find 'halal' cabbage in the supermarket.

what's an ND person?

Yes, in RE and with many religions covered equally with no emphasis on one in particular.
Dd is doing RE for GCSE and it’s very interesting, lots of debate and it’s one of the things that has led her to Politics A level

I think we should be teaching about religion within the much broader context of 'different perspectives'. So lessons on how the world is perceived and is interpreted by particular groups, where those groups might be defined by political affiliation, race, religion, neurological or physical traits.

@VladmirsPoutine

Teaching religion is important not least because it would have really helped some to work out that they're never going to find 'halal' cabbage in the supermarket.

Anyone who thought they could find Halal cabbage is beyond help.