Religion in Education?

Religion and Education

The question of weather or not religion belongs in school has been debated for many years.  Colonial America was a time when the subject of divinity saturated the curriculum of the schools. Joel Springs suggests that pushing religion in the classroom during colonial times was in an effort to maintain piety and cultural domination over the less prominent cultures. While I agree, I also think there may have been other, perhaps less cynical reasons for teaching religion. Like Jefferson, I believe children who are taught how to think, are capable of recognizing truth and making their own decisions about what is moral. Ultimately, parents are the caretakers of their children and have the responsibility to decide what curriculum will be presented to them.

While there is evidence that cultural dominance was the motivating factor behind teaching religion in colonial schools, I’m hesitant to agree that all participants had such calculated motivations. Perhaps some intentions to teach divinity were genuine love for such beliefs and a wish to share those with others. Religion, by definition, is a collection of our beliefs. It would be natural then, for parents to want to teach their children and others what they know to be true and pass on those traditions. I can see how religion in schools can be viewed as a natural extension to what is being taught at home. However, unlike the laws of math which we all can agree upon, religion is very subjective. To avoid any conflict over content of religion at school, we would all need to believe in the same things. The problem lies in the coming together of many extremely different religions, and therefore cultures, into one school.

Our cultures define us. Everything from our mother’s cooking, to our clothing, our languages, our ethnicities, and our religions along with many other aspects in our lives help to cultivate and define who we are. It is natural to hope that the culture in our home is supported, reinforced, and even taught at school. Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to think that every religion within a classroom can be taught without sabotaging the doctrines of others. How, then, can a classroom celebrate and encourage multiple cultures without allowing one to dominate? Perhaps one solution to this dilemma is to present religion within a subject Jefferson wanted to see more of, history/social studies. If religions were simply acknowledged as a real part of people’s lives rather than taught as subject matter, students would be exposed to the rich cultures of others without feeling the “tyranny,” as Jefferson called it, of religious dogma.

I think one of the main motivators to teaching divinity in the schools in colonial times was fear. After teaching their children in the shelter of their homes, parents were now sending these children to be taught by others. Perhaps teachers were afraid parents weren’t doing a good enough job in teaching religion. Perhaps parents were afraid that while out of the home, their children would not be able to apply the teachings from home. As a religious mother myself, I do not worry about this because of a belief I share with Thomas Jefferson; individuals are endowed with the ability to make moral decisions when given the tools to think for themselves. Pieces of our culture act as filters to our education. Regardless of where or how we are taught, interpretations of material presented will be discerned through these “filters” our cultures create. In other words, if religion is a large part of my children’s culture, they will be able to see all things taught at school through that religious lens. I don’t need the school to ensure my child’s moral character. This kind of thinking requires both the school and parents to have faith in the child. When we have faith in the capability of our children, we can easily focus on teaching them how to learn rather than teaching them to memorize what we know. Learning how to analyze, discern, calculate, compare, and reason, are the tools that every parent wants for their child. These are the things, then, which should be taught in the classroom.

Ultimately, parents have always had stewardship over their children and over their education. With the creation of “charity schools” it is evident that there were some parents who were not able or perhaps willing to provide education for their children, just as is the case today. In this light, Jefferson stated that the state governments bear the responsibility to educate the public. I can understand how teaching otherwise wayward children is a service to them individually and also to society as a whole. However, I disagree that the education of the public is ever the responsibility of state government. It is a parent’s responsibility to cultivate and shape the minds of their children. Luckily, in America we have many choices when it comes to education to help us be successful. If we are not happy with curriculum, we can become part of the school board and try to make changes, we can vote for new leaders within our state’s board of education, we can discuss change directly with teachers, we can attend different districts, pay for private school, or teach our children ourselves within our home. Therefore, if parents feel that their children need the daily guidance of religious instruction mingled with their other content subjects, then those parents can opt to teach their children at home. Likewise, if parents feel inept in teaching core subjects such as reading writing and arithmetic, they can enlist the help of the government and send them to public schools.

There will always be a debate about curriculum content in schools and the motivations behind it. Teaching religion in schools may be done with the intent to stifle other cultures and it may be a genuine effort to share a heart-felt love of beliefs. Either way, the nature of a classroom as a diverse group representing many cultures doesn’t allow for religion to be taught as subject matter without directly offending another’s beliefs. If parents and educators will have faith in the capabilities of children to make moral decisions, common core curriculum can be taught while subjective matter such as religion is left to other institutions. Parents must decide to what extent their children’s education should include religion and accommodate accordingly.