If the political candidates in the current electoral fray were to be believed, especially from those on the right, the country is in the throes of an immigrant and religious takeover. All the social evils of the country are attributed to the outsiders. The lack of jobs, security and growth are all blames on the ‘others’. If we were to take their words to be the truth and also be swayed by our own biases we would end up being narrow minded individuals filled with hatred for things and people about whom we do not really know much about. The same way it is easy to blame a lot of social evils on the lack of religion in our daily life. Broken homes, increasing violence and easy access to pornogrpahy are linked to the lack of religion in the lives of young people. And there are many who insist that catching them young would be a solution to this problem. Starting religious studies in schools and teaching them about faith, be it Islam, Christianity or any other religion is stated as a solution to drive them towards the straight path. If religion were to make everyone calm, peaceful, loving and reasonable we would not have had many wars starting from the crusades. But then it is also not right to blindly blame religion for all of world’s evils. Religions from all over the world teach love for others as the base everyone needs to have before they go on proclaiming their faith and defending it. Before condemning the violence and social ills afflicting the young and blaming it on the lack of religion, there needs to be an understanding of what religion taught in school can do and cannot do. A judgement taken on the basis of a biased opinion is not the right solution for anything. To know if teaching religion would actually work on disturbed kids, there needs to be an introspection if there are any biases in how an individual feels. Implementing a policy based on biased opinions would only lead to more problems and never solve anything. As to the question of teaching religion in school and its ability to solve social ills, it does not seem possible. However it is also equally important to ko=now why people would want to bring in religious teaching in schools.
A lot of things have changed over the years. Nuclear family has become the norm. Single parent households are numerous. Same sex couples raise kids. People live together without getting married. Kids are born out of wedlock. Meaningless violence is reported on an hourly basis. The advancement of technology and internet has meant that kids are more prone to and exposed to violence and sex. The result is that a lot of youngsters these days are disillusioned, have no parental figure at home they could talk to and discuss their fears with. They take matters into their own hands and end up doing things that not only hurt them but hurt others as well. What is the solution to all of this? Some say the problem lies in the lack of religion in people’s lives. Religion should be taught early on so youngsters would learn about faith, morals and ethics and follow them in their lives. Proponents of teaching religion in school say that it has a lot of benefits. They argue that children start knowing the differences and tease about a different faith as early as the kindergarten years. Teaching them about different religions would make them more knowledgeable as well as acceptable of differences and other faiths. Religion, they say also plays an important role in the history, politics as well as current affairs and that they should know more about it in order to know how the world around them functions. As religious conflicts and wars make everyday news, a knowledge about different religions would help to learn more about their causes. With immigration and the movement of people around the world the religious, ethnic and racial composition of the country changes and religious studies would help them be more understanding of different faiths and also help kids get over their ignorance of other religions and faiths (Wertheimer, 2015).
Even though it might have its benefits, teaching religion in school is not a surefire method to solve social evils, patch up broken families, decrease violence or turn the kids’ attention away from violence and porn. To begin with it is impossible for teachers to teach kids about all of the world’s religions. Teaching only a few would not make kids more knowledgeable but only make them biased towards the other religions they have not been taught about. There also exists the danger that the teacher could be partial to his or her own religion and be biased towards the rest (Godfrey, 2013). This would only result in inciting hatred towards anyone who is different and minority children would not feel safe anymore. Furthermore there is a lot of evidence that show that religious teaching in schools have a detrimental effect on school children. The madrassas are religious schools which teach a narrow version of the Koran. The kids who come out of these religious schools are ignorant of a lot of other cultures as well as religions and are filled with hatred for other people. It is not just the madrassas that are the problem. Many schools that teach christianity and creation story also run the risk of raising kids who believe in christianity and are ignorant of the evolution theory and other religions. They grow up believing that their religion and their country is superior. May a times teaching religion in kids is also used as a propaganda tool for the religious right in many countries. History and facts are rewritten in the name of religion and taught to kids in schools. The result is that the students are not only ignorant of the facts but they also grow up with a belief in falsehood. Most children take seriously what is taught to them in class and if a twisted, narrow version of religion is taught it would do more harm than good.
All religions preach love and if religion is taught properly, maybe it would make a difference in the lives of the children. It could make them more acceptable of differences and make them less prone to violence and more loving. But it isn’t just possible to teach all religions without having a bias for one or for a few. And religion is not a solution to social evils. In fact religion has been the main reason for many battles and wars over the years. Religion, science and ethics must be kept separately and should not be confused. Children should have the freedom of choice when it comes to learning religion at school. Teaching religion in school will not help bring down violence as there is no guarantee that the students will take everything to heart.Just as other subjects learnt at school are easily forgotten religion too can be forgotten or pushed aside. What should ideally be taught at home and school is love for one another and the need to treat everyone as equals. As elders, parents and teachers should set an example for kids through their own lives. If kids are exposed to violence and sex, measures must be taken to curtail TV programmes or time spent alone with the computers and the internet. Differences and conflicts should be explained in a rational manner and not in a religious way. Religion has caused differences among people the world over and is still causing problems for many. Teaching kids religion in school is not a solution to the problems plaguing society. It is taking a very narrow and simplistic approach to a problem that is deeply embedded.
Works Cited
Wertheimer. K.Linda. 7 Reasons We Should Teach More Religion in Public Schools. 19 Aug 2015. Web. 3 Apr 2016.
Godfrey, Olivia. Why Religion Should Not Be Taught in Public Schools. The Knightly Herald. 23 Sept 2013. Web. 3 Apr 2016.
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