Should Religions Be Taught in Public Schools?

People argue whether students should learn about world religions in school or no. Teaching religion in schools helps students understand the differences among the principles of each and every religion. It is a means of proposing that people are different from each other and have different beliefs. Some people claim that religious education is a tool that interferes with cultural and private beliefs of teenagers and could deliver a false picture of a specific religion but it is the total opposite. It is only available to improve historical knowledge. Firstly, this type of education is an example of education that requires research and exploration. So this encourages the capability and approach of students to research and be involved in broad networks of information. This very useful high school skill will benefit most of them in the future. It will make a great employability skill to be applied in the work place. As Zora Neale Hurston said: “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” (http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/research.html). Secondly, there is a difference between the religion and the practices of the people who adopt that religion. The problem is that people judge other religions by the actions of the people. So in order to judge or understand a religion you must look at and be taught the religion itself and its principles not the other people’s actions. Religions are perfect, people practicing them are not. We should teach our new generations not to confuse the two. We have to establish basic pillars of each religion into their heads so they would be able to criticize or commend that religion correctly.

Furthermore, it will close the gap that happened in people’s outlook on other religions due to misunderstandings. Understanding a particular religion simply from what is being said about it doesn’t have any logic; so education would help them understand better. All the religions come from the same