The Importance Of Religion In Public Schools

A well-taught class is one that provides you with proper knowledge on the subject, while simultaneously putting the subject matter in the larger context of a shared history and current affairs. For centuries religion has been in conversation with almost every academic pursuit created by man. Naturally, the argument of how religion should be taught in schools is part of the argument on the best way for American students to be taught, as it should be. Currently, public schools, especially secondary schools, are merely ignoring religion altogether and have silently agreed to keep it largely outside of academic conversation. However, ignoring religion is a fruitless effort that negatively affects students. In this discussion on religion in schools, some may believe that “teaching religion” and “teaching about religion” are interchangeable terms. These terms are certainly not interchangeable because teaching about religion is necessary and positive for the proper education of any student, while teaching religion is unnecessary for a students’ education and can even be harmful to students. Knowledge of religion is necessary for a class in almost any subject. As is stated in William Nord’s Does God Make a Difference?, “religion makes a difference to most people—to the ways in which they find meaning in their lives, to their …show more content…
Teaching about religion is completely justified in the public school system while teaching religion always does more harm than good. In fact, a student educated about religion would be more likely to understand the downsides of teaching religion in public schools than one who was not. This is just one of the many issues where a knowledge about religion and its relation to academic subjects is of use. Knowledge about religion gives students the opportunity to leave school better informed on the pressing issues of the past, present, and