Religion in classroom should be discussed

February 17, 2011 • Chelsea Jackson, Staff Writer  
Filed under Opinion

“…I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should ‘make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,’ thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.” Thomas Jefferson said in his letter to the Danbury Baptists Association in 1802. While it may seem as though things are pretty straight forward, many still question the separation between church and state. While the U.S. Constitution does not quote Jefferson exactly, the First Amendment of the Constitution claims that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”

While many could agree that religion has no place in the business world, many still question whether or not it should be welcome in the educational world. These days, it seems like so many teachers could get in trouble for mentioning their beliefs to their students, even resulting in a job loss. Is this actually fair though? I suppose it depends on what you believe. In my opinion, religion should not completely be banned from discussion in class. Yet, at the same time I disagree with those that try to force their own beliefs onto someone else.

I realize that they make specific private religious schools that allow you to discuss religion, but I really think anyone should be able to say what they feel no matter what. Stating your take on religion is just like stating any other opinion, you should not expect everyone to agree with you. With that being said, I think it should be like anything else; open for discussion in a way that people can respect others beliefs and opinions.

One of the main things that frustrates me is that biology teachers are allowed to teach about evolution, but no one can discuss their beliefs and religion? This does not seem to make sense. For someone who does not believe in evolution, it’s extremely frustrating to be preached to about the theory of evolution for an hour and a half without being able to say your reasoning for disagreeing.

When we talk about acceptance of others, it should also include an acceptance of beliefs. If people can learn to accept other factors that separate people like race and politics, why can’t we accept differences in religion?

I understand that people worry about too many arguments being started over the touchy subject, but if people make it clear that it is their opinion, not necessarily the ‘right’ opinion then what is it going to hurt?

I know what I believe, but I should not judge those that disagree. I think we have just gotten overly used to speaking our mind and just assuming that what we think is always the right thing. It would really help students to understand why people believe what they believe if they could just listen to other people’s reasoning before putting it down. If you do not agree, that is fine. But do not bash it unless you completely know somebody’s reasoning.

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