Political Hippo Circle Jerk - America, farg YEAH!

[Wingspan]

Phanatic brought up an excellent point.  For those of you that have been arguing against, what is wrong with a World Religion class being taught in public schools?  (Honest question)

My opinion on why it should be taught is a) so much of the world's history is based on religion, and b) understanding different aspects of people's philosophies is important for a well rounded education.  

What's wrong with your kids (or kids to be) learning all that?

I actually took that exact class my freshman year of college to fill an elective requirement

[Wingspan]

why should it be taught if its completely false and baseless? 

Too bad. I enjoyed my mythology classes.

[ATV]

Obama from today....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSmn25rvQRo

[rjs246]

because religion = church and public schools = state

what dont you get its in the constitution

Its actually not.  There is no such thing as "Separation of Church and State" written in the Constitution or Bill of Rights anywhere.

Amendent I states as follows:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; ...

Teaching religionS in schools should be mandatory, as someone else stated most people have some belief system involving a deity.  Making a child pray, or requiring them to subscribe to a particular religion is (and should remain) illegal.

The Founders never intended this Amendment to mean religion should be restricted from public places, just that government could not tell you which religion you could belong to.

so when its religion it matters what the founders intended but when its guns it doesnt?

either way religion aint ever coming into public schools so im not really worried about it but youre wrong...how you gonna teach religion to someone who wants their kids to be atheist...thats why religion is readily available in universities but not at younger ages where kids can more easily be influenced...religion is a private matter amongst those who choose to partake and partake in their choice of religion...its not something the state should be teaching to other peoples young children

Atheism can be taught as an ethos just as easily as any religion.

[Butchers Bill]

so when its religion it matters what the founders intended but when its guns it doesnt?

either way religion aint ever coming into public schools so im not really worried about it but youre wrong...how you gonna teach religion to someone who wants their kids to be atheist...thats why religion is readily available in universities but not at younger ages where kids can more easily be influenced...religion is a private matter amongst those who choose to partake and partake in their choice of religion...its not something the state should be teaching to other peoples young children

As rjs just mentioned, you can teach Atheism as well, but just to be clear teaching about religion does not mean that you are trying to convert kids to a religion.  Teaching the Pillars of Islam and the tenets of Catholicism isn't indoctrinating them...its educating them...why can't you see that?

As far as guns are concerned, I believe the Founders meant exactly what they wrote.  You and I as American citizens have the right to own a gun or several guns.  Restrictions can (and should - and are being) be placed on modern weapons so that guys like Munson cannot go out and by a M1-Abrams tank and go psycho on everyone.

[ice grillin you]

so when its religion it matters what the founders intended but when its guns it doesnt?

either way religion aint ever coming into public schools so im not really worried about it but youre wrong...how you gonna teach religion to someone who wants their kids to be atheist...thats why religion is readily available in universities but not at younger ages where kids can more easily be influenced...religion is a private matter amongst those who choose to partake and partake in their choice of religion...its not something the state should be teaching to other peoples young children

As rjs just mentioned, you can teach Atheism as well, but just to be clear teaching about religion does not mean that you are trying to convert kids to a religion.  Teaching the Pillars of Islam and the tenets of Catholicism isn't indoctrinating them...its educating them...why can't you see that?

lol why would you teach a non belief in something that doesnt exist...also a by product of teaching aethism is that you by proxy bring god into the equaltion and its insane to teach kids about a made man in the sky...faith should be in the church and home...why do you want it in schools so bad


it doesnt mean youre indoctrinating anyone but once you open the can worms of letting it in all bets are off...you get crazy teachers who wanna push a religious agenda all of sudden hes teaching kids that islam is bad and christianity is what we should all strive to adopt...its just not somewhere we should ever go and we wont...i least i dont think its possible in this country but then again id never thought id see religion pushed the way it has been over the last 25 years

[SD_Eagle5]

lol why would you teach a non belief in something that doesnt exist...also a by product of teaching aethism is that you by proxy bring god into the equaltion and its insane to teach kids about a made man in the sky...faith should be in the church and home...why do you want it in schools so bad

Out of curiosity how do you believe the Earth and it's inhabitants came about? I watched the fascinating 4 hour documentary on Discovery about the 4.6 billion year creation of the Earth and how it evolved, but the universe in general does not give two shteins about the Earth or the people on it. So what do you believe? Even if you're an Atheist (as I was for 27 years) you still have to have a theory on how the Earth and life came about. Religion is an answer for people so it's easy to see why they subscribe to the man in the sky.

[Butchers Bill]

lol why would you teach a non belief in something that doesnt exist...also a by product of teaching aethism is that you by proxy bring god into the equaltion and its insane to teach kids about a made man in the sky...faith should be in the church and home...why do you want it in schools so bad

it doesnt mean youre indoctrinating anyone but once you open the can worms of letting it in all bets are off...you get crazy teachers who wanna push a religious agenda all of sudden hes teaching kids that islam is bad and christianity is what we should all strive to adopt...its just not somewhere we should ever go and we wont...i least i dont think its possible in this country but then again id never thought id see religion pushed the way it has been over the last 25 years

First of all, not everyone believes what you believe (about the whole non-belief, non-existance argument) and its incredibly arrogant for you to pretend you know more than billions of other people.  I don't happen to subscribe to a religion or even believe in a "god" but I am not about to call someones elses faith a non-existant fantasy because the fact of the matter is no one on this planet knows for sure.

Religion needs to be taught so that people are educated...simple as that.  Religion has had a greater effect on humanity than any other event in history, and you don't want it taught?  Thats laughable!  We are not talking about "faith" here...just the facts of what religions are all about and what they believe in.

[ice grillin you]

lol why would you teach a non belief in something that doesnt exist...also a by product of teaching aethism is that you by proxy bring god into the equaltion and its insane to teach kids about a made man in the sky...faith should be in the church and home...why do you want it in schools so bad

Out of curiosity how do you believe the Earth and it's inhabitants came about? I watched the fascinating 4 hour documentary on Discovery about the 4.6 billion year creation of the Earth and how it evolved, but the universe in general does not give two shteins about the Earth or the people on it. So what do you believe? Even if you're an Atheist (as I was for 27 years) you still have to have a theory on how the Earth and life came about. Religion is an answer for people so it's easy to see why they subscribe to the man in the sky.

i have no idea...but i believe its explained by some scientifical theory that hasnt been found it or maybe its been found and not able to be proven...but i certainly dont believe some made up man in the sky did it

[ice grillin you]

lol why would you teach a non belief in something that doesnt exist...also a by product of teaching aethism is that you by proxy bring god into the equaltion and its insane to teach kids about a made man in the sky...faith should be in the church and home...why do you want it in schools so bad

it doesnt mean youre indoctrinating anyone but once you open the can worms of letting it in all bets are off...you get crazy teachers who wanna push a religious agenda all of sudden hes teaching kids that islam is bad and christianity is what we should all strive to adopt...its just not somewhere we should ever go and we wont...i least i dont think its possible in this country but then again id never thought id see religion pushed the way it has been over the last 25 years

First of all, not everyone believes what you believe

and i wouldnt want it taught in public schools that there isnt a god either

again its a private belief system that has no place in the public lives of others...even most non zealots would tell you this

[Seabiscuit36]

religion has also produced the most negative effects on humanity BB. 

[ice grillin you]

religion has also produced the most negative effects on humanity BB. 

from the words of the great louis cyphre...

theres enough religion in the world to make men hate each other...but not enough to make them love

[Seabiscuit36]

If you want religion taught, go to a private school thats fits your need

[SD_Eagle5]

religion has also produced the most negative effects on humanity BB. 

I used to believe that until I took a western civ class

[Munson]

My problem with religion is it makes people seem incapable of separating a higher power from morality.
They don't seem to consider the possibility that, while there may be a God....he/she very well may not give two shteins if I touch myself at night or if I even beleive in him/her.
The universe is huge and if there is a higher power, are humans so arrogant that they can't realize that whatever God put us here sees us nothing more as one of his/her many experiments of  life throughout the universe?

I beleive there is a God, and I very highly doubt he cares much what we do in terms of "morals".
Is there a basis for my belief? Not really. I could write a book on it, have it translated and re-written over 1500 years, call it...oh, I don't know, The Bible...and that could be the "Facts" that everyone points to as it actually being the "right" belief...but in the end it's still a book written by men, edited and translated by men, over 1500 years. I don't know if you remember middle school, but stories didn't usually last 1500 seconds without being completely different from the original story.

It's a work of historical fiction, and as such should not be taught in schools. Neither should any religion. Neither should ANY belief system, whether it be mine, the athiests, the agnostics, the whateverhaveyous.....As IGY said, it's a private personal thing.



However, religion, as many wars as it does create...also is probably one of the few things that holds this planet together sometimes. It helps just as many people as it kills with war. Just don't push your beliefs on me or try to "teach" them to me in public school. If I have that much desire to learn about religion, I'll start going to church, or i'll take a class on it in college.