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Samantha Edmonds
Professor George
English 1010
8 December 2015
Keep Religion Out of School
Believing in a higher source or creator and worshiping that god is the definition of
religion. A popular discussion going on right now is weather religion should be taught in school
and if so, what religions? This is a touchy subject especially in the state of Utah. Most of the
population is LDS or Mormon, so in most Utah schools The Bible is read and there is a seminary
class. Not many Utahans are open to learning about different religions, and think very highly of
the LDS church. Awhile back I saw a post on Facebook written by a LDS woman saying how
upset she was that her sons school was teaching about Hinduism. She received lots of feedback
on the matter, everyone either agreeing or not. My question is, what makes it okay for her beliefs
to be taught in school and not those of others? Religion should not be taught in school, but if it is
then we should cover the basics of the top religions.
According to estimates, there are roughly 4,200 different religions practiced around the
world. The major five, however, include Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and New Age.
Hinduism is worshiping infinite representations of gods and goddesses. Hindus believe in
multiple lives, and that everything in this life is based on their prior lives. For instance, if they
suffer lots of hardships it was because of evil behaviors in their previous life. The overall goal of
Hinduism is to be free from the law of karma, or continuous reincarnations, to be free of rebirths
and be at rest.

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Many people believe that Buddhists worship Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) however,
they do not worship any god. Buddhists look up to Buddha because they want to attain what he
has, spiritual enlightenment and freedom from the continuous cycle of life and death. Buddhists
believe that in order to end the cycle of rebirth, you must reach a state of enlightenment by
purifying your heart, letting go of sensual desires and the illusion of dualism. Buddhists have a
strict set of principles to follow, and if done correctly, they reach Nirvana- putting out the flame
of desire.
Muslims believe in one almighty God named Allah. Allah is viewed as the creator of
everything and the source of all good and evil. He is very powerful and judging of his followers,
but very forgiving towards religiously devoted followers. A Muslims relationship with Allah is
as a servant to him. Marilyn Adamson wrote in her article Connecting with the Devine, Though
a Muslim honors several prophets, Muhammad is considered the last prophet and his words and
lifestyle are that person's authority. To be a Muslim, one has to follow five religious duties: 1.
Repeat a creed about Allah and Muhammad; 2. Recite certain prayers in Arabic five times a day;
3. Give to the needy; 4. One month each year, fast from food, drink, sex and smoking from
sunrise to sunset; 5. Pilgrimage once in one's lifetime to worship at a shrine in Mecca. At death -based on one's faithfulness to these duties -- a Muslim hopes to enter Paradise. If not, they will
be eternally punished in hell.
Christians believe in Jesus Christ, who is loving and believe in the trinity of God, Jesus
Christ and the Holy Ghost. Christians enjoy their relationship with God. Jesus was viewed as
God in human form, he performed miracles and forgave people of their sins. He stated, I am the
light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the light of

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life. The Bible is viewed as a message from God, it reveals his personality, love, and how to
have a relationship with him. The Bible teaches Christians to lean on God in hardships.
New Age believes that we, ourselves, are god. God is a higher consciousness within
oneself, not a transcendent God who created everything. Everything in his or her life is
considered divine, what they see, hear, feel or imagine. Marilyn Adamson also explains, Highly
electric, New Age presents itself as a collection of ancient spiritual traditions. It acknowledges
many gods and goddesses, as in Hinduism. The Earth is viewed as the source of all spirituality,
and has its own intelligence, emotions and deity. But superseding all is self. Self is the originator,
controller and God of all. There is no reality outside of what the person determines. Anything
negative a person experiences (failures, sadness, anger, selfishness, hurt) is considered an
illusion. Believing themselves to be completely sovereign over their life, nothing about their life
is wrong, negative or painful. Eventually a person develops spiritually to the degree that there is
no objective, external reality. A person, becoming a god, creates their own reality.
While reading more into this topic, I found a picture on Facebook saying So, you think
that religion should be taught in schools? Would that be all religions? Or just yours? This
picture has over 1,800 comments but one stuck out to me; a man by the name of Dan Blakeman
commented My single best experience at college was taking a religion course where we covered
five religions. The professor argued each one like he had been a lifelong adherent. At the end of
the course none of us had any clue which one (if any) he actually believed in/ followed. THAT is
how its done. Teach, do not indoctrinate. I completely agree with Dan, religion should be
taught not brainwashed into students minds. Unfortunately teachers like this are hard to come
by. When it comes to religion there is a fine line between educating based on facts and based on

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personal belief. That is why religion should not be taught in schools. Leave faith and other
personal point of views at home.
According to Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom from Religion
Foundation, stated in her article The Dangers of Religious Instruction in Public Schools We
must consider whether typical public school teachersparticularly teachers at the lower level
can truly be trusted to be objective about teaching religion. The Freedom from Religion
Foundation is continually contacted by students and parents who encounter teachers and
principals who view their captive audience of students as a ripe mission field for recruitment. We
handle more than 2,000 complaints a year by members of the public concerned about violations
of the separation between church and state, and the vast majority of these concern violations in
our public schools. We have to closely monitor our public schools to comply with more than 60
years of clear precedent barring prayer and devotional instruction in our public schools. Weve
recently had to complain in more than one state about kindergarteners being forced to pray by
their teachers!
If religion is going to be mixed in with education, it should be an optional course in
college once students are old enough to fully understand the different aspects of every religion.
Religion is a huge part of society and transgressions against humanity. Many wars have been
created over differences in religious beliefs, including the most recent events of terrorism.
Americans are blaming all Muslims for the terrorist attacks, which is why if religion is going to
be taught, then we should learn the basic understanding of the Muslim Religion.
The U.S. Constitution states that church and state have to be separate, but anyone has the
freedom to practice religious beliefs and the pursuit of happiness. Gaylor wrote Today in the

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United States fully one in five adults and one in three young persons identifies as
nonreligious. Some people feel homeschooling is the only option to stray away from the
forced teaching of religion. Many religions teach their followers not to question their faith, which
unfortunately leads to closed mindedness, making it pointless to be taught in school. Religion
should be taught at home and not at school to students, who dont care for the subject matter.
With thousands of different religions around the world, all claiming to be One Truth Faith,
they cant all be right, so perhaps all of them are wrong.

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Works Cited
Adamson, Marilyn. "Connecting with the Devine." Everystudent.com. 2015. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.

Gaylor, Annie. "The Dangers of Religious Instruction in Public Schools." Religion Politics. 7
Jan. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2015.