By Mallory Schlabach, Editor in Chief
Face the Facts
Prepare for the surprise of the century: Americans are flunking religion. Nearly 60 years after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional for students to be taught religion in schools, 45 years after the Court ruled prayer unconstitutional and 27 years since the Ten Commandments were no longer allowed to be displayed in public schools, Americans are shocked to find they don’t know the first five Commandments, much less any of them.
In a USA Today article on religion Thursday, a religious professor at the University of Boston has found 60 percent of Americans can’t name five of the Ten Commandments, and half of high school seniors think Sodom and Gomorrah were married.
While some may find this humorous, many religious professors and institutions find this disconcerting. The reason? America’s ignorance of world religions, much less their own, could become dangerous in a world where religion plays a large role in understanding what’s going on in Iraq and why people are opposed to capital punishment and gay marriages.
While America may be fighting the connection between church and state, other countries around the world allow religion and religious beliefs to dictate their behavior – and if Americans don’t know the history behind world religions, they won’t be equipped to deal with people in the world or even in their own neighborhood.
Schools may not be teaching any less about world religions and the history of religion than they were in the 60s before it was banned, but today they are as many Muslims in America as there are Jews. How many people know much about the Ramadan? When surveyed, 17 percent of high school seniors believed it to be the Jewish Day of Atonement – not the Islamic holy month.
If knowledge is power, as people say, why aren’t children taught about religion in schools? Wouldn’t one think to know a little bit about those in neighboring houses, states or countries would help improve relations in the world?
Think outside the world we know right now, inside our community, church and schools. Whether people believe it or not, the heart of the world lies in the belief of God – a God, a higher being, a spirit in the sky. If a child cannot learn about religion in the classroom, they’re missing a vital part of what makes up culture in the world.
Religion is infused into every day life. It’s in the choices we make, and for some, its even in the people we associate, marry and trust. Learning about a religion other than what one believes in doesn’t make one a traitor of the faith nor does it brainwash one into believing other religions. It simply offers a different worldview than most know, and puts one’s personal religion into perspective.
