This is an essay that I wrote for school, but I'm thinking of making it better and keeping it in case I need a non-fiction writing sample. The thesis is: Schools should have more religious education classes.
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Most people practice some sort of religion or belief, and adolescents are no exception. However, many childhood experiences with religion involve sitting in a building, singing and praying. Praying for it to be over so that normal weekend activities can resume. This mindset is a result of practicing a belief one doesn't identify with. But how would an adolescent know what belief they identify with most? Most have been truly exposed to only a few, maybe even just one. The best way to help children find their true belief is simple; teach them about different beliefs. We could expose students to a plethora of beliefs, simply by offering a class. Relgion studies classes could show our students new (and sometimes better) ways to live their lives. However, finding a new belief wouldn’t be the only benefit. Learning about different religions can also help students outside of school. After taking a religion studies course a student could better defend their personal beliefs. Blindly following others would be a thing of the past. These classes could also help on a global scale by making the world a more tolerant place. Clearly, we cannot let our youth, or the world, for that matter, miss out on the manifold benefits of having religious education in our schools.
There are, however, well thought out arguments against having religious education classes. Many parents fear that if their child were to take one of these classes, they would no longer belong to the same faith as them. This concern is reasonable as religion can be the sole thread that ties a family together. Conversely, parents may not want their child to be religous at all. To eliminate these fears, enrollment would be optional. Also, parents and students alike may worry that if there was a wider range of beliefs, the community may become more divided. This concern is improbable. The division would more likely be caused by those who did not take these classes, as they stress tolerance and understanding. But even if this unfortunate seperation of people were to happen, it could actually be a good thing. Anyone so bigoted as to alienate their trusted friends and neighbors was bound to do something like this eventually. It would be better to do it amongst forgiving friends than strangers. So, why not have religious education classes? The arguments that could be made against it are not well-founded and are easily disproved.
These 'cons' are outweighed by a single pro:the range of material covered in a single course. If a student takes a religious education class, they’re getting more than just that. Within that class, they will learn pieces of history, psychology, sociology, and much more. And, not only do they learn new material from the aforementioned subjects, they attain a new depth from lessons they’ve already been taught. For example, when a pupil in Spanish class could be learning about the effect that Spanish missionaries had on the indigenous people of Mexico, he/she would recall what they had learned about Catholicism in their Religion Studies class and would gain more from the lecture and have a better understanding of Mexican culture. Religion studies classes would help students outside the classrooms they are taught in.
The impact of these classes would extend past our classrooms and help change the world. They would make the adolescents who take some of the courses more tolerant human beings. Almost each and everyone of us has heard some sort of slur or “joke” directed at a certain religious group, and nearly all of them are fallacies. However, these jokes can only be proved as falsehoods with sufficient knowledge of the subjects of the jokes, otherwise they could be accepted as true. This rule applies to adolescents as well. If an adolescent is educated about a group of people, they will not be prejudiced towards them. And if we can help eliminate discrimination in one generation, we could virtually eliminate religious discrimination By being educated about different types of people and a variety of beliefs, said students would be able to see past the lies and propaganda directed at certain people.
Yet with the information they have acquired from a religion studies class, a student may find a belief they more identify with. This point may seem, to some, as if it is more of a con than a pro, yet that is not the case. If a student has a belief that they are passionate about, they may find more purpose in life, and, subsequently, their studies. They would also have a more upbeat demeanor, not dreading uncomfortable weekly visits to a church, synagogue, temple, or whatever their former place of worship may have been. In-school violence would also diminish, as almost all religions preach peace over hostility. A student having a belief they connect with would have a slew of benefits for the school in addition to those for the student.
Obviously, students cannot be denied the valuable opportunity to take a religion studies class. If they do enroll in a class, it will be as if they are also taking a psychology, sociology, and history course all rolled into one.They may also emerge from the class a more tolerant, mature person, perhaps with a new belief. Religion is one of–if not the- chief influence on society, therefore the youth of today must be educated about it.
