When I was in grade school, I attended a public school. From age 5-14, I was exposed to diversity that I am so appreciative of now. I had friends of all religious backgrounds: Muslim, Hindu, Christian, etc. When time came for me to attend high school, my parents decided to send me to the local private school that was founded upon a Catholic tradition. Suddenly my world was narrowed and the diversity I was fortunate enough to be exposed to in grade school no longer existed. Nearly everyone in the school was Catholic, or at least Christian. There was no exchange of ideas or talk about different religions. It took me a very long time to get used to standing up for the morning prayer, the weekly masses held in the gym, and religion classes. My years at Bishop McNamara Catholic High School taught me a very valuable life lesson: religion in schools is bad. In fact, my experience at a narrow-minded high school very nearly prevented me from choosing a Catholic college. It was because of my research on the Jesuit mission and understanding of the openness to other religions that ultimately convinced me that I would be able to pursue a more "liberal" education (liberal in the sense that Jesuit education encourages exploration into the unknown).
My experience as a high school student got me thinking. Is religion in schools really that unfortunate? Does the encouragement of practicing a certain faith truly detract from the attention of other important school matter? Can religion hold a valuable place in the public education system?
In March 1940, a group of community leaders organized religious classes to be held in the public schools of the surrounding area. This attempt to add a moral, religious element into the classrooms might have been done with good intentions. But it was wildly unconstitutional. 8 years later, on March 8th, the Supreme Court made a now extremely famous ruling on the constitutionality of the case. When Vashti McCollum's son was beaten by classmates and sent to the hallway in punishment for refusing to participate in the religious discussion, she decided to do something about the organized religious classes resulting in: McCollum v. Board of Education. McCollum's dedication to justice led her down a long path of fighting against the court system. She originally lost her case in a circuit court and the Illinois Supreme Court but was ultimately victorious in an 8-1 vote at the Supreme Court level.
Justice Hugo Black said, "The First Amendment rests upon the premise that both religion and government can best work to achieve their lofty aims if each is left free from the other within its respective sphere."
Another article really sparked my interest in the whole "religion in schools" debate. 51% of all Americans, both conservative and liberal, consider the Constitution to be a Christian based document. In their own interpretation of the Constitution, they truly believe that it establishes a Christian nation and therefore protects the pursuit of Christian ideals. However, the sole mention of the pursuit of religion in the Constitution is: “No religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.” The First Amendment clearly outlines a distinction between Church and State. Although some Founding Fathers, such as Hamilton, were originally concerned about a divergence from a Christian society, the executive decision to exclude religious protection from the Constitution might possibly be the most wonderful thing the Founding Fathers did.
However, I do think there are times when education pertaining to religion is extremely important. As long as it is an educational endeavor rather than a statement on or encouragement of a certain faith, students need to understand world religions. Recently a Kansas school found itself in an ethical dilemma. In accordance to a unit being taught in class, teachers created a bulletin board educating students on "The Five Pillars of Islam." Angered by the education of religion, or maybe due to a bad case of Islamophobia, students snapped pictures of the board and posted them to a Facebook page titled "Prepare to Take America Back." And school officials actually did take down the educational bulletin board! In the context of education, a justified and constitutional effort to educate was reprimanded and refused. I wonder if the board was an effort to educate students on Christian ethics, if it would be removed?
I'm a huge proponent of education on world religions. Believer or not, it is extremely important to understand how religion shapes culture and influences nearly every aspect of life. When abused, this education on religions can become biased and narrow-minded. In America, we often see this in a Christian context. However, when intentions to venture out of the Christian point of view are made, they are often not well-received and even completely denied. For me it does not make sense. There is a large difference between education and promotion. One holds a place in the school system and one does not.
Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island, once said "Religious freedom in itself is a Christian principle."
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