A comparative religions course can be extremely eye-opening, and I estimate that it would be healthy to educate our children about all religions especially due to the religious climate of our modern, pluralistic society. For the classroom, this idea necessitates an unbiased teacher who had previously been educated appropriately by an unbiased university comparative program. This teacher must also provide equal justice to every religion taught by using a complete and unbiased curriculum. This sounds good, especially if we are to claim to be a pro-choice society. Why would we refuse our children the right to wisely decide on a religion after having been properly taught the array of choices?
If, however, no comparative religions course is taught, the possibility of atheism becoming a ruling guidance in our children’s thought-processes is a reasonable outcome to consider. Why? The system is currently biased. How? Only one faith is currently taught within our public schools and this is atheism, aside from some book work on Islam. Why do I say this? Evolution is the only scientific theory taught to our students, and evolution relies on the philosophy of atheism as a product of the atheistic mind of Charles Darwin. The total lack of a comparative religions course opens a complete can of worms. To require an unbiased teaching of religions also requires a completely unbiased teaching of every other educational subject available. To teach the scientific theory of evolution which relies upon atheism, the scientific theory of intelligent design must also be taught as attached to Christian theism. Children would then have a decent amount of information to arguably decide well which they find most reasonable to believe. The philosophies concerning reality, knowing, beauty, etc. then follow as requiring unbiased teaching because each is reliant upon the worldview of its adherents; and, worldview forms as a condition of an individual’s faith. Philosophy births the arts and so we must then provide unbiased courses in literature and the like. If children can decide which biological gender they are, why are they forced to believe in evolution without given the chance to compare it with other legitimately researched theories? Why allow one choice and deny the other?
The concept of pro-choice emphasizes an ideal formula for a functionally unbiased educational system when the entire spectrum of curriculum is analyzed. To witness this type of schooling system in effect would be marvelous because our children would be receiving a genuinely balanced education after which they would be capable of entering the current global culture confidently and decisively.
Ideal. Desirable. Necessary? We can nod our heads in agreement because we understand not only what we lacked intellectually after journeying through middle/highschool, but because we also understand now what would be best for our children and their developing minds. Balance, reason and honesty. So, why is this not the current standard? Why is the system biased? Is this really healthy and beneficial? Why are our children not really being given true choices? Why are they only taught evolution and the resulting atheism? Why were we not given the choices we deserved as children – educated choices that would have prepared us to enter the world confidently and decisively with our feet firmly planted in whichever faith we decided to follow?
These questions bring up a second problem. Is it the government’s job or the parents’ responsibility to guide their children according to faith while educating them concerning the plurality of our religious culture? Unless we – as a whole society – consciously mandate an utter modification of the entire public educational system into the idyllic, unbiased program of pro-choice intellect that I previously highlighted, we cannot hope that the government would do a quality job. I would have to say therefore that faith lies within the realm of parental responsibility; thus, it is also a parental responsibility to be able to educate our children concerning religious plurality; otherwise, we are denying them the right of choice not currently provided by the modern schooling system.
The real issue here is whether or not you are prepared to teach your children. Have you educated yourself about all religions available to them in our pluralistic culture? Have you told them what you believe? Do you know what you believe and why; or, are you simply an intellectual and spiritual product of the less-than-ideal, current schooling system?
The Girl Who... 