That’s right. Imagine a world in which students in every high school are required to take a religion class. If this sounds completely insane to you, then you realize I probably have some explaining to do. If I just described some portion of your wet dream for this country and you just about shared this post without even reading it, then you may want to take a bit of a closer look. The problem is that when you read that title you read “Yes, We Should Teach Religion In Schools”, but you left out a very important distinction: classes. I said “Religion Classes” and here’s why.
When I talk about teaching kids about religion, I don’t mean we should sit them down and indoctrinate them in one and only one. Quite the contrary. In fact, I think students should learn about every single religion, from early polytheistic tribal religions all the way up through modern Scientology and theosophy. They should learn about the ancient Egyptians that worshiped more than 25 different gods, right alongside learning about modern Christians, Muslims and Jews who worship one god (who truthfully is the same god, but we won’t get into that). They should learn about the roots of religions: how they started, who wrote the words, what was happening in the world at the time. Above all else, they should study it objectively. That is what makes all the difference.
See, when you study religion objectively, something really incredible happens. You start to ask critical questions not only of other religions, but of your own. You may start to develop an understanding that many religions have teachings that are strikingly similar in their overall message, or you may have the opportunity to realize that religions we perceive as violent or extreme actually have peaceful roots (and you see the flip-side, where some religions claiming peace have had deceptively bloody pasts). The truth is that if we provide an objective and unbiased education about the history of religion as it relates to human culture, we can foster religious tolerance, and with that comes some serious changes to how we see the rest of the world.
The trouble we have now is that the teaching of religion is taken in the wrong context. Instead of teaching religion for its own sake, let’s teach it as a lesson in human history and culture. There is no denying that religion has had an incredibly profound impact on the course of human events, but that isn’t to say that the world we know today was shaped only by Christianity or Islam or Paganism or Greek mythology. It was a combination of forces, sometimes working together, sometimes clashing against one-another in fighting over territory and followers, that created our rich history on this planet. If nothing else, it has kept things interesting in what could have been a pretty boring story of smart ex-monkeys that acted rationally all the time and only believed in fact and reason.
When you give people all the facts and all the context that goes along with those facts, it opens the door to incredible possibilities. A religiously tolerant generation would most certainly lead to a world with more peace and equality and less war, fear-mongering and deep-seeded trust issues. But it is bigger than just religious tolerance, because tolerance of other religions inevitably begets tolerance of other people, and that could lead to the end of racism, or sexism, or homophobia, or all of the above and many more.
So yes, teach religion classes in schools. The effect will be profound. Do I want to infringe on the individual’s right to choose their religion? Absolutely not. Do I believe that regardless of the religion they choose they should be educated, well-rounded individuals with at least a basic understanding of religious diversity and the history of religion? Yes. Yes I do.
Tell me what you think! I know religion is a hot topic, and it can really get some people talking, so let’s hear it! Disagree with me, yell at me, but at the very least comment and share so we can start a discussion!
By the way, my apologies for the deceptive feature photo… 
