Religious Diversity in the Classroom

I'm posting my article reflections on here because I really enjoyed the articles I found, and I'm interested to share my thoughts with whomever reads this blog.

Education Digest: Essential Readings Condensed for Quick Review, v73 n3 Nov 2007.

"One Nation, Many Gods." p14-20.

Kilman, Carrie

Summary:

Religious diversity in classrooms is significantly more present than it was in the past. Whereas Christianity once was the religion of a vast majority of students, today’s kids live in a much more pluralistic society.

In a post-9/11 society, students may face persecution or harassment for what they believe, especially those practicing Islam. Many educators believe that the best way to combat religious intolerance is to address the issue in the classroom, because schools are one of the most notable places where people of different religions interact on a daily basis.

The Modesto School District, located in the “Bible Belt of California,” started a course on world religions. This course spends an equal time teaching Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism. Rather than teaching religion, this course teaches about religion, focusing on the history, basic tenets, and societal significance of each religion.

Despite being situated in a very conservative community with a very vocal evangelical presence, Modesto has suffered almost no backlash for the course. Because the teachers of the course make no attempt to proselytize—in fact, teachers do not even share their own beliefs with the students—the class does not threaten any student’s values.

The positive results from the course were evident almost immediately. During the second year of this course being offered, 9/11 occurred. While reports of schoolyard harassment skyrocketed almost ubiquitously at schools across the country, Modesto reported no incidents of harassment during that school year.

Reflection:

I was drawn to this article and this topic because of my own background. I grew up in a Christian household all of my life. When I went off to college, I began to question the faith that I had held for so long. As I began to step away from those beliefs, I found Philosophy. Freshman year, I changed my major from Computer Science to Philosophy. Because of the type of instruction I was receiving in my classes, I started to take a more speculative look at the beliefs that I had always assumed to be true. As I opened my eyes to acknowledge the beliefs that others held, I realized that I was very naïve.

Growing up, I never really had much opportunity to study other religions. At the high school I attended, religious diversity was at a minimum. A majority of my classmates were Christians; the outliers were primarily categorized as atheists, although there were a very small handful of Muslims, Buddhists, Wiccans, etc. For the most part, the students who were atheists were so as a rebellion against Christianity. The other religious minorities were practically invisible. Growing up in such a sheltered environment, I had never really encountered other religions. I was never intolerant of others’ beliefs; I was simply naïve to them.

Having been removed from religious practice for several years, I have been able to identify religions as more than a set of rules to govern actions and thoughts. I have taken the time to focus on the historical narrative each religion tells, the central and auxiliary tenets and their significance, and the cultural and global impact that different religions have had. This perspective has made me realize the two-fold positive impact a world religions class can have.

From a purely academic standpoint, religions have had a significant impact throughout the course of history. The time dedicated to teaching about religions in history classes—at least in my experience—was hardly sufficient to address the intricacies and importance of each religion. Offering a world religions course is a great way to expose students to this material.

Equally important is the affect a world religions class can have on the students’ view toward other students with different beliefs. Offering this material can combat the intolerance, as addressed in the article, and the ignorance, as shared in my own anecdote, that students may have.

I admire the courage and determination of the teachers in the Modesto School District who pushed to start the world religions course. The positive benefits of their efforts were evident almost immediately, and it was extremely beneficial to the students who were able to take the course before the events of September 11, 2001.

I am inspired by their idea to teach a class that focuses on religions from an academic standpoint. Once I have established myself in a job somewhere, I hope to be able to develop and teach a similar course. A subject like world religions gives me the unique opportunity to use my background in Philosophy and interest in religion to promote tolerance and understanding among my students.