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Around here they cover small bits of the history of Christianity in school under the pretext of it being part of world history. Yet, Buddhism is and they don't cover that, the Muslim faith is and they don't cover that, various "pagan" religions were a HUGE part of European history. Why are none of these covered. I don't get why they feel it's ok to cover Christianity and none of the other religions that have helped to shape the world and even discourage the study of some of them. When I was in school I used to get in trouble for studying the occult, wicca, and other related topics. One school I went to even went so far that they would punish students for wearing the pentacle. What I want to know is, do you think that schools should cover these as part of history in school? i don't think the history of religion should be left out of school completely because it has played such a vital role in the shaping of the world but I don't think they should limit it to ONE religion since so many have been a part of it. What do you think? I am also thinking that more colleges should offer classes that cover these kinds of things. What most of the colleges offer that I've looked at is so limited they might as well not have them. Ok, time for your thoughts.

In my school, Owasso high school in Oklahoma, they went over everything, budda, wiccan, jebus, and many other things.

I guess it all stems from x-ianity being the religion that this country was founded upon. I agree with you that the history of religion should not be left out of schools and that they should cover different religions and not spend so much time on one.
This is a good example of why people feel that xians try to shove their beliefs down their throat, or they get classified as a bible thumper. Most aren't that way, but you know what happens when one bad apple is in the bunch...

Xianity needs a little bit of a cosmetic makeover and more religions need to be mentioned in history.

Understandably in schools here, one cannot deny the influence and historical significance on so many levels (sociologically, scientifically, culturally, militarily, etc.) both direct and indirect, of Judeo-Christian religion on Western Civilization, of which we are all part here in the United States. Paganism cannot hold a candle to this far more predominant influence. Thus given Judeo-Christian religion's enormous impact upon our culture, we cannot but provide students of almost all courses of study at least a cursory understanding of the historical influences of such religions, which also provide a foundational understanding of the motivations of many of Western Civlization's most influential leaders. Whether considered fair or not, the fact remains that no other religious belief system has held such dominating influence as well as (for many centuries) absolute secular power and authority over all of Western and most of Eastern Europe, from whence so much of our history and science came.

My point is this... were paganism or other religions to have had such key influence on so many aspects of Western Civilization, then the teaching of their beliefs and history would be justifiable and necessary for students. Yet even were this the case, it should not be taught except in such equal scholastic contexts as Christianity and Judaism is taught and not as religious instruction.

Covering religion in mandatory classes I am not a fan of. Regardless of the religion but offering classes that cover religion and history of areas that focus on other religions would be beneficial. They tend to focus on christianity because the areas that are usually covered in history classes are steeped in chrisitanity.
In a perfect world all would be covered equally.

in nebraskan HS we didnt cover anything but the christians..
i mean other then actually acknowledging other religions are out there; there was no actual explanation of any of them..

i did my own research to find out for myself what was out there on my own time.

darkicewolf- that's so cool they covered everything... you were fortunate

history is written by men and men, as a group, write from their experiences and prejudices.... even if it is unintentional.
so it's natural that, since the USA was founded mostly on Christianity, that that would take the foremost position in history. it's not right, since there is so much more other beliefs can offer to history...

the schools that I attended went over christianity and nothing else because they believed it to be the "good religion". Everything else (including catholicism) was considered a "bad" religion and even mentioning it would spread it's practice. Just self-righteous pricks that don't understand things.

in my school we cover christianity, judaism & islam. Also greek & roman. that's basically it, and i hate it, cuz im not a big fan of religion. But all religions should be covered, but the first 3 should be covered the most, since they caused the crusades and other awful stuff

I'm not saying to teach the religions themselves in mandatory classes, I'm merely saying that their impact on history should be covered as well. Upir, you're wrong. Pagan religions have had just as much of an impact. The only reason that it's not so obvious is because most of it is subtle and/or is directly involved with Christianity. Not to mention that many of them existed long before Christianity and helped shape the history of that religion. Without Yule and the winter solstace Christmas would not be held on the day it is, Easter is in a similar boat. The influence of Pagan religions can be seen in architecture, art, and literature. Look at the witch hunts. The story of the serpents being chased out of Ireland was about the eradication of the Druids. Look at ancient Rome. Constantine intorduced Pagan customs and beliefs into Christianity to help end the conflict in his own nation. Pagan religions have had no less a part in the shaping of today's world than Christianity.

i completely agree with you.
the influences of pagan religions on other religions is astounding. think about the things associated with christmas and easter what do decorating a tree and bunnies with eggs have to do with jesus? these are traditions passed on when the holidays of pagan religions and christianity merged.
and i too feel that should be touched on..
i believe people have a right to know about religions, regardless of your own beliefs there are things everyone can benefit from in all religions.
i think that the reason religions are not taught more in schools is because of the taboo associated with a lot of them.

ArcaneConcept- I was to a point, I was teased and harassed for the fact I wore a pentagram and a cross, along with many other different symbols from many other relg.
People never understood, I was none of those and that I didn't hate anything I didn't know about. My teacher gave me a A+ for a report and video i had done, on how people see others in school.
I killed so many Barbies and jocks lives and showed there true natrue to the school.

When I was in high school here in Iowa, christianity was the only religion that was even minorly talked about. Though one day I stumbled upon a new age book in the school library about the elements. I attained more books and read them at school. Some people thought I was wierd when they asked me about it others thought it was interesting.

its called pregidist and well i dont think they cover pagan religions because they still see witches as bad and evil and well the outher look what we are faceing in the gulf war.and look what we were faceing in the outher wars and you think they want to sapoort there belifes or religions..... not likely

In essence I believe everyone should be taught the fundamental regilious beliefs of their own country of citizenship in school. So, if you are a national for example of the UK, the regilion is Christianity, Iran = Muslim, Thailand = Buddhism, etc.

If in a multi-cultural school then the national belief of the hosting country should be observed.

Its called conspiracy and manipulation of the mind, to turn the children of the christian guided light of the future into mindless zombies of said fatih. Blah blah blah.

the school i went to was not even allowed to teach about charles darwin let alone any religous history

At school we were to choose a religion and do a report on it. So people chose a multitude of different religions.

The choice of curriculum in public schools is usually the result of the state and county school boards directional bias. You cannot expect the memberrs of these school boards to include material which is in contrast to their own beliefs. The demographics of an area usually indicate how liberal the public educational system is in the area, and this is variable throughout the US. And the bias includes scientific as well as social studies curriculums; evolution is not taught in some areas because it does'nt exist there. Pre-Christian history does not include paganism except in a classical format, as in Greek and Roman history, which has been sterilized. In some parts of the UK the pagan aspects of their history are not mentioned in the schools, but learned from those who still follow the old religion. Here in the US those who want to learn, will learn if they are interested in their own heritage.

It's been a long time since I was at school, but as I recall though Christianity was the main focus, all the major religions got a mention.

From the post I've read so far it looks like the school Carsho attended comes out tops here.

Lets not forget how overall impressionable children are, would it be fair to go into too much detail of fringe religions/beliefs ?

I do somewhat agree. At school we were always force fed Christianity, and it is a good idea that children should learn that there are LOTS of other religions out there that have influenced history and shaped the world.

i guess it all depend on the school you go to

We covered Christinanity, Judaim, Hinduism and Islam, and the existence of any other religion was completely denied. Even Atheism wasn't allowed to be mentioned - being a religious stance some of us thought it should at least be explained, but no. I think my old high school has changed it's ways slightly now and is now widening it's lessons, but when I was there it was just the 'top three'. And we probably would have been expelled for pointing out that a lot of xtian doctrines came from the Pagans!

My daughters school will and has suspended students for having a Satanic bible or wiccan book, etc in their possesion. They don't however treat "The Bible" or book of mormon etc the same. If a student that is "wiccan" or even states they are threatens another student with a "curse" or "spell" they treat the same as a threat of physical violence. Yet ask them about their beliefs and if you can get them to answer they will deny it's authenticity.

I really don't have a problem with God or the Spirit being in school however, it the aspect of a "religion" being in a school that I am against.

Many schools try not to allow any religion in school. Sometimes I do think that they allow a negative misunderstanding dictate what they feel certain symbols represent.

I am pretty sure a person could wear a crucifix in school, but not a pentacle?

They need to allow all beliefs in moderation because showing that it is acceptable as long as they show respect, I would think students would have a better outlook on religion and beliefs.

its more often they only allow certain religious materials.

Yes, all beliefs or religions should be covered as to their impact on history. When I was young we barely even touched the aspect of Christianity as it was. And too, the teacher must be impartial and not confuse the teaching of history with the teaching of religion or their own beliefs.

We also learned very basic facts about most mainstream world religions. We delved more deeply into X-tianity, and like MisterTricky13 said, because its the religion that this country was founded on. And no one even covered Paganism lol, except to say that the pagans were converted and if not they were perescuted and killed.

No publicly funded school should teach about any religion. It is the responsiblity of the parents, not the State.

Some times the parents want the school to teach them that stuff though.

Because the parents are lazy and should not have kids.

Some are, some are not, my mother wanted me to have a opened mind, never really pushed any thing on me.
I found out in my high school, if you didn't believe in god you were going to hell. I laughed and asked if i could have peanuts on the way down.
I was in IN-house for 3 weeks for that

Doru, you need to reread what has been said. This has nothing to do with teaching religion it is about whether or not the impact that religion has had on the world should be covered as a part of history and if so then should it not be more than just the one that currently is? Though, as some have said, there are some states that do teach that more than one had a hand in it. Iowa on the other hand refuses to and some of its schools even persecute the students who follow the other relgions.

there is supposed to be seperation of church and state so religion should not be in school at all. religion is a personal choice

Unless you attended a private high school, you shouldn't have to face discrimination for wearing anything on your body, unless it hurts another student (I think thats the rule).

Also, in response to the subject of Christianity being taught above all else in High School. Well, in my public and private school (non-catholic), we were taught a basically equal amount of religious history and it's helped a lot with my college work.

Of course Hinduism my parents taught me pretty sparingly. Compared to India, where if your in a public school, you are taught basically Hinduism all the way.

I think it's the same in every other culture as well, whatever the dominating religion that's is what is taught, unless it's a private school. However, many Americans today have faced religious persecution and therefore, don't like other religions.

By the way, if you face religious persecution of any type religious hatred, you should try to sue, the school... My elementary school actually went to court with a father and mother, who didn't want a book, with a man and a man kissing. It was crazy, and stupid. The school actually kicked the parents out of the school, and basically said if you want to teach your child hatred, you can teach them yourself. In got into a big controversy..

placidchaos, I have read the thread and I believe that any form of religion, impact or otherwise, should not be taught in any publicly funded school, nor should a school violate freedom of religion. It is just my opinion, I am not asking for anyone to agree with my opinion.

I am very religous myself, but I don't beileve any should be tought about in school, school is for learning technology, math science and so forth. Religion should be kept at home, it causes too many too much stress to have it in schools. I have nothing against religion, but I think it is a personal chioce, and not something that should be tought about in school.

My high school in Washginton state is VERY small and closed-minded. Religions were hardly even mentioned, excepting when it was directly relating to the historical event... Which is... A lot of events!

If religion is to be brought up in schools, it should only be brought up in the context of its influence on history, and how it shaped cultures. Religion, whether we like it or not, is a huge part of being human.

In my small town, my parents raised me in a Pagan home... But let me know I need to chose where I want my spiritual path to follow. So, I have a pretty open mind to most things. I think students should be given the option of studying religion and the various effects on history and culture. Not in a "preaching" sense, but almost in an anthropological outlook. :)

I agree that there needs to be more "beliefs" or "religions" taught as part of World History in public schools...

I also agree with MaraJade that if a school is multi-cultural then that country's founding religion should be respected and observed...

This where the question comes in to the oringator of this post.

Were you rasied in a religious school or a public school??

Public or private I firmly believe in the separation of church and state. Save theological topics for outside of institutionalized learning facilities.

And yes, that goes for ALL religions. I believe religions are too vast and students are too impressionable that often what they teach has got opinion or faith based facts from the teach and thus would vary depending on the teacher themself.

No religion should be "gone over" in school. It discriminates against other religions.
As for Colleges that offer courses on the study of religion. I know of one in my state that is a Christian Private College, and they require you to take a religion course. But they have a lot to offer. They don't limit you to Christianity just because it's a Christian school.

I see Thank you for the insight on this matter.
Both of you.

But if I may inquire what is the difference between a relegious and public school?

public is run by the state or government(funding)

Religiously affiliated schools are typically privately owned.

I go to a community college, and they offer some really interesting courses regarding religion... One is called "Religions of the World"... The teacher is an anthropologist... So it's looking at the religion from a perspective of understanding and learning, rather than of "preaching," like I said before.

There are also some other classes that are specific to single religions, which are also taught in the same manner.

I just love to learn about what other people believe. Having crammed down the throat doesn't feel good... I agree in seperation of Church and state for sure... But kids should be taught acceptance and tolerance in schools...

Sorry let me be more specific.

They both empliment religion one not as deep as the other but you understand.

My daughter wore a pentacle to school once about 2 years ago and got into trouble and had to take it off, by the principal. My husband went down there and tag teamed his ass. I even had researched information on the pentacle for him to read, so that he wouldn't be so ignorant, but he was unwilling to even look at the information I had for him. I told him that the pentacle was actually an early Christian symbol, representing the wounds of Christ and how it's simply a protection symbol. He chose to stay ignorant. He had a bible in his office. So you know he isn't open to learn anything.....in a school. ??!

I don't think religions should be covered in Primary, Middle or High school. When I say religions, I mean ALL, christianity included. Not everyone believes in the same things, follow the same religions, etc. By only teaching one religion, education is being one-sided. YES christianity had a big influence in history but other religions did as well. College is a different story, they have a wider range of classes available.

Until people learn to accept everyone who is different from them, including in religious beliefs, I don't think anything religion related (other than *specifically* related to history subject being learned about) should be taught in school. Salem witch trials is a good example of the above sentance, religious beliefs were the reasoning behind the trials.

From what I've heard, Christianity will soon loose the war of religions... They say that in the future only Islam and Buddhism will remain of all the major religious currents... and that the return to old religions and politheism is inevitable.
I think that other religions aren't teached in schools because of fear... Because somehow, the christians recognize that the way they implemented their faith is a dead end... and that scares them.
Also, to subscribe to a previous post, USA was founded by christians and it is normal that they try to preserve their way of thinking and belief system.

my school didnt cover everything, while religion was in the library well reading about it was they really didnt talk about it

I actually think that no religion should be taught in public schools. This is something that has to be taught by parents or the clergy themselves. School is to diverse to be teaching such a broad ranged subject.

When I was at school we had Religious Education, unfortunatly the only real religion covered was christanity, any others were mentioned in passing. My personal thoughts on this are no wonder there is so much trouble in the world because children are not tolerance toward other people and their faiths. If there was tolerance in religion then the world would not in the state is in now.

I agree with RAAG. It needs to stay out of the schools.

I understand that Christianity is talked about somewhat in history. In my school it was really only discussed insofar as to show how the Crusades were started.

I honestly believe that everyone should be taught a little about different religions. How can one decide a religion is truly right for them unless they have the benefit of learning about many different religions?

It really wouldn't have to go far into each religion but a quick overview of them would be nice.

Perhaps as the world grows more tolerent this will be addressed.

Lol Okay, these religions and beliefs are learned in school. I know alot about the muslim faith and Buddist faith. I learned them in Human Geography and world history. I forgot the lastest class I took in which I learned almost everything from their beginning faith to their updated scrolls in the Muslim faith. It may just be that in my state in which we learn it it is required to. You can't talk about just one religion though. It's unfair and it leaves people with ignorant beliefs on religions and they become less open-minded.

I'm a firm believer that school's should teach the history of faiths other than Christianity. Most countries/cultures from old times had their own Gods who were worshiped, so I don't see why they wouldn't cover such topics in schools. Most were around before Christianity was spread.

In my country, my people's Gods are cover in the Maori legend subject which I guess is better than nothing.

i dont believe in god so it does not matter to me.

Asked a few friends with kids in school. They said their children were taught about many different religions in the world today and even Wicca was also brought up in most of them. It seemed the subject was touched on without prejudice and was just information for the kids.

I remember this from the 8th grade, my Earth study teacher was talking about Darwinism. He said something that set me and a few others in to a hot debate, about evolution and natural selection.

He said it was a load of crap and tried to stay away from the god thing, me and a few others pointed out to him, that calling a theory crap ment you were trying to tell us he was wrong. The debate lead on for days till he finaly got tired of it, and gave the ones that didn't "Sit down and close there mouths, and never say anything like that again Ex-spelled"
The two other people with me sat down, I was kicked outta school for a week.

I think teachers should have to go throw something that tells them, Not to do what my teacher did.

I agree with you 100% on this topic. Even public schools focus mainly on Christianity. I think it's wrong that schools don't allow children to learn about various world religions. Teaching only Christianity to them is going to make them believe that it IS the only religion, and when they discover Wicca, Buddhism, Muslim, or even Judaism they're going to have a huge shock and be filled with questions that most parents won't want to answer because they are closed-minded. Or they won't know how to answer because they themselves don't know about them.

I myself took a Comparitive World Religions course several years ago in college and while I did know of these other religions, learning about them opened my eyes to a whole world of different beliefs. I ended up taking them and incorporating many of them into my own practices.

If anything, I don't think children should be forced to be raised in the same religious upbringing that their parents were. I feel they should be allowed to ask questions, explore different religions on their own through books or talking with people of different religions, and when they're old enough to decide what path they want to take then THEY THEMSELVES can decide whether they want to follow Christianity, or any of the other religions that they feel suits them best.

I think that schools shouldn't limit the teachings to just one religion. If they're going to why have any teachings at all? All religions that have helped shape this world into what it is today should be included. It's unfair to those who believe in another religion to be solely learning about one.

maybe a home schooling is in order since its hard to find a school that offers anything remotely interesting in that department.

I went to school in a small Christian school, and learned about religion through a philosophy class, as well as history, we learned about opposing religions...Buddhism, Islam, etc.
However, Wicca and Satanism, etc. are always really touchy subjects with everybody...We would have been kicked out of the school if we practiced, suspended if we had any paraphernalia.

Nothing like that was ever taught in any of the schools I went to until I got into college. It would have been nice to have back that. Hindsight is always 20/20

Well that's cool then because I am more Buddhist than anything. =)

As my dear old dad says, there should not be any one religion higher than any other.... such as "one nation under God" he thinks that is wrong and puts Christianity over the other religions...and keeping religion neutral is a good thing in schools. Children should be exposed to all major religions unbiased and to show respect and tolerance of others' beliefs.

I'm with Doru on this one. Public schools should stay away from religion, except as HiSTory or Literature.

An interesting adjunct to this debate is occurring right now in Turkey. Ataturk turned the country into a secular entity by forcing the separation of church and state (which goes against Islam).

He did not outlaw the religion, but he forbade women wearing the headscarfs in schools.

The law has just been modified after the election of a PM whose wife wears the traditional headscarf.

France had allowed many foreign workers to attend their public schools and wear head scarves signifying their Islamic orientation. This law was recently reversed, and females are no longer allowed to attend school if they insist on wearing the head scarf.

I do agree with you. The diffrent religions should be taught in schools as part of history or lit. but, nothing else. I do believe in the seperation of Chrurch and state.

i believe in a higher power but why should religion be shoved down kids necks at school ?

Thank you csappleby, that's exactly what I'm talking about. I'm not saying to teach religion, just how they influenced history and the shaping of the modern world.

i personally think they should do away with history.. i think its plain boring..

i thought history was made so people wouldnt repeat the past and learn from it .. its my opinion and i feel that we havent learned nothing on what the history teaches

i remember my school teaching only history of Christianity and very little on the Jewish culture.. nothing else really.

If they must talk about religion in school, then it must be all religions, not just Christianity. Freedom of religion means all religions.

I remember when I was in middle school, oh so many years ago; we had one week for an entire semester dedicated to the study of other cultures and their religions.

My son who is currently in 5th grade is preparing for multicultural day at his school tomorrow. There are displays and so forth and all kinds of stuff put up for other religions based on those cultures.

I guess it just depends on the school the child goes to and the community around it really.

I believe that religion should stay out of public schools, if you want to bring a religious item, as long no one gets hurt physically it shouldn't matter. If someone wears a Pentacle around their neck it's the basically equivalent of wearing a Crucifix or a Star of David. If someone tries to take a pentacle off your neck, go to the first amendment, and protest. I was reading two books, at the same time, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli, and Nothing but Truth by Avi. Two very interesting YA novels.

well maybe things have changed in the past few years. cuz in global 9 we had a whole section on muslim, buddhism, and all sorts of other religions. i think it's just because most european rulers and people that changed the world were born into a christian-type belief.

I think when you say "Christianity" it is a little erroneous because what you are actually meaning is Protestanism. Catholics ARE Christians. I know one of my daughters took a World Religions class online for a college course and the Christians took over the class and made it a mockery and she dropped it. A sad thing really but they are a minority and most Christians are very nice people if you get to know them. You don't have to agree with the religion but the USA was not based on Christianity most of the forefathers were Gnostic and belonged to the Masonic lodges of various types as there is more than one type. There is even a new one that accepts men and women but forgot what its called. This is why there are so many mystical symbols or use to be on our money and other things in the US. I think they are trying to weed it out now and yes if they are throrough with World History they should cover them all. The crusades alone was very brutal and shouldn't show the religion in a very good light if the topic is covered truthfully.

When I went to college I was tired of US and World History so I took ancient Asian history and it covered Hinduism and Buddism and some other things. My instructor was a world traveler so it brought a lot to the class.

But initially it was the Puritans that had a big stronghold after the first settling and banned such things as celebrating Christmas etc. We haven't had that celebration here that long nor Easter, when a lot of the Gemans came to settle in the US they brought along many traditions including the Easter bunny.

As long as the many believe the few are wrong in what they believe they will overwhelm people with their views. I have always said elect someone in office that is different and make a statement. The only drawback to that is the Electoral college which should be abolished to make us not a Republic but a true Democracy with the people's vote favored and not those in office being able to overrule it...I still think that's nuts.

Good luck on your mission to make them play fair but I doubt it will be in your lifetime.

Enough on Religion and Politics.

I know that here in San Diego many sixth graders are taught ancient Egyptian history. When they come to the museum they were taught ancient belief system which included The Book of the Dead and 13 of the main gods and goddesses and what were their purposes and how archeologists believed they came about. If they do that with one ancient culture I dont understand why schools have issues doing the same for the Druids or other Ancient religions.

o0o0 I forgot to add that do the same for the Mayans. They do explain a bit of the Mayan Astrological Calendar and explain how priests and farmers had their own calendars to keep track of the stars. Its there when they introduce maybe a small aspect of religon.

the school my two daughters attend will not acknowledge wiccan. They say my daughter is emotionaly unstable because i'm goth. now i have a meeting with the counseler. So my kids watch scarry movies and arn't scarred.

Well Rosho, they are irrevocably tied together so you will have a hard time separating them even if in the US we deny it.

You are talking about cultures throughout history and if they are teaching about a certain countries beliefs I think by all means it should be included but you know I have always wanted to get history books from various countries to see if they even read the same. I am sure the Revolutionary war details are different in the UK and so it would be the perspective of teaching these ancient or even modern beliefs in the schools and who the author is and what books they choose for the curriculum. Didn't they teach you about Roman gods and godesses or Greek in school...that was their religious viewpoints in ancient times? Join the PTA or whatever they are calling it and make a loud sound. I think that nowadays it is getting much more complicated in this area and was less so say 40 years ago.

I feel badly for the kids now in school I think it is a lot tougher and more regulated than it ever was when I went to school except dress codes. I'm surprised they are not teaching a little of everything if it relates to history. I learned all about the Norse gods when we studied Scandinavia in school. Only time I have seen some of these types of things change is via a lawsuit unfortunately. I am all for diversity personally put someone in the know and make sure whatever belief system is taught it is taught without bias and of course you know Wicca formed in the 50s so it is relatively new to many people even though many may feel it has been around at least all their life it hasn't for everyone and it has taken time to be even acknowledged as anything more than "New Age". They are scared that their kids may get iinvolved in some sort of cult group if they know about it or any other type of religion in detail so they just don't teach about it whether fair or not you have a big wall to climb.

I think the main reason is that for centuries Christianity has been the dominate religion and it kinda canceled out a lot of the pagan relgions and labled them as evil and North America was mainly populated by Christian and therefore started teaching their beliefs.

I would Honestly love to have paganism, buddism ect as part of the school curicculum but at the same time there are so many religions that you could proably devote and entire class to the study of these and it would be really hard to try and impart the values of each in school. There would also be a lot of resistance to this kind of schooling ( because people fear what they don't know or understand)

i think that schools shouldnt teach any type of relgion because its all to contrevential with so many out there weather its related to history or not .

I see it this way religion is like a girl you can't live with them but you can't live without them.

I say this because everybody follows a religion whether it is a minority or majority.

We will none of us be able to escape following some type of faith whether it be wiccan,christian,buddism and the many others.

Technically speaking not all religions are formal, like Buddhism is an off shoot of Hinduism. Taoism isn't so much a religion but a way of life, or philosophy, there are many ways of defining religion. Also, atheists don't believe in god. Agnostics, believe in the idea of god, and Smurfs, believe whatever they want to believe, and they teach whatever they want to teach. It's a matter choice.

But they are still following a faith are they not rosho I mean athiest is still a belief.

Even though buddism is a branch off hinduism and that from confusism they are still following a belief.

Personally, I really do think they should teach a bit of other religions in school. As a Wiccan, my believes pre-date those of Christianity, and yet Christians (I went to Catholic school) tend to think any witchcraft is immoral, and they stray away from any religion other than their own.

The school I'm at right now, they don't teach religioin of any sort. But in my English class, I have been allowed to do a fe papers on Wicca, as they can't stop me. Other schools DO prevent students from writing papers on religions other than that of Christianity. (Although a lot of public schools don't even allow the conversation of religious beliefs to be discussed in classrooms.)

i think all religons should be equal but in socitey they sterotype not fair

The essence I believe is to have faith, I understand the "brainwashing" theory in schools, however, in the school I attended people did have an option to not to attend that class.

Wolfkiller, I was speaking about atheism, for the girl comment.

Anyways, it's an interesting topic, the definition of what goes too far in a religious sense for schools, and educational places.

That I agree to rosho because must do not have a open enough mind to understand it in the certian degree.

But all I was saying was everything is a belief if you believe in it.

Well I wouldn't go so far as that. I would say that everything could be a belief or personal moral, if they educate the masses about this personal belief.
A counter example is if a child makes up a language that only he or she knows, would that be considered a language?

Well true I see what you mean but language are very different from beliefs and religion in my opinion because people have always understanded religion.

Yes, but say only one person believed in a religion would that make it a religion or a belief?

Yes, I think schools should cover religion as an area of study and should survey all religions. Upir made a point of the impact to western civilication of the Judeo-Christian traditions, but other religions made large impacts to other parts of the world.

Our local high school has a World Religions class that is popular. It is a survey of religions from around the world.

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