Introduction
The process of education is a complex and intricate effort to equip students with necessary and sophisticated knowledge. The primary goal of schools is to make the learners competent in the future in terms of being skilled in the labor market as well as when making important life decisions. Religions rarely constitute the workforce demands and only comprise a small fraction of jobs. However, they should be taught since they can have a profound impact on the cohesiveness of the population.
Religion in Schools
The proper role of religion in schools should be introductory in order to inform students about each particular religious thought, philosophy, and set of beliefs. In other words, it should enter the curriculum in the area of academics only. The latter means that no student should be compelled to practice a specific religion due to a school’s bias. Although some fervent atheists criticize religion in schools as being unnecessary, the subject needs to be a part of the curriculum since religions are unavoidable. Practically all nations have a significant portion of the population identifying with one religion or another (Biesta, 2020). Being aware of their beliefs and perspectives on the issues is not only useful for avoiding unnecessary conflicts but serving their needs as well. School graduates eventually become entrepreneurs and employees, where the essential aspect is to serve the customers. Since a large portion of the population is religious, having strong religious knowledge is useful for the primary purpose of the school. In addition, schools are designed to equip learners with the skills which are necessary to make competent decisions in life.
Teachers and Their Religious Beliefs
Religion in schools should be taught from a neutral ground in order to ensure that these classes are not simply indoctrination sessions. A teacher on religion should be educated and trained to avoid expressing their faith when teaching about the subject. In addition, they should be restricted in expressing bias towards one religion over the other. However, it is permissible for a student to share his or her religious beliefs with the class as long as it is not disrupting the lessons and the learning environment (Biesta, 2020). As a part curriculum, a teacher on religion should invite religious representatives from different religions at least once during the process of education. Since the teacher provides an objective, unbiased, and purely academic take on religion, these representatives will fill the gap in terms of spiritual and practical aspects of being a religious person.
Sharing Religious Beliefs
Whenever a student decides to share his or her religious beliefs, it is important that such a revelation does not disrupt the class. It additionally means that teachers should not engage in the subject to analyze, scrutinize, or criticize one religious belief, especially since it is a student (Biesta, 2020). In other words, students should be allowed to express themselves however and whichever way they prefer, but teachers teaching religion should not avoid bias and indoctrination in their work.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the proper way to teach religion is by providing students with objective, non-judgmental, and purely academic competencies on a wide variety of religions. Thus, students should graduate from their schools by being completely aware and knowledgeable about different religions and their set of beliefs. While learning, students should be able to express themselves freely, including religiously, but the learning process must not be disrupted.
References
Biesta, G. (2020). Religion and education: The forgotten dimensions of religious education? Brill.