Is teaching religion in public schools morally wrong?
I don’t see anything wrong with teaching religion in public schools. I think it only becomes wrong when the teacher tells students that they should believe in a particular religion, or they should adhere to any religion. For example, if the teacher just says: “The Bible is the Holy Book of Christians. It has an Old Testament and a New Testament…” That’s perfectly fine. But I think the moment the teacher forces a student to believe in the Bible, that’s when it becomes wrong.
Not morally but ethically wrong, yes. If you mean that “teaching” is the same as indoctrinating, then is unacceptable. If you mean “teaching” as understanding the religious phenomena that covers the evolution of ALL religions, which I don’t think you are talking about, but taking Sunday school into public schools, then it clearly goes against the nature of education.
I’m writing from the UK where religion is taught in state schools – and, yes, I think it is morally wrong. Religion, even if taught as history, is a matter of conviction and belief, not for education. Time would be better spent studying philosophy, rather than something that many children, particularly in this country, see as nothing more than superstition.
I don’t think it is morally wrong if it is taught in general terms, encompassing ALL religions. I do not feel that one religion should have dominance over the others, for that. For every minute spent on Christianity, there should be one spent on Wicca, one spent on Buddhism, Islam, and all the others. If, by religion, you mean Christianity, then yes, it is wrong. Not everyone is a Christian. And to focus on just that, would be preaching, not teaching. Oh, and when you do focus on Christianity, you have to break that up as well. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormans, Catholics, Baptists, and so on, all believe differently. And don’t forget Atheism and Satanism. Those are belief systems as well.
