Hello All,
I've been reading the depression/religion/decline of morals thread
with interest and some trepidation. The trepidation started with Gary
Scherling's comment about our schools, where exiting religion creates
a moral vacuum.
I'm not happy with our children's focus on blood and guts at all. I
don't like our trend in violent movies and some music forms that
glorify violence and total disregard for the humanity of people not
like us -- women, other colors, ages, and cultures. But I don't think
putting religion "back" in school will cure all this.
What religion do you put "back?" Many of the people on this list who
responded to this question are Christian. I'm Buddhist. So I wouldn't
be overjoyed if my children had to listen to Christian religion every
day in their schools. The figures I've heard, some of which were
quoted recently on this listserv, indicate that twenty percent of
Americans are something other than Christian, and so are over seventy
percent of people worldwide. So do we decide that because America is
mostly Christian , then we'll put Christian religion back in our
schools? Isn't that legalizing the lack of religious freedom so many
of our ancestors came here to escape in their homelands?
Or do we try to be fair, and rotate years? This year we'll do Islam,
and the next, Judaism, and the next Buddhism, and the next Christian,
and so the cycle shall repeat? Or do we choose a faster cycle, and
have a Educational Religion of the Week?
I think all we'll do is confuse the kids. And reduce religion to a
trivial, ho, hum, here we go again thing in their thoughts.
I understand the craving to do SOMETHING to coax the attitudes,
actions, and artistic expressions so objectionable to so many into
other channels. But teaching a moral code and naming it a particular
religion doesn't seem workable. No religion has a monopoly on ethical
and moral behavior. Respect, hard work, responsibility, caring for
others, service to the community, are all ideals many religions share
and strive for.
So teach those ideals. But don't burden them with naming them a
religion. Teach religion in its place, in the synagogues, churches,
and temples, and have the proper counsellors of each faith do the
teaching. But in school, where we all come togther to learn,
regardless of faith, putting exclusionary barriers up to that
inclusiveness doesn't help us. It doesn't help the teachers, either,
asking them to speak for a religion at all, much less one that might
not be theirs.
As for why I put "back" in quotation marks, in some ways religion is
still very much alive in school. Ever seen a class full of kids before
an exam? Most of them are praying, in whatever words they choose, that
they pass the test :-D! That's as it should be. No one's keeping them
from invoking their Almighty. No one's forcing them to pray to another
one, either.
Namaste,
Martha
Martha Landerman
rti1mlm@roadnet.ups.com
senior creative analyst
UPS Information Services Maryland
2311 York Road
Timonium, MD 21093
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Try yoga. As your body flexes, so does your mind.
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--"Martha Landerman" <mlm@smtpgwy.roadnet.ups.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>