Blog #2: Religion and Education

I found both the U.S. News article and the Library of Congress Artifact very interesting. I actually thought that they had similar points: that children should not be forced to participate in an activity that goes against their beliefs. This certainly was the point in the Illinois case dealing with the moment of silence and in the Billy Gobitas case involving saluting the American flag. In both of these cases children were expected to participate in daily rituals that went against their beliefs. I understand the logic in the rulings of both cases. When I have observed the moment of silence in schools, I have never seen a teacher encouraging children to pray. It is, however, entirely possible for that to happen, and I suppose by eliminating the practice, you then eliminate the possiblity of a teacher forcing his or her religious beliefs on children whose parents may have other beliefs.

The case about evolution and creationism in schools is a little different. Creationism is clearly grounded in religious belief. Because schools are operated by the government and because the constitution states that there must be a separation of church and state, then it is clear that religious views should not be taught in science classes. Evolution, on the other hand, is a scientific theory and although some may argue that there are weaknesses in this theory, the vast majority of the scientific community agree that those claims are unfounded. I suppose that some may say that forcing a student to learn about evolution may go against his/her beliefs. But I would argue that it is important for all students to understand the theory of evolution. If they then choose to doubt it or reject it, that is their perogative. But it is the theory that is accepted not only in this county but in most developed countries around the world and an educated person should be informed about it.