Connections Quarterly Winter 2018 - World Religions | Page 6

T E ACHING ABO U T RE LIGIO NS AS D I VER S I T Y ED UC AT I O N Continued from page 3 courses for students? As a baseline, world religions courses help students gain basic knowledge about the history, texts, beliefs, practices, and material manifestations of the world’s largest religions. This is impor- tant given that most Americans are woe- fully uninformed about the world’s great re- ligious traditions. In 2010, the Pew Research Forum conducted an extensive study of knowledge about religions in the U.S. and the findings were disappointing. Less than half of Americans know that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist, the Jewish Sabbath begins on “ Because religion has played such a significant role in history, and it continues to shape cul- ture and politics in pow- erful ways, omission of religion in the curriculum gives students the false impression that religion is somehow insignificant and unimportant for understanding the world around them. Friday, and the four canonical gospels are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Fewer than four-in-ten (38%) correctly associate Vishnu and Shiva with Hinduism, and only about one-quarter of Americans are aware that most people in Indonesia, the country with the world’s largest Muslim population, are Muslim. 3 In a Supreme Court case which prohibited state-sponsored school prayer and Bible readings in public schools, Associ- ate Justice Tom Clark wrote: “[I]t might well be said that one’s education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization.” 4 Because religion has played such a significant role in history, and it continues to shape culture and politics in powerful ways, omission of religion in the curriculum gives students the false impression that religion is some- how insignificant and unimportant for un- derstanding the world around them. Reducing Bias and Making Good Ethical Decisions ” Teaching about religion is not merely about gaining knowledge. It is also about help- ing students make good ethical decisions. In 1984, the National Council for the Social Studies stated: “Knowledge about religions is not only a characteristic of an educated person but is absolutely necessary for under- 3. Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey. [Washington, D.C.]: Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, 2010. 4. Abington Township v. Schempp 374 U.S. 203 (1963). Page 4 Winter 2018 CSEE Connections