Religion+in+Schools

[[image:boston_school.jpg]] [[image:roxbury_school.jpg width="294" height="168"]]
[|Boston Latin School] [|Roxbury Latin School]

In the beginning, religion in education was the most important part of American schools. The [|Bible] was the first book used in school, and it was the key to education. Religion in schools started with the [|Puritans] in the 17th century. The Puritans believed the Bible was the book of God's laws and they studied it and taught out of it in the classroom. They believed that the devil was behind all evil deeds and that reading the Bible would help "ward off Satan". The first school in America, the Boston Latin School, was founded in 1635. At one point in time, while under John Lovell's regime, the requirement for admission into the Boston Latin School was to read verses from the Bible. Then, in 1645, a Puritan that had emigrated from England named John Eliot founded the[| Roxbury Latin School], which is still in existence. In 1947, the Supreme Court declared [|Separation of Church and State]. This basically meant that people can freely exercise any particular religion they wish, without having any one religion imposed on them.

What did we believe before the shift?
Before the shift we believed that religion should be part of a school's curriculum and that teaching with the Bible was the only way to teach. We believed we needed to teach religion to prepare boys for the ministry and to help us "ward off the devil". Students learned to read using the Bible, and from then on read it regularly.

What did we believe after the shift?
After the shift, we believe that religion should not be taught in schools. We are making sure that one religion isn't being promoted to the school. One reason is so that students don't begin questioning their beliefs. By separating church and state, people have the ability to choose their own religions, that is if they choose to have a religion at all. Education no longer has a religious purpose, but its purpose is to teach students and prepare them for college and careers.

How do we still act that we believe the old belief?
Take for example the [|RPERC] (the Religion and Public Education Resource Center), they believe that there is a difference between teaching religion and teaching about religion. They believe we can educate without promoting religion. Schools still offer classes such as World Religions, The Bible as Literature, and Religious Literature of the East and the West, along with the History of Western Civilization that teach about religion. The RPERC believes that we can incorporate religion into education. Take for instance the subject of [|Evolution]. In schools, evolution is being taught more than the idea of [|Creationism], or creation science, but some religious groups don't agree with this because the theory of evolution can be contradictory. Some religious groups want to "control" public education, and what books are being used in classes. One reason for this is that they believe that studying topics such as evolution may lead to Atheism or students questioning their religious beliefs. Some states have even passed laws that require creation science to be taught in class. The courts find this unconstitutional because they promote one religious view, however, some of the theories of creation can be taught appropriately. All in all, religion can still be found in schools, but it is only taught about in a non-promotional way.

Resources:
The Story of American Public Education - http://www.pbs.org/kcet/publicschool/index.html History of American Education Web Project - [|www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfrnb/puritans.html] The Religion and Public Education Resource Center - [|Religion in the Public School Curriculum] - [|www.csuchico.edu/rs/rperc/faq2.html] Recent Evolution / Creation Science Conflicts in U.S. Schools - [|www.religioustolerance.org/ev_school.htm] Wikipedia - [|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creationism] - [|en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution]