Religion and Education in America By: Coty Lipply and DeAllen Jackson

-To further inform you about religion and education in America and how schools, communities, students, and the country as a whole is impacted. -This will help you as a future teacher because you will encounter religion in your school in some way or another. Objective

-In almost every public school in the United States, attitudes and behaviors in the classroom presume an unacknowledged, yet pervasive, Christian norm. -Think how this affects students who are not Christian. Introduction

-Christianity is the major religion that influences our culture, especially when it comes to calendar breaks, school activities, and even school projects. -Even if you're not Christian like many students in our schools you are affected. ·

-Many students with other religions in schools feel that their religion identity is ignored, marginalized, and even discriminated against. This can threaten their ethnic identity development, relationships,and even academics. -I’m sure many of you have had some experiences you have encountered or heard of where a student has been negatively affected in school because of their religion.

-People often feel anxiety or embarrassment because their religion was often different from their peers. -For many students religion is strongly tied to ethnic identity. They often use religious activities to be with people like themselves and transmit their culture to their children.

-If you have ever attended another person's religious activities think about what you took away from the experience. -Children often want to fit in with their peers and they often feel embarrassed if they are different.

-This has long term effects on students not only on their self-esteem, but also in the loss of knowledge about their religion, language, and even family relationships. -Ex. Students may feel left out when schools celebrate Christian holidays in class. This causes students to be self-conscious and even ashamed at times because they didn't feel “normal”. Effects on these students...

-Christian normalcy, like religious dominance in many countries, is only one facet of religious oppression, which is not about theology so much as power. ● A religion becomes oppressive when its followers use it to subordinate the beliefs of others, to marginalize, exclude and deny privileges and access to people of other faiths. Religion Has Power

-Although many schools make accommodations for students who are not Christian, by excusing students for certain religious holidays, these accommodations can result in educational experiences that are unequal. -“Making up” for religious observances is a burden most Christian students do not carry. Even Accommodations Don’t Always Work

-This is the statistical relationship between intelligence and religiosity. Studies have started to explore the link between religiosity and issues related to intelligence and educational level in countries as well as on the individual level. Religiosity and Intelligence

-Most of the recent studies have found a negative correlation between I.Q. and religiosity. On the individual level, the education level is positively correlated with a belief in a God In African countries, and negatively correlated in Western countries. -Although statistical studies show that the poorest countries tend to be more religious, experts suggest that the reason may be that religions play a more active social, moral and cultural role in those countries. Religions in wealthy countries used to have a more specific moral and spiritual role.

Statistics

- To some degree, those with a lower level of education are more likely to "talk the talk" when it comes to religion. That is, they're more likely to say they believe in God, place religion prominently in their lives, and recognize religion's importance in the world. -But those with a higher level of education are as likely as those with less education to "walk the walk". By belonging to a congregation and attending services regularly. These results may point to a failure on the part of organized religion to attract and connect with those with a lower education level, perhaps reflecting the trend in the last century toward the more highly educated. Bottom Line

- Know Your Own Students: There are a lot of religions in the world. Start with the ones in your classroom. - Learn Your ABCD’s: Know about the religions Architecture, Books, Cities, and Special Days. - Recognize Religion As A Part Of The Students Social Identities: Religion and religious institutions are one of the major ethnic communities that organize and gather As a future teacher these are some ways how you can make religion matter in your classroom!

- Avoid The Urge To “Christianize” religion and holidays: Observe religious holidays in their own context and own time - Include Religion In Our Curricula Whenever It's Appropriate: Knowledge about religions is important for students living in our religiously pluralistic democracy, and in our global community

-Why is it important to incorporate different religions in classrooms? -What are some other ways to incorporate different religions into classrooms? -Or do you think we should keep doing what we are doing because its what the education system has been doing for a long time and people wont accept the change? -Everyone has their own opinions on religion and education, but we need to find a way that can help all the students because the longer we wait the more students that can be affected by this pending debate. As a future teacher think about how you will answer these questions...

religious.aspx t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 income/ -second-largest-religion-in-each-state/ “Because I had a Turban” By: Khyati Y. Joshi (Article) References