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This professor makes a case for religious education in school
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Without knowledge of the worlds religions, students will not understand the traditions and values of their neighbors and co-workers, Laycock wrote for Quartz. They will be ill-equipped to compete in a global marketplace. Most critically, they will have no framework with which to assess claims about religion made by politicians and the media. - photo by Herb Scribner
Joseph Laycock, an assistant professor at Texas State University, wrote an article for Quartz this week that advocated for religious education in school. His reason was simple: education on world religions can teach students a lot about the type of people theyll meet in the world.

Without knowledge of the worlds religions, students will not understand the traditions and values of their neighbors and co-workers, Laycock wrote for Quartz. They will be ill-equipped to compete in a global marketplace. Most critically, they will have no framework with which to assess claims about religion made by politicians and the media.

Laycock wrote that religious literacy should begin before college, since many Americans don't attend college. He was quick to point out that there already is some religious education in high schools, but students still arent knowledgeable enough.

He may be right. The Pew Research Center reported in 2010 that only about half of Americans could answer what Laycock called simple questions about the worlds religions, like where the golden rule appears in the Bible, that the Dalai Lama is Buddhist and that the Jewish Sabbath begins on Fridays.

Laycock also mentioned a 2005 study from the Bible Literacy Project, which found that 10 percent of teenagers can name the top five world religions Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism and 15 percent couldnt name any of those religions.

But religious education in public schools has drawn controversy since the Everson v. Board of Education decision, when the Supreme Court ruled that the federal and state governments cant push one religion over another. This has made some people believe there should be a separation between church and state, and that students and teachers should be very careful about how they discuss religion in the public school arena, if at all.

The concern over religion in public schools continues today, too. California parents have recently aired concerns about yoga which is a form of religious practice in Hinduism being used in physical education classes, Mark Kellner of Deseret News National reported. But a California court ruled that yoga classes taught in the schools are devoid of any religious, mystical, or spiritual trappings, Kellner reported.

Theres also been questions about whether public university basketball teams can have a team chaplain, according to The Global Dispatch. The Freedom From Religion Foundation sent letters to more than five public colleges saying that its unconstitutional for the teams to employ religious leaders, Global Dispatch reported.