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Instruction about Religion
in Public Schools
OABITAR'S Position Statement
- Teaching about religion in public schools is
legal when conducted in accordance with commonly agreed-upon
guidelines, and a program of study about religion can
be appropriate to, and of significant worth in, a youngster’s
general education.
- Teaching about religion should take place only
as part of a well-defined academic curriculum—one that evidences religious
neutrality and encompasses age-appropriate subject matter, with teaching
objectives that are clearly stated and public.
- Teaching about religion should not
take place unless
the teacher has suitable academic background in the subject matter, adequate
training to guide a secular program of
study, and sufficient resources to
conduct instruction fully in keeping with the following three guidelines
(4-6).
- Teaching about religion must be accomplished within the framework of the
civil public school, which recognizes that there is no single normative
culture or religion for all students to accept.
- Teaching about religion should be conducted in a spirit of fairness and inclusiveness, acknowledging the actuality and nature of religious and
nonreligious diversity among the body politic, and respectful of all students’
freedom to hold a religious worldview or a
nonreligious
worldview.
- Teaching about religion in public education needs to serve the interests of
a pluralistic society, preparing students to meet with aplomb the
full spectrum of religious and nonreligious diversity within the public realm.
May, 2002 |
