#whenistherighttime

When looking at religion it can be a difficult topic to talk about in a school setting. The picture above is of my notebook from my human geography class. We spent about three weeks talking about different religions in the world and focused on the six “most popular” religions. Those religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese Faiths (Confucianism), Judaism, Christianity and Islam. While sitting in my geography class I found myself wondering if I could properly teach these religions in my classroom in the future while walking the tight rope between parents and administration.This was the first time I was truly diving fully into understanding different religions, but I constantly found myself bombarded with information about different religions. However, I did not have the ability to distinguish fact from misleading opinion. In “The Misplaced Fear of Religion in Classrooms” reading by Melinda D. Anderson it states “According to a 2010 Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life survey, in a country of many faiths and beliefs, there is a stunning absence of knowledge of the world’s religions.” I found this incredibly thought provoking. As teachers we are supposed to help students to become well-rounded people. Should students know at least the “most popular” religions so that they know how to have religious tolerance? If so, how can we properly teach religion so that it isn’t a teacher pushing their narrative, but a teacher providing all the necessary information to understand people’s beliefs all around the world?