Essay on "Religious Issue or Issues Facing Schools"

Essay 5 pages (1553 words) Sources: 2

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Religious Issue or Issues Facing Schools

Teaching of the Ten Commandments in schools

The Ten Commandments are part of the Christian teachings in the world. The Ten Commandments are part of the teachings that are attributed to the teachings in the bible and based on the Christian doctrines. The concept of the Ten Commandments is underpinned under the normal or universally accepted norms and parameters of living that are universal among the Christian multitude in the world. Nonetheless, not all people in the world subscribe to the teachings and faith bestowed in the teachings of the Ten Commandments. This has been an issue in many schools and institutions where Ten Commandments are considered to aggravate students who subscribe to other faiths in the society. This study will resolve to exemplify the different concepts and pillars that hold or refrain from holding to the act of teaching the Ten Commandments in schools (Thomas, 2007).

Proponents

The concept of Christianity in the world is directed to the evolution and success of the teachings contained in the bible. According to the teachings that are part of the Ten Commandments, it is relevant to experience the history of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit who forms a dominant figure or body called the trinity. The existence of the trinity is attributed to the three people making up the trinity being God the father, God the son, and God the Holy Spirit. According to the teachings under this doctrine, God the father beget the son called Jesus who came to the world through taking up the human nature and being born of a normal human body and process. The concept of the Ten Commandments arises from the teachings of God through Jesus Christ and to the people dwelling in the world, more to those who subscribe to the faith of Christianity and its doctrines.

The Ten Commandments offer customary and faith-oriented teachings that touch on human behavior, belief, relation with one another and God, and relation with the material property in the world. The essence of the teaching the Ten Commandments in schools and other institutions is to offer learners an equitable ground of learning. This ground will build into their innate faith of Christianity in the world. The Ten Commandments are rudimentary teachings that touch on the norms and ethical standards that should be made as part of life among the students in and outside the classroom. By using the teachings contained in the Ten Commandments, it is practical to find new measures of operations and relation that will pave the way for a new mode of religion in the world. In the end, the students will be able to succumb to the doctrine of Christianity with basic facets being exemplified while they are still in schools (Thomas, 2007).

Opponents

The teaching of the Ten Commandments has not been accepted universally in many institutions that cater for students from a diverse society and environment. From the opposition sides on teaching Ten Commandments to learners, it is not necessary to introduce the concept of religion to learners while they are not able to consider further implications that will have upon their individual lives. Many other doctrines and religious movements are open for engagement to the learners. Teaching the Ten Commandments alone to learners is creating a biased environment. The environment where the learners are not given the innate desire and freedom to choose their faiths and subsequent teachings. Learners are supposed to choose them after they have managed to think and make sound judgments. For instance, teaching the Ten Commandments to students offers them a narrow understanding of the general structure of religion in the world.

The concept of Christianity is not the only religion in the world and many societies. For instance, there are other religions and doctrines like those of Hindu, Islam, and many others. In most of these religious movements, the Ten Commandments are not applicable to life. They do not make any sensible background to offering future teachings to learners in and out of class (Thomas, 2007). Although many of the teachings within the Ten Commandments are relevant and related to those of Islam and some other religions other than Christianity, the processes of offering these teachings and the doctrines that follow are diverse in nature. Therefore, it does not make any legible sense to have all the learners from a diverse generation to access and live in accordance to the teachings of Christianity in the world.

Current religious issue facing schools

Several religious issues have resulted from teaching of the Ten Commandments in schools. The Ten Commandments are rudimentary to the origin and teachings of Christianity. However, not all learners subscribe to the doctrines of Christianity. When all the learners are made to learn of the Ten Commandments yet they subscribe to other faiths other than Christianity, their influence on their innate faiths and doctrines is shunned because of the school curriculum. For instance, it does not make equitable sense to teach the Ten Commandments in a classroom made up of half the students being of Islam faith, others being of Hindu faith, and others being Christianity. In many cases, students of different faiths have been forced to abandon their faiths for the sake of following the Christian faith. It is against the faith of other faiths to ask learners to compose a story with contemporary activities as relates to the Christmas and other events ascertained in the Bible. Such and many other issues have emerged in the world institutions.

When it comes to replication of the immediate faiths among learners, similar issues have always arisen. Because teaching the Ten Commandments to all learners is compromising on the strength of other faiths, it pays a lot to have an influential mechanism of control that does not touch on the general performance of the learners in and out of the classroom. For instance, telling learners to respond on a class assignment over writing a composition about a Christmas holiday appears to dwell on more of the Christian faith other than those immediate to the learners. Learners should be accorded their respective avenues to exercise their faiths in relevance to the general performances of their religion in the world (Thomas, 2007).

Ethical issues that becomes prevalent

The ethical issues have resulted in several misunderstanding and clash of faiths among the people involved. In many situations, learners of different faiths have boycotted classes due to overreliance on Christian perspectives without enough significance of the other faiths in the world. According to many learners, it will have been possible to embrace other faiths amongst dwelling on one mode of Christianity that does not account to all the people in the world. Nonetheless, the teachings on religion should be universal and based on the immediate faiths of the members within the classroom. Because of the clash of faiths and other religious connotations contained in the Ten Commandments, it has been hard to manage learners of different faiths in one classroom and one institution. The practices that are expected from the teachings vary from one religious movement to another. The ethical standards within such institutions have gone down to a level that has become necessary to have basic teachings assigned to a group of learners under certain religions (Thomas, 2007).

How my school has addressed this issue, what has worked, and what has not worked

My school has involved a number of steps and procedures in order to handle this issue in the society. Stoppage of teaching the Ten Commandments is not the equitable solution to handling cases involving religion in schools. Within my school, measures have been put in order to cater for the different learners who subscribe to other faiths apart from that which bases its teachings on the Ten Commandments. For instance, my… READ MORE

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