Religious Scripture or Secular Ethics in Public School

1008 Words5 Pages
Religious Scripture or Secular Ethics in Public Schools Should children be exposed to religion in public schools? What if an optional course existed for the students that would like to absorb religion? If that course exists, what happens to those pupils who do not want to be to be acquainted with religion? Should another course be offered for those children? Providing religion courses in public schools has been a controversy for many for years. Recently, in some schools, there have been optional religious courses offered to the students for about an hour a week. Unfortunately, for those students that opted out of the doctrinal course, they have been left with nothing extra to learn. So because of this, ethics courses have been created for students who do not want to learn about religion. Some religious supporters disagreed with the existence of ethic courses, while others agreed it was a positive discovery. A large group of people came together to discuss these issues and disagreements; many people stated their opinions and beliefs. Within the discussion, the two sides argued over the existence of the ethics courses: does it benefit students’ morality or prevent it from flourishing? So what exactly did each of these classes have to offer students? During the discussion, teachers and students described their experience within either of the two courses and if they believed the content were positive or negative. In the ethics course, children come together in a giant circle and discussion relatable situations and topics. The students talk about how one should react in certain issues and whether something is right or wrong. In a clip of the class, the teacher chose a topic: lying. Is it moral or immoral, is it acceptable or unacceptable? Each child is able to state his or her opinion about lying. One young boy claimed that if his grandmother knitted him a sweater

More about Religious Scripture or Secular Ethics in Public School

Open Document