Flash forward to the very first day of school ten years from now. As students sit anxiously in their seats in a packed auditorium, the principal presents the rules and regulations for the school year. At the end of his presentation, he hesitantly addresses the slide of religious dos and don'ts. He explains the consequences of participating in religious activity, like reading the bible or praying, and sends the students on their way. Public schools should allow students to express their religious beliefs in the classroom because it is the foundation of our country, the origin of morals, and the right of our students.
Religion is the foundation of our country and teachers cannot instruct their students on American history without describing the religious influence. First, religion is the reason the colonists fled to the New World to begin with. “Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution” (“Colonial America”). Second, America is the nation it is today due to the colonists that envisioned its future.
Dr. Mark David Hall explains the theme of Christianity in the American story:
If one is to understand the story of the United States of America, it is important to have a proper
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Melinda D. Anderson found that “educators frequently counter that a public-school curriculum is incomplete without religious literacy, which the American public sorely lacks." In order for students to have a well-rounded education, religion needs to be discussed in the classroom. Teachers believe that the discussion of religion can bring some discomfort, but this feeling is beneficial to the learning process. “And where better to discuss a thorny topic like religion, some say, than in a public-school classroom; they note that discomfort is a natural and essential part of the learning process” (Anderson). The classroom is just another place where religion should be