The Impossibility of Removing Religion from Schools

The recent uproar over states requiring people to place the Christian Bible in schools, post the Ten Commandments, and teach Bible studies is being hailed as a “push to incorporate religion in state curriculums.”

What Is Religion?

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, religion is defined as: 1) A personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices; 2) the service and worship of God or the supernatural; 3) a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith; 4) scrupulous conformity.

These definitions fail as a useful instrument because they don’t explain the psychological purpose of religion. What purpose does religion serve for humanity?

Is it, as Ambrose Bierce contends, “a daughter of Hope and Fear, explaining to ignorance the nature of the Unknowable”? Is it, as Karl Marx contended, “the opiate of the people” and “the sigh of the oppressed creature…the heart of a heartless world…the spirit of a spiritless situation”?

The root origin of the word religion comes from religare, meaning to bind things together. This gives us our clue as to the true nature of religion.

“Religions are organized systems which hold people together.” – Oxford Reference (https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780192800947.001.0001/acref-9780192800947-miscMatter-3)

At its core, religion is a set of rules that govern our relationships with one another, with ourselves, and the world around us. That’s why removing religion from schools is an impossibility. The only question is which religion will be promoted in schools, and whether that religion is ultimately helpful or harmful to the generation being taught it.

Who Makes the Rules?

Man is a rule-oriented creature. We create rules about how to operate without even being aware we’ve done so. We touch a stove, get burnt because it was hot, and declare a rule, “Don’t touch hot stoves.” Cold stoves are okay. Hot stoves are not.

These rules allow us to make quick decisions about what to do that help us avoid pain and seek pleasure, the base system our brain uses to determine what will help us survive in the world. If it causes us pain, avoid it. If it brings us pleasure, seek more of it.

With organized religion, we inherit a set of rules from our ancestors. We’re promised that following these rules – even if they contradict our immediate desires – will bring us good things eventually. We’re also warned that failing to follow these rules will bring us harm, sometimes permanent and lasting harm.

Without organized religion, we’re left to figure out the right rules to use in governing our relationships on our own. We, in essence, spend much of our lives trying to reinvent the relationship wheel with disastrous impact.

A Recipe for Relationship Chaos

The problem when we rely on our brains alone to do this work is that much of what is pleasurable for us does not promote good health. Soda and candy bars bring pleasure but create a host of other problems for us. Broccoli and Brussel sprouts may not bring pleasure to the taste buds but produce healthier bodies.

Our brains are untrustworthy when it comes to deciding between what is good and bad because our brains are limited to our personal experience and dependent upon what we’ve been able to learn from others in order to make these decisions. And what we don’t know CAN – and often does – hurt us, as any adult in their 40’s can tell you. Something that doesn’t seem “that bad” to a teen or a 20-something becomes a cause for deep regret in the 40’s and 50’s.

Worse yet, our brains allow us to lie to ourselves about how bad a thing is, especially when it comes to our relationships with others. We are fully capable of deceiving ourselves into believing the destructive thing we want to do is good and wholesome. We justify, rationalize, and deny the truth when it contradicts our desire for something we want.

We will ignore all the studies that show that our behavior is damaging our relationships in favor of rationalizing and justifying our behavior so that we can remain the hero of our own story.

Laws: Human Rules Imposed on Society

In the absence of guidance from organized religion, we create laws. The trouble is that these laws are human generated. It’s all based on our limited understanding of the world around us and of each other. It’s easy to codify into law something that is fundamentally destructive without being aware of it.

A good example of codifying something into law that ultimately proves to be socially disastrous was the decision by man to codify slavery into law. When you teach people that some human beings can be treated as objects and some can’t, it automatically creates divisions in society.

It sets the stage for a “rules for thee and not for me” mentality that undermines the very fabric of society. If only some people have to follow the rules, who gets to decide that? It often ends up being the people with the most power, or greatest access to resources, rather than the person who has the best interests of everyone at heart.

Religion Can’t Be Removed – But It Should Be Examined

Religion will always be relevant to society because mankind will always generate rules that govern their relationships with one another, themselves, and their environment. It’s not, as Marx charged, an “opiate of the Masses,” or a “sigh of the oppressed.” It’s part of the way that our brain processes the world around us and makes important decisions about how to survive and thrive.

The challenge is to distinguish between the religions. Which rules truly help man move forward and which destroy life?

Teaching children what to believe without teaching them how to discover which beliefs are worthy of their attention and which aren’t is not a recipe for obedience. It’s a recipe for rebellion.

And now we come to the true purpose of any education: Learning how to discover which beliefs and ideas are worthy of pursuit and which are not.

School: The Perfect Place for Religion

Those who argue that religion doesn’t belong in schools don’t understand the true purpose of an education. It’s not about finding a job or preparing for a career. It’s about learning how to find, and test, the answers to our own questions about life, the universe, and our place in it.

Given that relationships form a huge cornerstone of our lives, it’s essential to teach children how to get the answers to their questions about religion and relationships in a manner that’s healthy and will lead them to a place where they can thrive and grow.

Ignoring religion in schools is like blindfolding our children and then sending them out to walk through a landmine. Maybe they’ll find their way with no mishaps. More likely, life will tear them to ribbons. If they do survive the experience, they’re far more likely to come out with life-altering wounds than they are to arrive whole-bodied and fully equipped for life’s challenges. They’re being left to figure out how to navigate the relationship minefields without any guidance or support.

The truth is that even if religion isn’t a formalized subject on the menu of things being taught, religion is being taught in schools already – it’s just not being presented as a religion. And, for that reason, it’s far more dangerous.

Children aren’t being made aware of the religion they’re being taught by those who think they aren’t teaching a religion but are, in fact, teaching their own self-made religion. They aren’t being given the tools to examine that religion and decide for themselves whether they want to follow it or discard it.