Bible study in public schools

Bible study in public schools

Bible study in public schools has done more harm than good has it has led to the development of mental health in students, it promotes a specific religion and also creates esteem issues in those from a minority tradition. Religion is supposed to be the one key element that sensitizes students on accepting and understanding different religious practices by expanding their knowledge but this isn’t the case.

Religious education has often been grouped into confessional and non-confessional religious education. Whereby confessional educates students on having obligations towards a specific religion like Catholicism or Islam while non-confessional deals with providing relevant education to the student.

By introducing bible study in public schools, one hopes to equip knowledge to the student so that they see differences in our worldviews and eventually develop a tolerance for other people’s beliefs. Regretfully, all that bible study has managed to do is create a feeling of superiority and discrimination.

Promotes a particular religion

Previous research found that students who attend public schools of a different denomination to their own often opt for physical harm and suicide. For example, a Muslim student who studies in a Christian school can experience religious discrimination and even worse, mental torture.

If bible education is prompted in schools, the feeling of secularism that we hope to achieve will be lost and a religious barrier will be enacted. This only teaches children to hate followers of another religion.

Bible study can also lead to extremism and radicalism. Most public schools use this platform to advance their own religious beliefs. This is obvious in schools where only one religion is taught, the school curriculum only favors one interpretation of the bible, for example, some public schools prefer using only the Protestant bible and not the catholic bible. Lastly, such schools have teachers who are only good in one religion and not in the whole spectrum of religion.

Discrimination

At the adolescent stage, students tend to seek role models who can give them a sense of meaning to who they are and their spiritual morals. This curiosity helps in the development of their personalities and eventually expand their mind to better understand religious practices. Erik Erikson’s theory on Social-Emotional Development defines this as a crucial stage in cognitive and behavioral human development.

In our contemporary world, so many people have come to terms with their sexuality regardless of what the bible educates. By enforcing this study in public schools, one will create a sense of discrimination on students with different sexual orientations. Students who believe in the bible will view people with different sexual orientation as sinners or unworthy

Even though gender discrimination is present in schools, the hostility that comes with messages that are being promoted by our denominations is sickening. This can easily lead to victimization of not only the LGBTQ adolescents but also any LGBTQ person can be faced with disrespect by these students.

Messages sent from the bible study often depend on the educator’s own belief and that of the bible. If the educator fails to understand the bible and ends up misinterpreting the messages, he or she will end up creating a feeling of social exclusion from his non-acceptance view leading to poor academic achievements.

Mental Disorders.

It is at this age that mental disorders can easily develop in students. As a public health burden to society, mental disorders like depression, anxiety, and even obsession can be brought about by religious beliefs.

Conclusion

Reference

Whiteford HA, Ferrari AJ, Degenhardt L, Feigin V, Vos T. The global burden of mental, neurological, and substance use disorders: an analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. PLoS ONE. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0116820.

Sokol JT. Identity development throughout the lifetime: an examination of Eriksonian theory; 2009. http://epublications.marquette.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1030&context=gjcp. Accessed 05 Nov 2018.