A Religion Class Done Right
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2014/09/17/a-religion-class-done-right/September 17, 2014 by Hemant Mehta
We often hear about Bible classes in public schools and how many of them (like the one created by Hobby Lobby President Steve Green) are just ways to proselytize in the classroom.
But in California, the Modesto Public Schools are receiving some well-deserved appreciation for their mandatory World Religions course.
The teachers there have figured out how to teach about religion in a comprehensive, effective, and neutral way:
Johansen High junior Arianna Sibaja said the course helped her get past stereotypes of other religions and have a more informed view of events unfolding in the Middle East. “It helps us understand why it’s going on and what their motives are,” Sibaja said.
…
In an introductory lecture, McIntyre stressed the importance of respecting all views, even those that reject religion. “We’re not talking about agreement. We’re talking about honoring the right,” she said. Gesturing around the class, she said, “We are not a cookie-cutter-looking room in here, neither is the state, neither is the world.”
…
They invited religious leaders from the community to weigh in. “That was instrumental,” she said. The First Amendment Center and Anti-Defamation League gave assistance in teaching sensitive subjects without controversy.
Teachers visited the Islamic Center of Modesto, Congregation Beth Shalom Synagogue, the Greek Orthodox Church and other religious centers. But teacher training was done by professors of California State University, Stanislaus — purposely removed from faith practitioners, she said.
more at link
= new reply since forum marked as read
We had mandatory religion classes in my (private) high school, but it was comprised of Old and New Testament and I didn't retain much of that. I think we could all benefit from learning more about different religions, would certainly cut down on misconceptions and bigotry. After 9/11, I had to look Islam up in the encyclopedia since I didn't have a clue... 
The only religion I ever got was at church. One of my kids went to a catholic high school, and he got some more academically based religious studies, but there was still quite an emphasis on Catholicism.
But tho is good stuff and, I agree, could really cut down on bigotry.
We had special classes in preparation for Confirmation, don't remember a lot, but I was 10. And what helped me most with religion in high school was that great film "The Gospel According to St. Matthew," since that stuck with me more than anything I read, LOL. 
There are so many misconceptions about religion, particularly now, that learning about different faiths would be extremely helpful, especially if it happened early. Kids could even help their parents learn a few things. 
That could certainly happen.
I've always thought that the most important way to make progress in eliminating conflict and bigotry, whether it's the race issue in this country, the division in Northern Ireland or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is to educate and enlighten the next generation. 
the better.
It's hard to hold onto hate when you have actually met people that you previously hated for no good reason.
Since nobody mentioned anything, not my parents or my grandmother or my teachers, it never dawned on me, all on my own. But I realized that I did have a kind of prejudice when my grandmother asked me to accompany her and her peace group to the USSR in the late '80s. I was scared witless, but then I'd learned that the Russians wanted to kill us from the time we had to hide in the school basement during air raid drills in kindergarten. 
So it was a real revelation to me just meeting ordinary people. They seemed genuinely pleased to meet Americans and I changed my opinion from the time I got off the plane. My friend used to teach third grade and he'd have me come in and talk when they studied Russia. The thing I emphasized was that they're just like us, want the same things, especially peace, since they suffered so terribly during WWII. Experience changes everything...
We took a road trip into the south when I was very young so that my parents could show us what was going on down there.
They also introduced us to other people that were different, including GLBT people and people of other religions.
I still remember the air raid things, and I do think I had some substantial prejudice against the Russians.
So cool that you got to go to Russia. I find the more I travel, the more I truly appreciate that we are all so much more alike than we are different.
Someone told me not long ago, that life is not about accumulating things, it is about accumulating experiences.
My grandmother was a great traveler and it became my father's hobby. He traveled all over the world, Europe, Russia, China, Australia, the Middle East. And he also inherited my grandmother's way with people, liked and accepted pretty much everyone. 
I also had an early experience in the deep South, though it took me years to understand it. When I was eight, I traveled for Spring vacation to Florida, where my grandmother was for the winter, with my aunt, uncle and cousin. My aunt was my father's sister and my cousin was the closest thing I had to a sister.
We drove, and I remember that we stopped at a car wash in Georgia since the car (station wagon, we kids rode in the tailgate. ) was pretty muddy. It was run by an older couple and they were very nice to us, gave my cousin and me pens with the name of the car wash on them.
While we were waiting, I couldn't help noticing the bathrooms. There were three doors and I could read. A blue one said Men, a pink one said Women and then there was a third one, painted yellow, which said "Colored." We lived in New York and I had no idea what that meant, had never seen anything like that before, though it was the '60s, so I asked.
I still remember sensing that there was something wrong, since I didn't get an answer, could tell that this was the wrong thing to have asked, but I had no idea why. I'm surprised that my aunt didn't address this question later, but maybe she thought it was better not to open up that kind of discussion and all the other questions that would have come with it, but I've always been sorry that I didn't bring it up when I was an adult, since it obviously has stuck in my mind. 
They wanted to show us the bathrooms and the water fountains and the lunch counters. They wanted us to see the shanty towns and the cotton fields.
It left an indelible impression on me.
It sounds like your aunt was a really open minded person, but times were awkward and not everyone was comfortable with the discussion.
Bottom line, though, is that you grew up to be a very open minded and loving person. I don't think I have ever seen a stitch of intolerance from you.
I never realized the extent of all that went on until I watched Eyes on the Prize on PBS back in the '80s. I lived in Saratoga Springs, NY, for most of elementary school and junior high, went to school with kids from lots of different backgrounds, but, like I said, nobody ever said anything, so how was I to know? I've always thought that this was a clear indication that bigotry and prejudice is taught.
And I think my grandmother was the one who instilled these values in my father and my aunt. She told me once that a neighbor, commenting on her lack of intolerance, warned her that "one of her children was going to marry an Eskimo!" I guess that must have been the ultimate minority back then, LOL. 
My aunt is gone now, as is my grandmother, and I miss them both a lot. And I've often wished that I'd mentioned that early experience with either of them. Maybe my aunt thought I was too young to understand and that's probably right. I don't understand that kind of thing now.
It's about teaching tolerance and understanding and acceptance of others whatever they believe or don't believe.
You might benefit from the course.
Both are things that both Mormons and non-Mormons can find amusing and quite entertining in parts.
Hypocrite? Isn't that an ad hominem?
