Religion, Ethics, and the Classroom

The way that religion has been taught (or not) in the public schools has long been an issue of debate. The hearts of our children are precious, and few things anger parents more than the idea that their little ones are being indoctrinated with ideas that run counter to their family’s values and traditions. Controversy can erupt over almost any subject from science, to physical education, to English literature. Even holiday concerts and Thanksgiving festivities are not immune. A couple of recent news stories have brought this to the front of my mind, and I’ve been considering and re-considering my own position.

In my own hometown of Abbotsford, BC, there has been public outcry over a new course called Social Justice 12. Social Justice 12 is an elective offered in BC high schools, which is intended to promote tolerance and educate students about issues such as cultural imperialism and homophobia. The problem, of course, is that in a religious community such as Abbotsford addressing homophobia is more than a touch controversial. So they canceled the course. The local school board explained the cancellation by saying that it was too hard. This article has a particularly choice quote:

…the Abbotsford School District suggested the elective is too challenging for its senior high schoolers.

“When compared to university sociology course syllabuses it would appear that Social Justice 12 is more suited for second- or third-year sociology students,” the letter reads.

As an alumna of Abbotsford public schools, that makes me feel really good. The whole rest of the province can handle it, but students there are somehow too slow. I don’t think they’re offering Social Justice 12 in Abbotsford yet, but superintendent Des McKay recently retired rather quietly, so change may be afoot. But it is coming very slowly.

This is not the first time that this sort of thing has come up in Abbotsford. Up until the time I was in grade 4 or so we said the Lord’s Prayer every day, and our teachers read to us from the Bible. My contemporaries from other school districts claim this never happened in their classrooms. And then there was a controversy in the mid-90s when the Abbotsford school district required that creationism be presented alongside evolution in biology classes, for balance. Again, other school districts did not have similar rules.

So you see, I came from a religious town, where particular religious views were presented in the classroom. My family was not religious, though. From an early age I had the experience of feeling as if I were on the outside looking in, so to speak. When we went out for lunch on Sundays we were the only ones not dressed in church clothes. In our neighbourhood we were the only kids who weren’t allowed to participate in the “Kid’s Club” offered at the local Bible College. I felt somewhat resentful of the attitudes I encountered amongst the more religious members of the community, and that continues to influence my perspective.

Then, this morning I read an article about the mandatory Ethics and Religious Culture course that began in all Quebec schools in September. The history, at least as I understand it, is rather interesting. Prior to 1997 Quebec had religious school boards. Following a constitutional amendment they replaced those with linguistic school boards, and students had the option of taking an additional course in Catholicism, Protestant Christianity, or morals. All of that was replaced this year with the new Ethics and Religious Culture course. Unlike the previous offerings, which students could opt out of, this new course is required for all students whether they attend public school, private school, or are homeschooled.

The course seems innocuous enough on the surface. The parents who are objecting seem to be doing so because they feel that teaching children about various religions, and presenting them as equivalent, will undermine their own religious beliefs. It is true that this is a course that is required, and that is presented to all students beginning in kindergarten. And of course we are talking about Quebec, where issues of religion and cultural identity have always been very loaded. Still, I have a hard time believing that harm will come from teaching children to be tolerant, or explaining that different people have different beliefs.

As I said I have been considering my own position. Quebec’s Ethics and Religious Culture course would probably be right up my alley – I am deeply fascinated by the various and diverse religious beliefs that people hold. But I also have some qualms when I consider its origin as an answer to teaching religion in classrooms. I’m not sure that religion belongs in our public schools. It’s very loaded. It’s very complicated. I don’t know if our teachers want to take this on. They certainly have enough on their plates already.

On the other hand, excluding religion from schools is also loaded. We are saying that we don’t value your religious choices, or that they’re not all that important. We take religious holidays like Christmas, which is a story of hope and peace and goodwill, and remove all the meaning. What we are left with is Santa Claus and presents and consumption. Santa comes to our house, too, but I would hate to think that’s the only message my kids are getting, that Christmas is a day when you get presents and nothing more.

Hannah participates in religious education at my Unitarian church. She’s started talking about God and she has some ideas about what that means. I want to discuss religion with her, to expose her to the richness of all that is contained in that word. I want her to understand that we all have so much more in common than we usually recognize. I want her to know that values exist inside of churches, as well as outside of churches. And of course I want the same things for Jacob, once he’s old enough to participate.

What’s my point? Religion, and religious issues, will always be in our classrooms. There is no way to be free of it. Given that, I think it behooves us to be very sensitive and aware about the messages we’re sending. We should not promote one religion over another in public schools. We should not allow religious beliefs to unduly affect curricula or restrict student’s activities and choices. But we also should not pretend that we are behaving in a way that is completely free of religious or spiritual influence.

At school kids are exposed to all kinds of things. Whether it’s bullying and name-calling, the occasional teacher who is not well-suited to his or her job, or discipline methods you disagree with, there will be issues. Religious diversity, and classes that may conflict with your beliefs, are just another item on the list. This is what you have to accept if you send your kids to public school, and it’s why some parents choose not to. As for me, I came through public school largely unscathed, and I have confidence that my kids will, too. And I hope that along the way they will come to appreciate the incredible diversity in our community, and to respect the beliefs of others, even as they form their own.