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Message board > RE subject in UK and USA
RE subject in UK and USA
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Lancillotta:
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RE subject in UK and USA
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RE (Religious Education), in Italy, is a subject. It is not compulsory but it is present from the primary up to high school.
My students (aged 11 -14) asked me if in UK and USA it is the same.
I think this is the best place where I could ask such question .
Is it compulsory?
Thanks for your answers,
Have a nice day
Sabrina
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13 Mar 2013
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mariamit
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Hi Sabrina.
RE is not taught in state schools in the US. It can be taught in private schools especially parochial schools. If a public school teaches it, it is considered a breach of the a First Amendment Clause because it may support one religion against others. I never had RE in any of the schools I attended in NY although I �m not sure about other states.
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13 Mar 2013
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edrodmedina
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When I went to school in NY (60s n 70s) students in the elementary schools were allowed to take Wednesday afternoons off to go to religious (Catholic)instruction. I don �t know if it is still done. Ed |
13 Mar 2013
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almaz
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In Scotland, we have provisions for Religious and Moral Education (RME) in non-denominational schools and Religious Education (RE) in Roman Catholic schools as part of the curriculum. It �s a statutory duty imposed on all local authorities by the Education Act (1980) but the same Act allows parents to withdraw their children from such classes. It �s not the same as Religious Observance, by the way.
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13 Mar 2013
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MoodyMoody
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To clarify US policy on religious education: mariamit is largely correct. However, public schools (mostly high schools) are allowed to teach comparative religion. This means that the course is about what practitioners of different religions believe. The teacher teaches about Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Baha �i, shamanistic traditions, atheism, etc. The teacher can �t tell the students what they should believe, only what others do believe.
Of course, as she also mentioned, private, parochial, and home schools can teach whatever they want as far as religion goes.
Ed, don �t you think the ACLU would be down like a ton of bricks on any public school that would excuse one religious group but not all? Some public schools don �t even like religious clubs that meet after school on school property.
On a related topic, some states (cough *Texas* cough) want to mandate teaching "intelligent design" along with the Theory of Evolution and the Big Bang Theory in public school science classes. This is a sneaky way to get religious doctrine in the public schools, in my opinion. |
13 Mar 2013
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Lancillotta:
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Thank you very much indeed for all your precious answers!
Sabrina |
13 Mar 2013
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almaz
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Moody. I �ve heard that some states in the US want to teach not only �Intelligent Design � but also something called �Creationism � which, among other things, seems to suggest that a supernatural creature called God created dinosaurs and humans at the same time ( shudder). |
13 Mar 2013
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MoodyMoody
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almaz, you are right about that. However, creationism is blatantly religious and gets shot down by our courts. More sophisticated Christians hope to sneak in intelligent design because it doesn �t overtly support any one religion. There are just too many Americans that have little to no tolerance for different beliefs, even within Christianity. I am respectful of the religions of other people, but I demand respect for the beliefs of others in return.
This board would make a good model, actually. We have contributors from many different religions, yet we rarely clash due to different religious beliefs. (Our clashes are more likely to be due to different interpretations of the rules of the site.  ) |
14 Mar 2013
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