Religion has played a key role in the formation of educational institutions in the United States. Our oldest and most prestigious universities were initially schools for religious study, and they have evolved along the path of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening. Early elementary schools taught reading by way of religious text, and often the first words read by a school-age child in the 18th and 19th centuries were from the Bible. Understanding these foundational roles helps one understand some of the current debates in society related to issues such as the teaching of evolution, the use of intelligent design in the classroom, prayer in schools and other issues of debate. There is a religious undertone to these discussions that goes beyond mere belief; some of it is based on tradition and how religion and education were once combined more tightly in the United States.
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In addition, the spread of religion throughout the world is highly linked to education. Seminaries have handed down the Christian faith for centuries, as those studying other faiths such as Islam, Buddhism and Judaism have received instruction firsthand from the top minds within those belief systems. But it was not only religion that was taught. Monasteries were centers for study on topics such as astronomy, science and geography. The spread of Christianity can often be tracked as a side-by-side surge along with non-religious ideas based on study done in religious institutions. These models and teaching structures help us understand education as we know it today, and it also offers glimpses in to how we can better teach and train students to have open and thoughtful minds.
Higher education: The rise of religious universities in terms of attendance and prestige has been an oft-covered topic in the news media in recent years. The schools offer a liberal arts education with a religious emphasis, and it is useful to study the trends to examine why students are sometimes choosing these schools over elite schools such as Harvard. Also, the issue of education vs. indoctrination is worth examining at these schools, both in terms of understanding as well as whether these are religious reactions to what is seen as a similar secular model in public institutions. Another issue facing higher education is how to encourage religious diversity at schools without promoting it or discriminating against particular religions. Research that attempts to identify the core issues in this debate would fit well with the Center’s mission to help religious understanding become more integrated within a diverse public.
Public schools: No issue related to religion and education has received more media coverage in the past 20 years than the debate over prayer in public schools. But public schools have also seen clashes over topics such as abstinence education, intelligent design, evolution, religious clubs and the Pledge of Allegiance. The Center’s mission can help those going into public school education in two ways. First, teachers will be interacting with students of religious background every day, and learning more about these debates will also help the instructor understand the diversity of the students they teach. Secondly, the Center’s focus on the specific interaction of religion and public life is useful to the educator attempting to navigate the intersection of those two worlds.
Government and parochial schools: The issue of funding private and parochial schools is one that has been debated for years. The educator faces two questions in this public debate. The first is over how to respond to possible changes that could occur in their own classroom in terms of diversity if school voucher initiatives are allowed. Secondly, it is an issue of public funding and equal opportunity for those students who choose to remain in public schools. It is important for educators and education researchers to be familiar with such issues, which could change the landscape of the field very quickly.