KNOWLEDGE, TOO, IS POWER: F. BACON

The Bible should be taught in public schools. That might seem surprising coming from an atheist.

The function of schools ought be the teaching of facts for the purpose of aiding students live their lives happily and successfully. It is a fact that a majority of the people almost anyone will meet and with whom they will have relations believe to some degree in God and religion. It is decidedly advantageous to understand the belief system...the psychology and philosophy...of people you come in contact with, and one way of doing so is to study the source of those beliefs.

This is not to suggest the writings of the Bible be taught as facts, since they clearly have not as yet been shown to be so. It is not to suggest that faith-based religion be taught as "the better way" in comparison to atheism, nor that one religion is better than another. It is not to suggest that students be taught to follow the Ten Commandments or that without religion there is no morality, no rights and wrongs. What should be taught is that there are various Bibles and Books of Scripture, what their major distinguishing teachings are, and that many people accept them as truth, and many do not. Them's facts.

What religions ought be discussed? All that time permits. Should Americans be teaching the teachings of Islamic fundamentalism? Of course. Know your enemies. How religious teachings may have influenced our ideals, our laws, our way of life, is valuable to know.

No, there is no Constitutional restriction on the teaching of the facts about religion. The separation of Church and State would, properly, preclude the indoctrination of religious beliefs, or the giving of preference to one religion over another.

Some people are concerned that teachers of religion who are themselves religious would have difficulty talking about religion in a totally secular way. Possibly true, and that must be monitored by school officials in the same way science teachers ought be monitored to be sure creationism is not taught as fact...in the way that only facts are taught as facts in every class. To minimize the risk of potential proselytizing, I would suggest that teaching of religion be done in high schools, where most students are intellectually mature enough to realize when objective teaching has drifted over into preaching.

What are we afraid of? A Tale of Two Cities is not fact, but is studied in school. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is not fact but is read in school. As are all of Shakespeare's plays, etc., etc. Different philosophical positions, different scientific theories, are studied. School ought be an exciting place, an invigoratingly eye opening place to study all of the world, all of the peoples of the world, all ideas. It can never hurt us, and always rewards us, to learn more about the totality of the world we live in.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt advised Americans at the outbreak of WWII that "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." I would add..."and ignorance."