Teaching about religion cannot be avoided in the public school English classroom, but the teaching of religion must be. Discernment between these two aspects of religion in education is often difficult to make and can become blurred unless teachers, administrators, and students themselves, pay particular attention.
Much of the great literature of the world derives from religious references, quotations, and ideas. Western literature is based generally on the Judeo-Christian records of the Bible, and even modern authors, not notably religious, make references to Biblical personages, quote from the Bible, and support or refute Biblical teachings. Shakespeare, Goethe, Tolstoy, Dante, Hugo--the greatest names of the past, and more recent authors, T.S. Eliot, Hemingway, Camus, Faulkner, Forester, Mann, Frost--from whatever Western country, all are concerned with Judeo-Christian customs, ethics, and history. It is impossible to understand or to analyze intelligently the work and thought of the world's authors without some knowledge of religion.
Non-Christian religion is also important to the study of literature. The Greek and Roman myths, drama, poetry, and even political thought refer to the religious beliefs of their period. The recorded literature of India, China, and Africa, although not extensively taught in American classrooms, has religious background and ideas. It would be impossible to teach Native American folklore and stories without some understanding of American Indian religion.
In addition, art, architecture, music, and dance sometimes incorporated into the English curriculum are often more closely related to religious themes than to secular ideas.
The teaching of English would be impossibly empty and sparse without some reference to religion because most of the great thought of the world outside the field of science (and even here religion enters, either in support of or antagonistic to science) is based upon moral, ethical, dramatic, aesthetic, and historical references to religion.
Besides their subject matter, the teachers of English must consider themselves in teaching about religion. Each teacher is a person with traditional, unconventional, or atheistic attitudes toward religion. The personalities, characters, habits, foibles, and "hang-ups" of teachers certainly affect their teaching, and in the field of religious belief, these traits are most prominent. Since religion cannot be avoided in subject matter, the teaching of religion must be done guardedly by teachers themselves and the administrators who oversee them. It is possible, but not easy, to present religious ideas and cultural norms common to Western humanity without emphasizing the teachers' personal beliefs or proselytizing their students. Education for teaching literature should include such training. (Parochial school teachers, of course, are not under such stricture, since one purpose of parochial schools is to teach a particular religion.)
Teachers must be ethical examples of freedom of thought and speech, and so understood by students. They cannot denigrate either their subject matter or the opinions and beliefs of their students. Neither should they be afraid of maintaining their own personal religious (or non-religious) standards. If they cannot retain these in the public school and at the same time refrain from forcing them in any way upon their students, they should consider teaching in a denominational school where they may have freedom to express these beliefs.
In considering religion in the public school, educators must find the students most important. Students come into the classroom with particular sets of beliefs, standards, and habits, derived from their home backgrounds, their previous religious training or their lack of it, and their previous experiences in the public school classroom and outside of it. No two students will have the same reaction to religion in literature, in music, in art, or in their own world. Few students will leave public school with new religious beliefs--if they have been well-taught there--but they should leave with minds open to inquiry, with a greater understanding of and sympathy for others who mayor may not agree with their personal views, and especially with higher ethical standards. If these purposes for the students are kept constantly in the plans and activities of teachers and administrators, religion in the classroom will be handled well, with most parents, students, and teachers fully satisfied.
One
and only one exact set of religious beliefs held by every person is neither
possible nor even desirable, but religion is one of the most important aspects
of human life. Therefore, we must
learn to deal justly and intelligently in the English classroom with historical
and contemporary religion in our subject matter, in our students, and in
ourselves.