Should the Bible Be Taught in Public Schools?

Religious literacy is at an all-time low, says author Stephen Prothero. His solution: teach religion in public schools.

BY: Interview by Patton Dodd

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America may be one of the most religiously diverse places on earth, but according to religion professor Stephen Prothero, its citizens don't know their sacrilege from their sacraments. In his controversial bestseller

"Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know--and Doesn't,"

Prothero argues that Americans do not necessarily need to get religion, but they do need to get religious knowledge. He says its time for religion to be taught in all public schools--a semester for the Bible, and a semester for world religions.

Prothero recently discussed his proposal with Beliefnet editor Patton Dodd.

You claim that Americans don’t know much about religion, a fact that is well established by surveys testing religious knowledge. But why does it matter that Americans know the Five Pillars of Islam or basic facts about the Bible?

In a democracy, citizens are supposed to be involved. And we can’t be involved on religiously inflected questions unless we know something about religion. On the home front, it’s important to know something about Christianity and the Bible in order to hold politicians accountable. Especially in recent years, both Democrats and Republicans are appealing to religious reasons when they make arguments about abortion or stem cell research or the environment. And [for foreign policy], it’s important to know something about Islam and other religions because religions motivate people—make them act for or against American interests.

You’re calling on high schools and colleges to dramatically change their approach to teaching religion, which would require a major effort in terms of preparing curriculum, training educators, etc. How likely is it that we will see shifts in the ways that we teach religion in our schools?

Why do people always ask me how likely it is?

Maybe because that’s the reflex thought to hearing someone say religion ought to be taught more in public schools. Given federalized testing, teacher shortages, etc., isn't it reasonable to ask how likely this is to happen?

Yeah, the reflex thought is it’s unlikely. But it’s not unlikely. That’s my answer: It’s not unlikely. There are a number of reasons. I’ll do a few.

Okay.

Most Americans are in favor of this. There has been some polling where people are asked, "How would you feel about having your children take courses about religion in the public schools?" And overwhelmingly people say yes, they’re in favor of it. So, that’s one thing.

Another is [that] since 9/11 things have really shifted on this question about religion. If you were a head-in-the-sand secularist back on September 10, 2001, you could get by because you could imagine that religion was going away in the world just like it had gone away in your life. After 9-11, you can’t do that any more. People who do that seem really stupid. It’s undeniable that religion is powerful and it’s undeniable that it’s something that we, for perfectly pragmatic political reasons, need to know something about.

Another reason is that the culture wars have really exaggerated how much contention there is about religion in the United States. There’s a sense that public voices for religion are either right-wing fundamentalists or left-wing atheists. But that is a teeny, teeny portion of the American religious pie. The overwhelming majority of us are in the middle. And those people in the middle find this kind of proposal really reasonable and practical and sane.

Continued on page 2: Teach the Bible first, then other religions... »