Critical response to a seminar on teaching with the theme "Religion in American History," from a conservative Christian perspective (from EdWatch.org). For the record, I think the critique is misguided, but it's still an important one.

What's wrong with teaching "about" religion? The exposure, the more educated. Isn't that what school is for?

I'd like to know what you feel is misguided about it.

Well, I more or less agree with AcesLucky -- I believe it's good to teach about religion, even if it doesn't always cast the most favorable light on the majority tradition, i.e., Christianity. But I also think the critic is making an important point when he says, in effect, that you can't be neutral about religion; he believes that teaching "about" religion all too often ends up as just another form of antireligious indoctrination. In practice, I don't think that's true, but I think it sometimes can be, and I think people who work in the academic study of religion ought to take ideas like his a little more seriously than they generally do.

But I also think the critic is making an important point when he says, in effect, that you can't be neutral about religion; he believes that teaching "about" religion all too often ends up as just another form of antireligious indoctrination.

When I was coming up, we had Humanities where we learned about many of the world's religions. At no time was there any inkling of an attempt to proselytize any side. In fact, there was no side. Just a bunch of boring historical cultural stuff (like learning history as a child).

But the pictures were neat!

I think the author is afraid that the more we learn about other religions, the more we'll scrutinize them as cultural lore and mythology. And he'd be right.

I think the author is afraid that the more we learn about other religions, the more we'll scrutinize them as cultural lore and mythology. And he'd be right.

Which kind of proves my point. If you teach about something in such a way that it's nearly guaranteed to make people less likely to believe in it, then people who believe firmly in it are going to see your teaching as an attack.

If you teach about something in such a way that it's nearly guaranteed to make people less likely to believe in it, then people who believe firmly in it are going to see your teaching as an attack.

That sounds about right for the fundies. Learning about other religions equals an attack on theirs.