Should schools teach classes about religion?

[DC Al Fine]

I don't really think a dedicated class is the best idea for this sort of thing, but religion should be sprinkled throughout English, History, and Civics classes. Knowledge of the more memorable parts of the KJV is essential to studying Western thought IMO.

One of the annoying things about high school history classes is their tendency to gloss over religion and how it affects society, and it leads to an ineffective study of history. Mixing in a bit of religion should help with this problem.

[Cassius]

Of course. Although when I say religion I really mean Catholicism.

It truly must be sad to live in your poor, sheltered little world.  I wonder, does it ever get lonely in that box of yours?

Well, I'll answer you. In a word, no. You see, I am perfectly well aware that the proportion of the population that holds similar political views to my own is tiny. I also don't lose much sleep over knowing that my reactionary views will never be implemented. Since I have the wonderful ability to segregate my political views from my dealings with other people, I have never really felt lonely. So no, I'm pretty content with my life, a life which is, by the standards of both historand the world today, an extremely privileged one.

[TheDeadFlagBlues]

It really ought to be no more controversial than teaching History (which, after all, is the most political of subjects and is therefore a reliable controversy magnet in certain countries, mine included). Obviously you don't want taught from an especially biased viewpoint (of either variety; 'this is the true faith', 'this is a load of nonsense', etc) but that's not actually hard to avoid.

Not in large swathes of the US.

[Oak Hills]

I was under the impression most "normal" High Schools did have a class or two on "Religions of the World".  Am I wrong?

The one I go to doesn't, but the basics are covered in world history classes.

[Space7]

This idea sounds okay in principle, but I'm not sure it would be constitutional.

Would you not have to teach about every religion that is practiced in the world today, including the very small ones? Otherwise the constitution might consider it favoritism.

[pbrower2a]

Qualification: that it must be even-handed.

The mass ignorance about other religions in America is just astonishing. Christians, Jews and Muslims believe in the same God. To be sure, the differences need be known, But in essence Judaism rejects Jesus, the Gospels, Mohammed, and the Koran as superfluous as the Torah and related teachings are adequate. Christianity  insists that God sent His Son to bring salvation to all humanity that would follow him -- as shown in the Gospels -- and that unlike Judaism and Islam, most Christian sects recognize a Trinity of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Islam recognizes the existence of the Torah and the Gospels but that Jews and Christians get them wrong, Mohammed as the Last of Prophets receiving God's Inspiration in the Qu'ran that neither Jews nor Christians accept. 

This is America, and America is the source of Mormonism, a Christian heresy that has the Book of Mormon as a guide to an appropriate life. We Americans might as well know about it because it is an important part of our history.

People need to know that religious heritage informs any culture, and that most of the moral questions of antiquity are answered in the successful modern religions. People should learn why religions have schisms, and that very different religions have generally come to similar rules of human conduct through different means. They also need to know the consequences of atheism and agnosticism.

[morgieb]

Define "about religion". Of course any decent history, sociology or philosophy classes can't avoid discussing religions and their impact. If you're talking about some Sunday School kind of thing, then absolutely not (in public schools at least).

This. I'm pretty sure the OP means the former though.

Yes, although in general most social sciences cover religion anyway, no?