I study The Science

Recently I had a thunk about religious education in schools.
This isn't a big issue here in New Zealand, well, it's a non-existant issue since we don't really have any (that I'm aware of).
But I've heard that there are lots of issues with it over in America. Issues that have, in part, spawned the creation of such group as Pastafarianism, the religion that believes that there is a Flying Spaghetti Monster that accidentally created the universe while drunk. Or something to that effect.
The existance of that group demonstrates the importance of not teaching religious beliefs alongside subjects such as Science.
Even if we should include religious beliefs, such as the 6000 year old Earth in a geology class, whose should we include? Only Christianity? Why do they deserve special treatment? Why can't a religion that believes in, say, a Flying Spaghetti Monster be taught alongside it as well?
So yeah, that was the idea behind Pastafarianism.

In my opinion (which is what this blog consists entirely of), school is where you go to learn how the world works, how it pertains to you, what skills you need for a successful and happy life, and obtaining those skills.
It should also be a place for easy access to knowledge. Learning things just for the sake of learning them, in case they are helpful in later life.
Learning about other cultures is like this. Unless you plan to move to a place where that culture is dominant, knowing about other cultures may not really do much in your life. But you may meet someone from that culture, and knowing about their culture can help you make them feel welcome and comfortable.

I'll be honest (which I usually am), I have no idea how it is in America in regards to their education system.
But I do think New Zealand schools are lacking from learning about religion.
It shouldn't be taught as "This is what you need to know in the future because we deem you to need to know this because we have proven it right" like Science, but it should be treated like you learn about cultures.
Science is a large defining part of what we know. Religion is a huge part about who we are.
Science, and it's Scientific Method, are the only ways we know of to truly define what is real and what is not. This does not mean it is the only way, it's just the only verifiable way that we know of.
Religion, and their various beliefs, are part of a wide variety of ways to define who we are, what we think, what we want, and where we go.

I think it would be beneficial to all if Religions were taught in schools equal to the way cultures are.
Sadly there would be a dominance on Christianity, because in studying cultures we most commonly study the Western one. So in studying cultures we study the most popular one that we exist in in a day-to-day basis, as we would in studying religion where we study the most common religion that you no doubt will at least interact with most days of your life, even if it is just talking to those who are a part of it.


This blog post doesn't really have a message or anything, these were just thoughts in my head, so I decided to type them down. Here are some other random thoughts:
I once typed 94 words per minute and because of that got a free brownie.
I want to wear a dress to school someday.
I should probably be working on some homework right now.
And then I should probably have a shower.
I dislike pineapple.




P.S: "Religious Studies" as they are probably commonly refered to throughout the world, should only be taught to those who are willing to hear. They should be able to choose if they want to learn about religions or not, but they shouldn't be able to choose what religions. That would lead to further cultural biases, such as all Muslims are terrorists, which they are obviously not.