World Religions and Values - 1 USING WORLD RELIGIONS TO TEACH PERSONAL VALUES IN A PUBLIC SCHOOL SETTING by Andrew P. Johnson, Ph.D. Minnesota State University, Mankato andrew.johnson@mnsu.edu “ … the schools should be helping the children to look within themselves, and from this self-knowledge derive a set of values” (Malsow, 1971, page 185). Much of the turbulence in our world today has its origin in religious difference. Now more than ever, there is a need to see the commonality of the human experience which includes religion or religious experiences. There is also a need to help students develop a set of personal values that can be used to guide them in making the important decisions in their lives. This article describes how to incorporate world religions in a public education curriculum and the teaching of personal values. WORLD RELIGIONS Religion is an integral part of many people’s lives that shapes their worldview and also affects the way in which they interact with others and their environment. Both religion and religious expression should be appropriately addressed within a public school curriculum. What about the separation of church and state? Article I of the Bill of Rights states that “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercises thereof; . . .” This means that government, or by extension, a public school, cannot promote a particular religious view. However, this does not mean that schools should be religious vacuums (see Figures 1 and 2). We do not serve our students’ interests by ignoring this important part of human society. Instead, our public school curriculums can be used to prepare them to interact respectfully with the diverse religious traditions and perspectives that they will encounter in life outside of school. Also, by addressing religion within our curriculum in a fair and impartial way, we are able to model one of the trademarks of our democratic society, which is civility and respect for religious differences. From this perspective, people look to find common values within the differing religious practices. Figure 1. US. Department of Education guidelines. Religious Expression In Public Schools “Public schools may not provide religious instruction, but they may teach about religion, including the Bible or other scripture: the history of religion, comparative religion, the Bible (or other scripture)-as-literature, and the role of religion in the history of the United States and other countries all are permissible public school subjects. Similarly, it is permissible to consider religious influences on art, music, literature, and social studies. Although public schools may teach about © Andrew Johnson, Ph.D. DRINKING FROM THE EMPTY CUP