Should Sacred Studies be part of a general public school curricula

Yes, I think so. And not just in the US but everywhere. Personally, I would have been very interested in such a subject at school but there were none available (so far as I could tell). There was "Religious Education" but all we ever studied was Christianity.Not to suggest, of course, that this, in and of itself, is a bad thing. On the contrary, any worthwhile study of religion would have to include Christianity. But I wanted to learn about other religions, too. Based on our education, you could almost be forgiven for coming away from it thinking that Christianity was the only religion in the world.I think it would also go a long way towards easing some of the tension between certain groups if they actually understood each other's beliefs rather than simply being told that they are all "wrong," "evil," "Hell-bound," etc. I don't see how it could be anything but helpful to eliminate the ignorance between differing views. It's almost as if some people live in a bubble, with absolutely no understanding of the different perspectives out there, save that they are all "wrong."I'm not saying that anybody should be forced to agree (and I would never support such an idea), but I do believe it would be in everybody's best interest to be educated. It seems to me that a significant amount of the tension, debating, etc that exists could be avoided if so much energy didn't have to go into clearing up misconceptions between different groups. Just imagine how much we'd save on brain cells (and nerves ) if all the varied groups of people didn't have any misconceptions in the first place.I guess you could say that I think such courses would be beneficial in numerous ways.Just my opinion.

Jar, I've always wanted to know something. Where on Earth did you get your diverse religious education? I know you were raised a Christian so that one's a no-brainer, but where did you learn about all of the others that you're familiar with? Do you have any formal education in theology, world religions, etc or is it just the culmination of a lot of personal study?Sorry if you've already explained this before but it's something I've wondered about for ages, and it's actually on-topic in this thread so I thought I'd ask.

This was a Christian school? I must say, I'm stunned that they would give you exposure to such a varied gamut of religious and philosophical views. What a shame there was nothing like that available at my school when I was a "little tyke." Now that is how it should be! How I envy you. To be honest, I'm still kind of in shock that any Christian school would do this. It's certainly a breath of fresh air, I'll tell you. If you still see any of your old teachers these days, please shake their hands for me.

Thanks for the link, jar. *shakes head in disbelief*I never had anything even approaching these kinds of options in school. That is so depressing. I take my hat off to your school, Sir! Well, maybe I can... But how will I know? I rather doubt that it's listed as "jar." Again, as it should be.Our teachers were total hypocrites. They'd catch students smoking and punish the bejesus out of them. Then, during lunch hour, they'd stand outside the staffroom door (yes, outside the staffroom door) smoking in plain sight of all the kids in the quadrangle.Understand, I have no problem with them making no-smoking rules. One way or the other, it didn't make a lick of difference to me; I've never had a cigarette in my life and don't plan to. What dissatisfied me was the fact that it was alright for the teachers to blatantly say one thing and do another. "Well, they're the teachers" never seemed like a good enough justification to me. Heh, I actually thought of that after I posted that message. But surely some of them are still around? You're not that old. Damn it, jar, I almost wet myself when I read that! That's what's known in safe-sex as "protection."

Something else I've always wondered about you... Why do you capitalize every letter of "God"? I can't say that I've known anyone else who writes it as "GOD."Is there some theological or scriptural reason for this? Is that the way you were taught to write it or is it just a personal thing? I know that the Bible capitalizes "Lord" in this way (as in "the LORD God"), and I know it capitalizes the first letter of possessive and referential terms ("He," "Him," "His," etc) and even components or aspects of God ("the Spirit of God"), but I really can't say I've ever come across anyone else who writes "GOD."I hope this isn't a dumb question. It's just something that I've always noticed about you. And lest you get the wrong impression, I don't mind. This isn't a dig or anything ("What fo u writin' God's name like dat?" ), I'm just curious.And in the interest of steering this back towards the topic, let me just say that seeing some of the details of your education certainly explains a few things. Now all we need to do is lobby for a co-ed St. Paul's and you'll have damn near the perfect school on your hands!

Yes, I apologize for going off-topic. It has long been a curiosity of mine about you.So, essentially, it's an all-encompassing term; the god of all. You write it this way to distinguish it from "God," the term specifically referencing the god of Judeo-Christianity. Is this it, in a nutshell? If so then I believe I understand.Thank you for the explanation. Again, I apologize for the diversion. Well, I am quite elated to hear this. I've become increasingly pessimistic about such things and I must admit that anything with the word "Christian" in it does tend to get a bad gut reaction. It can be easy to forget that those making the most noise do not necessarily represent the majority. Well, I must say, I am pleasantly surprised by what you've told me. Perhaps there is hope for education yet. I for one wish these schools all the best, and here's to many more of them.