by Jeffrey Vermeire

Created on: December 26, 2007

A question that is brought up by the very thing that it offers to correct: ignorance.

Martin Luther King, Jr. once stated: "Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity." It is no secret that the human race fears most what it does not understand. From that fear, the most intense hatred is born and mass conflict arises. I believe that the purpose of our schools is to eliminate hatred, fear and ignorance through the liberal education of our young people.

We all dream of a brighter tomorrow, but unless we change what our children are taught and broaden our own horizons, tomorrow will be darker than the blackness of space. The expectation of our schools is to enlighten our children on the most basic and important principles of life. Is it not important for our children to learn about ancient cultures? Is it not important for our children to understand how others believe? How are we as a race expected to move past our differences if we do not understand each others beliefs?

Public schools should not only teach the Bible; they should teach the books of all major religions in order for our future generations to understand one another. Those who oppose the teaching of religious books fear that their children are to be manipulated and propagandized by these books. I argue that this is the biggest reason why these books should be taught. If religious texts are not taught in the objective environment of our academic institutions, then what is to stop our children from following the radical preachings of those our children will meet later in life? I am speaking of idealists who twist words and meanings for their own agenda. I am speaking about those who form suicide pacts, who fly planes into buildings, who lynch people for the color of their skin - all because they believed the preachings of leaders of hate and ignorance.

The Bible most definitely should be taught in our public schools along with the Torah, the Qur'an, the Tripitaka, the Bhagavad-Gita, Guru Granth Sahib, the Tao-te-Ching, among many others. To not equip future generations with the knowledge to bridge the gaps between world beliefs would be genocide.

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