Teaching all religions helps our children

IT IS absolutely a parent’s prerogative to decide whether or not their child learns about religion at school.

Many families are very happy that they do so. Some, however, are concerned at the prospect of youngsters being on the receiving end of attempts to indoctrinate them in a particular set of beliefs – whatever the faith.

It goes without saying that they are perfectly within their rights to object in the strongest possible terms.

Yet it seems clear that the study of religions in general is a force for good. If we are to learn anything from the horrific recent events in Paris and elsewhere, it should be that teaching young people about various faiths can only be positive.

Granted, informing schoolchildren about the nuances of Islam won’t bring back any of those people mercilessly butchered. But it might help future generations better understand why extremist elements carry out such dreadful acts, supposedly in the name of religion.

The gaps in our knowledge are immense. How many of us, for example, can tell the differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims – or why they are so divided?

Nor should this be seen as some sort of abstract concept. The days of Ireland being a homogenous, overwhelmingly Catholic country are long gone. We have also moved inexorably towards becoming a multicultural society. Therefore, it is in everyone’s interests that we learn more about different religions; increasingly, they will be the faiths observed by the people we live beside, work with and meet every day on the school run.

So parents are perfectly entitled to raise concerns if they feel schools are trying to force-feed one set of religious beliefs or tenets. But surely ensuring our children are taught about both the differences and similarities involved in the major religions is as important as anything else on the school curriculum.

Only by doing so can we hope to eliminate prejudice, eradicate unnecessary social tensions – and make this a better place for us all to live in.