R: Add Theology to the Common Core

Education plays a central role in every civilized society: that is, to pass the notions of citizenship and the Good Life from generation to generation. Certainly "education" does not exclusively refer to "schooling," but we've come to accept that formal schooling—often under the auspices of the government—is the surest way to educate an entire population, a necessary condition for the full societal benefits of education to be realized. In this capacity, the government must determine the essential components of a complete education. Most recently, this has taken the form of the Common Core, an initiative led by the states to standardize K-12 educational requirements nationwide. The Common Core emphasizes the importance of critical thinking, rather than rote memorization, in a good education. Naturally it includes math and English, but perhaps it is also appropriate to add a more abstract pursuit to the Core—theology. After all, theology requires a level of reasoning that can complement the more rigid structures of math, reading, and writing. And religion—which rests on theology—forms such a central part of our moral and legal fabric that to go through life without critically considering the source of these convictions is ignorant, and maybe even a threat to society. Too many people, it seems, are either blind followers of one religion or staunch enemies of all of them, simply because they have failed to think about the questions that theology tries to answer. But if public schools teach theology, must they give equal weight to different religions and philosophies—for instance, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and even atheism?  The confusion might lead students astray from all religions. Can students even appreciate the intricacies of theological ideas, and can teachers do a good job conveying them? It might make more sense to just leave theology to religious institutions. But perhaps the basics are not so inaccessible, and a high school theology curriculum would serve as a platform from which students can launch deeper inquiries into the subject. Maybe theology is great precisely because it leaves so much unanswered and teaches the sort of inquisitiveness that is the hallmark of a complete education.

Join us this Wednesday, January 29th, at 7:45 pm in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room as we debate the place of education and religion in America's future. All are welcome!