TruthBook Religious News Blog

Knowledge of faiths is central understanding of world events, according to university teacher

By Jean Prescott
MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS
08/11/2007

BILOXI, Miss. -- As the world grows smaller, and it does so every day, we find "the neighborhood" overrun with new and different people expressing unfamiliar ideas about which we understand little and care not at all.

What to do? Some advise: get smarter.

I don't care what field of endeavor you happen to be in," said Allan Eickelmann, a professor of religion at the University of Southern Mississippi-Gulf Coast Campus and an ordained United Church of Christ minister, "in this day and age, you'd better have some understanding of human diversity, because the fact is that globalization is not going away, and America is not going to become less diverse. In fact, it is going to become more diverse, if that's possible."

A recent count places the number of religions in America today at about 1,800, Eickelmannsaid. He hasn't had time to keep up with them all.

"Knowledge leads to understanding, and understanding human diversity is absolutely essential for our society to function," Eickelmann said.

He deals in knowledge -- about the religions of the world and the people who practice them.

"there is no better way to come to an understanding of human diversity than to understand the diversity of religious expression."

In fact, he and a couple of colleagues recently drew a standing-room-only crowd to an Issues=Answers lecture in downtown Gulfport, Miss. Several hundred people turned out to hear them talk about religion and violence, a hot-button topic. The question-and-answer segment that followed their presentations not only did not dissolve into a riotous affair, but many in the audience seemed reticent, unsure of how to frame a question for which they wanted, perhaps desperately needed, answers.

How do we become better informed? "Take a class" is the logical answer, though that can be expensive at the university level (we provide a thumbnail of what's available locally when fall sessions begin).

Why not begin before university? Why not offer courses in religion, something like basic world religions, in high school?

"There are several practical reasons why it's not done broadly," Eickelmannsaid, notable among them being the difficulty of fitting a religion elective into the overall curriculum.

"History, English, math, science all are offered for four years. ... And when you have one or two spots for electives, you probably can offer only one course for religion." A certified instructor is needed, nevertheless, and unless the school has thousands of students who could fill a day with religion classes, "one course wouldn't keep the teacher busy."

And high schools are quite concerned about indoctrination, "which is verboten," Eickelmann said. "The issue of equal access under the law comes up.

"It's all related to the First Amendment," he said, "which has two clauses tied together. The first is freedom of speech, which people in (journalism) know about, and freedom of religion." The framers of the Constitution, he said, declared that if the government (and by extension, public schools) were to favor one particular form of religious expression over another, it would disallow the free exchange of religious ideas. That's indoctrination, and the Constitution prohibits it.

Eickelmann stands by his claim, though, that at this time in human history it is imperative that we understand what motivates even those whom we observe to be least like ourselves.

"If you don't understand diversity, you don't understand how to be an American in the 21st century; you don't understand how to be a citizen of the world."

Labels: diversity, faith, first amendment, Jean Prescott, knowledge, religion