Source: The Tennessean
A Texas expert on religion in public school textbooks waded into Tennessee’s ongoing discussion about how to appropriately teach world religions, specifically Islam, during a Tuesday night forum.
David R. Brockman, who conducted reviews of religion in textbooks up for adoption in Texas, shared the lessons he learned from that process with the crowd gathered at the Congregation Micah in Brentwood. The Family of Abraham, a Nashville-area interfaith group that promotes understanding and respectful dialogue about faith, brought Brockman to town to address the issue of teaching the history of religions in Tennessee.As the state reviews its social studies standards, the textbook and religion issue has prompted town hall meetings, state legislation and debate about whether Islam is inaccurately portrayed as peaceful given recent recurring examples of radical Islam.
“The issues that you’re facing today here in Tennessee, particularly arguments over how Islam is presented in the textbooks sound a whole lot like the arguments we’ve been having back in Texas,” Brockman said.
Brockman, a religious studies scholar and Christian theologian, said he wanted to share his experience in case it may be of some help to Tennessee. He broke down his key points into three categories:
1. Why it is important for children to learn about religions.
Religion has shaped the human story and continues to do so, Brockman said. He argued that students cannot understand the world, their country or their religiously diverse communities if they don’t have a “basic working knowledge” of religions.
“Their neighbors, their classmates, their future coworkers and customers may well have very different beliefs and practices than they themselves do. Students need to understand the beliefs and practices of their fellow citizens in order to function effectively in our nation,” Brockman said.
Categories: America, Education, Religion, The Muslim Times, USA