Religion being taught in schools has proven to be a very controversial subject. I feel that it could be very beneficial to children to be knowledgeable about the different religions of their peers. I chose this topic because of my own personal experience with it. I have gone through the public school system and was forced to keep my religion a secret because of people that would discriminate and bully me for believing what I do. I am atheist, and when people discover this they get very upset, and sometimes offended, because they do not truly understand what it means. Anytime I have gotten the chance to explain myself and what it is that I believe in, people have understood. It is the people that do not have an understanding of what atheism is that are upset by it and by me identifying myself in such a way. I feel that if children were informed of religions, other than their own, they would be less likely to judge a person based on their beliefs.   Introducing religion to public schools as an informational subject could be very beneficial to students, and has proven to be through programs throughout history. 

In the article "Teaching Religion in Brazil, in Public Schools and Confessional Colleges" the author explains when religious education was introduced to public schools in Brazil as an elective. The article explains that religion should be taught to children in school to "secure respect for religious diversity", which is one of the main reasons that I feel it should be taught to children.  The only problem that is mentioned in the article is attempting to teach enough religions, because each student would want their own religion to be included in the class. The authors from this article are writing from the university that is written about. This means they are credible because they have experienced first-hand how the class works at the college level, but it also causes them to be biased because they are writing about their own university. 

The second article, "An Evaluation on the Concepts of  Problems of Philosophy of Religion in Terms of Teaching Religion: A Study into the Units of Philosophy of Religion and Religious Concepts in the Programs of Teaching Philosophy" lists several programs that have been introduced to schools throughout history to teach religion. The programs go from 1924 to 2009 and are forms of either philosophy, sociology, and/or logic. It explains that religion is a difficult thing to introduce into the school system, but if carried out correctly it can be quite beneficial to students. The author is credible because he is a professor from the Department of Philosophy and Religious Sciences. The article provides several examples that prove that teaching religion to students can be very beneficial and can work without being too much of a controversial subject. This article is just further proof that it is possible to teach religion in schools without it being a problem. 

The last article is "Study about Religions in the Social Studies Curriculum" it is a statement of the position for the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). The statement is intended for anyone in the general public that are involved in preschool through graduate school. The statement says that religion should be taught to children as an informational subject through the subject of Social Studies due to the significant role that religion has played throughout history. "Knowledge of religions is also necessary for understanding much of history, politics, ethics, art, and literature", this further proves that a religious education is an important thing to have. This source is also very trustworthy and credible because of the fact that it is a statement from the NCSS. This article supports the decision of making religion part of a required course in public schools, but I feel that the families should have a choice as to whether they would like to have their child in such a course. 

This subject is a very touchy one, and is very easily arguable. It could be offensive to certain families due to their beliefs, but that is why I feel that religion should be offered as an optional course. I agree with the sources that say that religion would be beneficial for children to learn, but I do not agree that it should be part of a Social Studies course that is required for all students. I feel that the school system should support the rights of families not wishing to have their child take a religion course, but families that wish for their child to be put in a religion course should also be supported. These sources have proven to me that it can be a very good thing to educate children in various religions. 
