Religious beliefs and practices are among the most significant forces in world history, influencing human culture, ethics, social order, and economics. They provide a sense of meaning, purpose, and value for people. Religious people are willing to live according to and at times even die for what they most value, and they communicate their values and beliefs to others through rituals, teachings, and texts.
In the study of religion, scholars use textual, historical, linguistic and many other approaches to explore this complex phenomenon. There are different ways to define the concept of religion, but most scholars agree that a key factor is that people feel that their religion binds them together in moral community. These ties may or not involve belief in supernatural beings or an afterlife.
The study of religion has been a part of academic life since ancient times, but its modern configuration and institutional embodiment are twentieth century phenomena. The field has emerged as a result of the recognition that it is important to know about the diversity and power of religions worldwide, their impact on individuals and societies, and their capacity for change.
There are a variety of ways to study religion, and students should be encouraged to use the resources that best fit their interests. In addition, teachers should try to include diverse perspectives in class activities, ensuring that all students have the opportunity to learn about religions from a wide range of sources and voices. This will make it possible for them to develop the critical skills needed to assess the validity of claims about religion and other topics in the classroom.
It is not easy to define religion, but the term is generally understood to refer to human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. It also includes the way in which they deal with ultimate concerns, whether in terms of their relationship to gods or spirits, or in more humanistic or naturalistic forms, where those concerns are addressed within the context of one’s relations and attitudes toward other people or the wider universe.
Many attempts to analyze the nature of religion have been “monothetic” in that they viewed it as consisting of a set of specific beliefs in a distinctive kind of reality. However, in the twentieth century a more sophisticated approach developed that drops the substantive element and defines it functionally: religion is whatever system of practices unites a group of people into a single moral community, regardless of their belief in unusual realities.
Despite this disagreement about what religion is, most scholars agree that it is a pervasive and powerful force in the world, with its most widespread manifestations being Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism. According to Gallup surveys, the world’s poorest countries are the most religious, with 95% of those with incomes below $2000 reporting that they believe in some form of religion. For these reasons, NCSS strongly supports the study of religion in the public schools, and calls on state education leaders, textbook publishers, online content creators, and teacher educators to promote policies, learning standards, and practices that support high academic standards for the teaching of religion.