Reflections Magazine Issue #50 - Spring 1999 | Page 9

Faculty
News

9
how to find common ground on issues
in religion.
Weeks would like to see local elementary schools include religion
under topics like science, history,
social studies, and literature. Values
and morals education, multi-cultural
education, and some service learning
classes, all of which deal with
By Crystal Starkey ‘00 learning about different races and
genders, already are being instilled
into the curriculum. Schools could
backgrounds should not leave them
easily integrate learning about religion
feeling alienated, suspicious or angry,
in such programs, she notes.
she says. Learning about different
religions does not mean changing your
At the secondary level, Weeks
own beliefs or converting anyone else. It
believes religion should become a
does mean understanding how people’s
permanent part of courses in history,
beliefs influence their behavior.
civics, economics, literature, science,
and the arts. “Schools could also teach
Obtaining a genuine understanding about
separate world religion courses to
religious differences takes more than
expand on the basic knowledge that
attending a workshop, hearing a lecture,
students would gain in other classes,”
or taking one class, Weeks adds.
she says.
Learning is an on-going process and

Understanding religious beliefs is
key to solving world conflicts
uring a time when political and
religious conflicts threaten
people’s lives and safety around
the world, education about religion may
provide a simple solution, according to
Dr. Susan Conley Weeks ’67, a professor
of religious studies at Siena Heights.
Weeks believes multi-cultural education,
including education about the religious
beliefs that are at the root of different
cultures, is a key to solving our universal
conflicts.
We in the U.S., have misunderstood the
intention of our constitutional writers,
Weeks says, pointing out that we are
guaranteed freedom for religion, not
freedom from religion. Weeks is a
member of the American Academy of
Religion (AAR), which has been
addressing the issue of teaching about
religion in public education sectors.

religion should be part of it on all levels.
Weeks and others hope to see changes in
teacher education to make that happen.

This winter, Weeks attended a conference
on “Religious Liberty, Religion and
Teachers,” based on the book, Taking
Religion Seriously Across the Curriculum
by Warren Nord and Charles Haynes.
Discussion focused on incorporating
religion into all aspects of education. “We
explored ways of integrating an understanding of the first amendment into the
standard school curriculum,” she said,
noting that the first amendment begins,
“Congress shall make no law respecting
the establishment of religion, or
prohibiting the free exercise thereof...”.

We in the United States have

Only through education about other
cultures and beliefs will people be able to
understand and work around their
differences, Weeks believes. Discussion
among persons of different religious

Some states already have taken steps to
integrate religion into their core
curriculum. In California, for example,
public education teachers from
kindergarten through ninth grade must

misunderstood the intention
of our constitutional writers.
We are guaranteed freedom
for religion, not freedom
from religion.
- Susan Weeks
meet requirements in areas like ethics,
philosophy, religion, and human
civilization. In Utah, schools have
adopted a requirement called the 3 R
Program (Rights, Responsibilities, and
Respect), which helps teachers learn

Weeks also would like to change the
fact that many college students do not
have a basic knowledge of religion.
Earning a bachelor’s degree at Siena
Heights usually requires one course in
religion and/or one course in
philosophy. She believes a 3-4 course
minimum including at least one class
in world religions, Hebrew scriptures,
or the Catholic Church since Vatican
II would be a more appropriate
requirement. By only requiring one
course, Siena Heights is cheating
college graduates of a real understanding of different religions, she
says. In addition, religion ideally
should be integrated into subjects like
history and literature, which have
been affected by religion throughout
the ages.
Weeks would like to see Siena
Heights “be the leader in the state for
education about religion.” She wants
SHU graduates to understand all
religions, especially their own,
without being brainwashed within a
particular point of view. A graduate of
a Catholic university should be able to
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