Religious Schools: Government Funding and Religious Schools

In many parts of the world there are ongoing discussions as to whether the government should fund religious education. With growing cultural diversity and religious freedom this is a difficult issue with many areas of argument both for and against funding religious schools.

Many believe that State and Religion should be held separate. When the government lends its approval to one religion it increases the chance for religious groups to condemn other religions. This can lead to militant fighting amongst supporters of differing religions and could have tragic results in the long run.

To prevent this many governments have chosen to not fund any kind of religious schools. Others have taken a different approach, stating that religion should be a mandatory subject of education so that children become exposed to the diverse types of religious beliefs held by the myriad cultures of the world.

The problem with funding religious schools is where do you stop? If you fund only one type of school then it appears that the government "approves" of that religion but not of others. However, with so many religions represented around the world it would be next to impossible to represent all religions in a given area with government sponsored schools. With an enormous number of denominations Christianity alone, let alone the different formality levels of Judaism, or other religions, it would be very difficult to know where to draw the line.

Also, if the government sponsored religious schools, what would prevent other types of schools from seeking government sponsorship? Imagine the government having to sponsor schools dedicated to specialized learning systems like Montessori, or for religious schools that teach subjects that don't follow state-approved curriculum, such as teaching creationism to the exclusion of evolution.

Of course, for parents it is more difficult to afford private education when they are already paying taxes that are used to support the public school system. If they were freed from those taxes they could potentially sink that money into selecting the education that they feel is best for their children. The sad thing though is that the public school system would then suffer from the loss of funding.

There probably isn't a right answer to the debate on publicly funded religious schools. Possibly another solution must be found that not only funds education according to what parents want, but also tailors education more for the individual needs of the students. It is likely that a full education system overhaul would be necessary to resolve the problems that schools now face, but that is unlikely any time in the near future. In the meantime the debate continues with strong supporters on both sides of the issue of funding religious schools.