EDITORIAL – Religion to become a gen-ed?

A Harvard University faculty committee recently proposed a requirement for all… A Harvard University faculty committee recently proposed a requirement for all undergraduates to study religion, according to the Associated Press.

Harvard is known for setting standards in academia. Only weeks ago it announced that it would no longer be accepting students through the early decision program, in order to give equal opportunities to less affluent students. This announcement was quickly followed by reviews of early admission programs at other national universities.

Now, the prominent Ivy League university is once again setting the standard, with the call for a religion requirement. Specifically, the proposal calls for students to take a course in “reason and faith,” which could range anywhere from courses covering history of religion to comparative classes, such as Why Americans Love God and Europeans Don’t.

Although Harvard’s roots are Puritan, faculty members acknowledge that it is no longer religiously affiliated.

“Harvard is no longer an institution with a religious mission, but religion is a fact that Harvard’s graduates will confront in their lives,” the report said.

This proposal takes a very reasonable stance on dreaded general-education graduation requirements. Most national universities, including the University of Pittsburgh, require students to take a number of non-major classes that are intended to give the student a “well-rounded” liberal arts education. These requirements generally include a conglomeration of many liberal arts subjects, but in general, students are usually required to graduate with at least a decent competency in writing, science, math and a scattering of social sciences, art and history courses. But very few public universities require religion.

Religious classes are often misinterpreted as literally teaching religious doctrine. At most universities, though, religious studies classes often aim to give students an understanding and a history of different religions, which in our opinion may be more pertinent for students in the “real world” than many other gen-ed requirements.

Religion is a huge part of our world. To begin, most students are either attached to a particular religion or set of beliefs, or at least have an opinion on religion. It is an issue that will follow us as we graduate college and go on to pursue our lives, raise children and find jobs. While we might forget the specifics of calculus or economics later in life, religion will stay with us for years to come.

Religion class can benefit more than just one’s personal religious growth. For thousands of years, religion has been a fundamental cause of many, if not most, global disputes. Many of these problems come down to misunderstandings and the inability to accept others’ religions. Religion classes help students to understand the different perspectives and fundamental disputes between different religious groups around the world. Perhaps requiring religion classes in the future will produce a more understanding global society, or, at the least, we can understand the other side of the issue.

Harvard’s proposal is an intelligent reform of what a well-rounded education should be, and hopefully other universities will follow its lead.