The Impact of Religious Education on Children’s
Development
It is an undeniable fact that education is one of the most important cornerstones of
all human societies. The way a society regards raising the next generation is reflected first and foremost in its
educational system.
Here I will try to picture a complete religious
education. I will discuss the effects of religious education on school
curricula, on girl pupils and their rights, and on boys and girls relationship.
I will examine the imposing of veil on little girls and adolescents, the rule
of sexual apartheid and the way sexual matters and sex education is treated in
schools. At the end I stress and emphasize the necessity of a secular education
that ensures raising healthy children and youths,
and the development of the whole community. My case is the Islamic educational
system in Iran.
With the anti-secularist
backlash, the rise of political Islam and the efforts to bring god back to
people's lives, the last two decades have been some of the darkest in people's
lives especially of women and children. Medieval beliefs and customs have found
legal expression to suppress people. Words can not do justice to the repression
and backwardness of Islamic movements and Islamic governments. For a long time
Islam was relatively kept at arm's length from political power but it is now
the ideology in power in some countries including Iran in which society has
suffered serious setbacks in civil rights -
especially women's and children's rights. One of these devastating setbacks is
religious (Islamic) education. This system is reflected in school curricula and
scientific advancements, in the school milieu, in the way girl pupils are
treated and in Islamic teachings regarding women.
School curricula In some societies indoctrination
has been imparted to children to cause pupils to hold certain belief and
religious values. In the system here the educational authorities attempt to
inculcate in the pupils unshakable truths such as the existence of god, that
Christianity is the source of truth and so on. In various Middle Eastern
countries religion (Islam) has a big impact on education and school system. As a Middle Eastern country, Iran is an
extreme case. In Iran the impact of religion on education is far from trivial.
In Iran Islam rules in every aspect of education and school system. Belief in
Islam and live according to Islamic values and norms and thoughts are pre-
conditions for survival. Teaching Koran and learning it is compulsory from the
first year in primary schools. Teachers must pass a religious exam to be
permitted to teach. This exam includes Islamic rules, prayers, Koran and
Hadith. Islamic propaganda is done systematically. Free thoughts are forbidden
and punishable. Superstition has influenced school curricula. This has created
a dark and stagnated milieu for children. School pupils are taught that if they
do not obey the rules, they will be burned in hell (jahannam).
This has deprived and continues to deprive
children from learning and experiencing scientific advancements. It kills their
creativity and replaces curiosity and desire for learning with the dark rules
and values of 1400 years ago at the time of Mohammad. Religious teachings
regarding women is one of the most devastating aspects of the Islamic
educational system in Iran. This teaches children that woman are inferior to
and equal to only half of a man, that women belong to men, that men have the
right to punish their wives if they do not obey them, that women are the
potential source of corruption in the society so hijab should be imposed on
them. They are taught that veil is the legitimate physical border of a woman's
existence in society to protect men and community from any possible moral and
social danger and destruction they may cause. They learn that the main duty of
women is considered to be taking care of the home and children etc. Teaching
women's oppressed conditions and male dominance as something natural, necessary
and desirable is an essential theme in school education. Women are pictured
only as mothers and housekeepers. In school children learn the male - female
traditional gender roles, women's segregation and sexual apartheid as a
desirable state for women in the society.
Sexual Apartheid Another important aspect of
religious education in Iran is the rule of sexual apartheid. In Iran sexual
apartheid rules in every area of people's lives including the workplace,
libraries, transport healthcare, education and schools. Girls and boys are
separated right from beginning in schools. According to Islamic values, which
are the basis of laws in Iran, women are accused of being the source of
corrupting the community and the agent of leading men astray. For this
"crime" they are controlled and punished from early childhood to the
moment of death.
Girl pupils are under enormous pressure in school
as well as in the society. Veil (hijab) is imposed on them by force. This
deprives them from free movement, playing and happiness and enjoying social
activities. School authorities spy on girls to see if they wear make up, if
they talk about boys or if they have the picture of artists and so on. Even
pupils are intimidated to spy on their parents and report to school authority
about their parent's life style or whether their female relatives offend
against Islamic rules at home. This has produced a system of inquisition in
schools. The environment is full of repression and control, the control of
children's mind and behavior.
Friendship among girls and boys is forbidden,
considered as a sin and punishable. Girls are under strict scrutiny. Their
talking, walking, laughing, dress and movements is controlled and monitored
carefully. Teachers and principals punish girls physically and psychologically
if their veil is not worn properly even while they play.
Talking about sexual matters is treated as a big
crime and sex education is unacceptable. Any relationship among boys and girls
is banned. In such a milieu it is a big sin to talk about male/ female bodily
organs and sex education. Everything related to male/female relation is
considered to be secretive, sinful and full of humiliation.
Children are normally keen to learn and
experience, know about the world, learn about their body and their bodily
functions. They want to know where babies come from and about the opposite sex.
All these normal and necessary curiosities are answered by frightening tales
about evil and hell. This system brings about nothing but backwardness and
hypocrisy.
The Veil and the rights of girls under 16
Putting veil on the heads and bodies of little
girls and adolescents has a devastating impact on their minds and lives.
Putting veil on the heads of children and adolescents who have not come of age
should be prohibited in law, because it is the imposition of certain clothing
of the child by the followers of a certain religious sect. It so happens that
the defense of the civil rights of the child and the child's right to choose
require that this imposition be legally prevented. The child has no religion,
tradition and prejudices. She has not joined any religious sect. She is a new
human being who by accident and irrespective of her will has been born into a
family with specific religion, tradition, and prejudices. It is indeed the task
of society to neutralize the negative effects of this blind lottery. Society is
duty -bound to provide fair and equal living conditions for the children, their
growth and development, and their active participation in social life. Anybody
who should try to block the normal social life of a child, exactly like those
who would want to physically violate a child according to their own culture,
religion or personal or collective complexes should be confronted with the firm
barrier of the law and the serious reaction of society. No nine-year-old girl
chooses to be married, sexually mutilated, serve as housemaid and cook for the
male members of the family, and be deprived of exercise, education, and play.
The child grows up in the family and society according to established customs,
traditions and regulations, and automatically learns to accept these ideas and
customs as the norms of life. It is not their choice and indeed speaking of the
choice of the Islamic veil by the child herself is a ridiculous joke.
Secular education Children should be protected
against the transgressions of religion and religious sects on their rights. It
is an offence to prevent children from enjoying their social and civil rights
such as a secular education, amusement and participation in social activities
specific to children. Islamic education in Iran as well as other countries
under Islamic rule is a systematic child abuse.
Society is duty- bound to defend the rights of
children. We should demand that standards which have turned into norms as a result
of the enlightenment and just struggles of numerous human beings in the West be
rules and norms in education in countries under Islamic rule.
Society has the duty to protect children and
persons under 16 from all forms of material and spiritual manipulation by
religion and religious institutions. Society should guarantee both freedom of
religion and atheism, and this is vital where children are taught that Jews,
Bahaees and followers of other religions are somehow criminals and should not
enjoy rights of Muslims. A complete separation of religion from the state
guarantees this separation and protects children from manipulation by
religions.
The complete separation of religion from
education, prohibition of teaching religious subjects and dogmas of religious
interpretation of subjects in schools and educational establishments, abolition
of any law, regulation or ritual that breaches the principle of secular non -
religious education are the essential and necessary measures to ensure children
rights, the health of the next generation and development of the society.
Adapted from a speech given at the 5th symposium
of the Arab Cultural Centre in London in July 29, 2000 and also at a seminar
held by Save the Children in Stockholm in October 5, 2001.
The importance of positive social environments and
relationships for parents
A
child’s social environment is largely dictated by where their parents live and
send them to school. In turn, the social environment largely determines who
children form social relationships with and the quality of those social
relationships, as many of the relationships children form are within their
family or neighbourhood. As such, parents’ decisions (or, on the contrary, lack
of decision making power) about where to live, work and school can markedly
affect the health and wellbeing of their children.
An
individual’s physical surroundings markedly influence their health.
Environments characterised by poor physical surroundings (e.g. lack of open
space, lack of facilities and litter) are associated with poor health outcomes.
For example, social environments characterised by quality, affordable housing
are associated with reduced poverty and increased residential stability, both
of which affect a child’s health and the social relationships which they form.
Children who change neighbourhoods frequently because their parents are forced
to move to find affordable housing may find it difficult to develop supportive
social relationships and are more likely to be absent from or under-perform at
school. Australian children who lived in cleaner neighbourhoods were assessed
as having better social behaviours than those living in less clean environments.
The
availability of good quality educational facilities within an environment is
also important. For example, attending early childhood education is associated
with improved childhood development and individuals living in socio-economically
marginalised communities are less likely to have access to early childhood
education facilities, and are thus less likely to attend and experience the
benefits of early childhood education. Children who do not attend early
childhood education have also been shown to be at greater risk of maltreatment
during childhood.
The
availability of job opportunities within a neighbourhood or community may also
affect a child’s development, by influencing their parents’ work. Working
locally means less travel time (and presumably, more time for family
commitments) and associated stress.Work-related
stress and time constraints have been shown to have negative effects on
individuals and spill over into the family and affect relationships within it,
including the quality of parent-child relationships. Working locally can improve
parenting, relationships between parents and children and ultimately child
health and development. There is also evidence that the availability of housing
and employment within a neighbourhood, affect levels of child maltreatment and
children are less likely to be maltreated in communities where housing and
employment are more readily available.
