The Impact of Religious Education on Children’s Development

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.

Physical surroundings

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.