Why ‘I Shouldn’t Study Religious Education because I’m not Religious’ is Illogical

This argument ignores (1) the point of studying and (2) doesn’t work when applied to other subjects.

 

Firstly, studying any subject is to learn new things, not things that you’re familiar with already. If you were already familiar with them then there’d be no point being in the classroom. Why should RE be any different? Thus not being religious is the reason to study RE.

 

Secondly, this reasoning doesn’t apply to any other subject so there’s no reason for it to apply to RE. Would you say, for example, that you shouldn’t study maths because you don’t want to be a statistician? Or decline science because you don’t want to be a physicist? No, of course not.

 

Different subjects provide useful skills and knowledge. Using different parts of the brain is healthy and improves its overall performance. The brain is like any other part of the body: it needs exercise to be healthy and being healthy provides a superior quality of life.

 

RE has social benefits. By allowing students to understand different religions and cultures, ignorance and thence fear is removed. Becoming a more tolerant, rounded individual improves life’s prospects. Further, all this enhances social cohesion and peaceful interactions, both at home and abroad. Conflicts wouldn’t happen so people wouldn’t die. Why would anyone turn their nose up at that?

 

So the reasoning behind ‘I shouldn’t study RE because I’m not religious’ is illogical and has no parallel, making it ineffective. Plus studying RE brings major benefits. Religious Education is valuable.