SRI LANKAN CHILDREN MUST BE TAUGHT COMPARATIVE RELIGION IN SCHOOLS
Posted on June 18th, 2019

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Teaching religions have included to the school curriculum in Sri Lanka and students at primary and secondary contexts are studied the subject, religion which is own religion of kids in most instances and in rare occasions kids learn other religions in schools than own religion.  I observed that hate to other religions originates while kids are learning own religions at schools as religious teachers in all religions attempt to convince students that other religions are mythical and indirectly promote to hate and insult them. Hating and insulting other religions have been a common nature of the country since the second century AD and during the Portuguese era, this situation especially appeared in Christian schools and was continuing.

Religions teach about life after death and nobody sees the truth about religion as at the time of death, the material body is destroyed and nobody can see what is happening in the world after death.  In this situation, nobody can exactly say this religion is true and others are myths and people need to respect all religions than hating any religion.

The current form of teaching religions in schools needs to be changed as it promotes hate among people on unknown matters. In many countries’ kids are taught comparative religion in which kids gain opportunities to learn the basic philosophy of all religions and to respect other religions than own religion.

Education policymakers in Sri Lanka need to consider incorporating comparative religion to school curriculum than teaching a single religion to kids.

4 Responses to “SRI LANKAN CHILDREN MUST BE TAUGHT COMPARATIVE RELIGION IN SCHOOLS”

  1. Christie Says:

    Hi Edward why don’t you preach in where you live.

  2. Ancient Sinhalaya Says:

    Any religion’s main objectives is to discipline the two legged creatures. This is in addition to the laws of the land.
    If the religion discipline people then, the law of the land has easier job in their hand. If the religions profess the
    followers to commit sins in the name of it, obviously you going to have a bad society.

    People used to worship rivers, mountains, trees, gods in the olden days in the absence of science. Today, in this
    scientific era, religions have to pass the science test to be accepted as true. Buddhism is the only religion which
    passes the science test. While all gods are man made, The Buddha used his mind to achieve attainment and could
    see through what is birth, life, death, universe etc. etc. Today, science has proven all that is true. What’s more Buddhism’s Five Precepts is the criterion for all the law courts under the sun. Later religions copied them, added
    a few more and called them a different name. By then emphasis was gone and today we have a selfish, greedy, uncaring, dangerous world. The reason for this is people’s reluctance to call spade a spade for their advantage. Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, earth’s size in the vast vast universe (by NASA’s missions, universe size believed to be 93 billion light years), planets Mercury, Venus, etc. etc. Even in this 21st century people are reluctant to accept the facts! Any doubter can Google or even look at the night sky to give some clue to our place in the vast vast universe.

    When one is dying, he/she will lose control of their mental processes. During this time, the actions and habits in their memories are released. Depending on this person’s karma, they will begin to see images, which will either
    be frightening images, or images of loved ones or scenic beauty. Even though the physical body is weak, they
    may cry out these visions.

    Buddhism says that when we die the mind that has been developed and conditioned for this life re-establishes
    itself in a new being. The new individual will then grow a new personality that is conditioned by those life circumstances. This process of dying and re-establishing itself continue until one reaches Nirvana – a state of enlightenment that does not desire or crave but simply lives in peace and with love.

    When the body breaks down at the point of death, these energies are released as mental energy. Energy cannot
    be destroyed and therefore, this energy has to re-establish itself in a new body. It’s almost like radio waves which are made of energy at different frequencies, which travel through space to be picked up by a suitable receiver.

    Any honest person will believe Buddhism should be taught in every school to condition the young minds to be
    good members of the society by adhering to the Five Precepts which will teach them to differentiate right from wrong. Anyone with an iota of common sense will not even contemplate to teach the youngsters to kill//lie if
    a person isn’t believing of your faith or mythical gods. Then again, in money ruling, dishonest, greedy world how many is going to stick to principles when it is disadvantageous to him/her.

    Buddhism’s non-violence stance itself is used by other religions to destroy the only true religion in the world and
    we can not turn a blind eye and let them carry on the destruction like they did in old Buddhist iran, afganisthan,
    pakesthan, bangladesh, malaysia and indonesia. While not even a picture of The Buddha is allowed in mussie
    countries, we have to let them make Sri Lanka join old Buddhist countries club?

    See it’s all science, it’s all Buddhism. It’s like computers one could say. 0 to 1 (evolved to be two legged creatures,
    the highest position) then nirvana.

  3. DAYA HEWAPATHIRANE Says:

    Sri Lankan children must nessarily be taught BUDDHISM, because the basis of our nation’s culture and social value system is Buddhism. It is a well known fact that Sri Lanka as a nation is founded on Buddhist norms and principles. What the country clearly projects is its Buddhist imprint. The uniqueness of its cultural heritage is directly attributable to its Buddhist foundation. The impact of Buddhism is reflected both directly and indirectly, in the tangible and intangible aspects of the nation’s culture. The values that guide people’s life, are clearly reflective of the impact of Buddhism. Buddhist principles have shaped people’s lifestyle of where non-violence, tolerance, compassion and peaceful coexistence with others and with nature, are ingrained characteristics. Since the arrival of Buddhism in the country in the 3rd century BCE, during a long historic period of more than 2200 years, the outstanding accomplishments of her people in many areas of life, are largely attributable to Buddhist principles that guided their lives. It was Buddhism that inspired the people of this nation to develop wholesome qualities and skills enabling them to evolve a culture where peace, tolerance, compassion, generosity, creativity, wisdom, creativity and spirituality are the cornerstones.

  4. DAYA HEWAPATHIRANE Says:

    Sri Lankan children must nessarily be taught BUDDHISM. It is a well known fact that Sri Lanka as a nation is founded on Buddhist norms and principles. What the country clearly projects is its Buddhist imprint. The uniqueness of its cultural heritage is directly attributable to its Buddhist foundation. The impact of Buddhism is reflected both directly and indirectly, in the tangible and intangible aspects of the nation’s culture. The values that guide people’s life, are clearly reflective of the impact of Buddhism. Buddhist principles have shaped people’s lifestyle of where non-violence, tolerance, compassion and peaceful coexistence with others and with nature, are ingrained characteristics. Since the arrival of Buddhism in the country in the 3rd century BCE, during a long historic period of more than 2200 years, the outstanding accomplishments of her people in many areas of life, are largely attributable to Buddhist principles that guided their lives. It was Buddhism that inspired the people of this nation to develop wholesome qualities and skills enabling them to evolve a culture where peace, tolerance, compassion, generosity, creativity, wisdom, creativity and spirituality are the cornerstones.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

 

 


Copyright © 2024 LankaWeb.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by Wordpress