Only if we are going to teach other other ten million other religions along with it. Banning religion in school is the only "safe" way to go since nobody wants their kid being taught other "wrong" religions. Although certain groups do want everybody to be brainwashed, er I mean taught their Brand of Faith - few are open to being taught other brands of faith.

since its considered a religion and religion is not allowed in public schools i would say no.

In a religious education class, I don't see why not. I tend to think all relgion should be taught in a 'some people believe this' sort of way rather than saying something is the truth. Perhaps more time should be dedicated to the bigger, more popular religions as more people believe them, but i think less popular things should be taught too, as should atheism. R.E. should give you as broad a spectrum of beliefs as possible. Edit: I'm basing my answer on the UK, where there are Religious Education classes that look at the beliefs and practises of all sorts of people.

I think that if a school is going to explain religions, Wicca should be included. It is important to have an understanding of the world around you and different religions are part of that. Certainly, this is what our public school system is for. I think it would help to alleviate discrimination, and especially discrimination formed from knowledge that is wrong. If a school is not going to teach about religions I do not think Wicca should be taught about.

i think they should be taught that there are many religions. that no single one is right or wrong and to be open to all.

As long as I can add Worship of the Giant Steelhamster and his noodliness.... I would be all for it ;-)

Good question. I don't think it should be taught as fact (not in a Science lesson or anything like that), because like all religions there is no real proof and I feel it is wrong to brain wash children into following a particular faith as the truth through schooling - this should be a decision left to the individual. However, I do think children should learn about religious diversity in order to prevent prejudice and discrimination amongst people of different beliefs. I think children should be taught about main stream religions and systems of belief such as Christianity, Atheism, Agnosticism, Islam, Buddhism etc etc. I feel through this Wicca could be covered and explored for a short period. After all, it is as valid as any other religion of system of belief. However I think to concentrate a large amount of time on it would not be worthwhile, at least, in my opinion. This is because although Wicca is a legitimate form of beliefs, it is not hugely mainstream and therefore I feel the chances of someone encountering a follower of Wicca are quite slim (as oppossed to others, if you see what I mean). Still, I feel a basic understanding of as many cultures, religions and systems of belief (including Wicca) as possible should be taught in order to better our society as a whole. Will this ever happen [properly]? I doubt it.

I don’t want to teach people how to worship and do rituals to the great flying spaghetti monster. If there is a large group of people that choose to worship the flying spaghetti monster then maybe learn about why the people need to do such a silly thing. Replace the flying spaghetti monster with a religion and there you go :D

I don't think so. We're not taught religion in public schools so why would Wicca be an exception? If we had a class of diverse religions, than yes, Wicca should be taught too.

Well yeah, I think that kids should be taught that Wicca exists (that would helpful around my home because nobody seems to get it even though there are so many of us) and that it's an option. But the only way I can see that happening is in a religous studies class or somehting. But if Wicca isn't making the curiculum, then niether should any other religion.

no. i don't think any religion should be taught in the public schools. private schools or universities are a different matter. but, for public schools, i beleive in seperation of church and state.

nope, it is a religion and the constitution prohibits teaching religion in publc school.

Teaching religion in schools is NOT prohibited by the Constitution. It has been interpreted that way by the Supreme Court and that decision can be overturned at any time.

OK, after reading 13 answers, I will provide my 2 cents, as a general answer. NO, the teaching of religion or even an overview of religion in schools leads to distraction in classrooms, school boards and PTA meetings. The teachers will be asked questions that will broaden the subject beyond the bounds established by the US constitution and most likely step on the toes of several religions either intentionally or unintentionally by providing inaccurate or incomplete answers. It is best that our schools avoid this subject completely and use our tax dollars to prepare our children to be successful in English, Math and Science. I know it is boring, but US students are still less able to compete with students from other countries in our world economy. I guess that was 2 1/2 cents, but I do not want my children's employment skills limited to religion and philosophy and asking "Do you want your order super sized?".

If we teach Wicca or other religions in school... We would have to teach all religions... Or we continue the falicity of atheism in our schools... again either teach ALL religions or teach nothing...

I don't see a problem with it, so long as it's presented as part of an overview of different religions. It might help to debunk some myths and clarify the basic tenets of the religion.

If you're talking about as the religion of chioce, no way. That would totally violate the separation of church and state. And I don't believe in that for any religion. And if you thought the debate about sex education and Evolution was was bad wait till you add religion. Now, if the the curiculum for social studies and history had a section where they covered religions as a extention of the culture of the people studied I would be fully agreeable. This needs to be taught so that we can start to have more religious understanding and tolerance of other beliefs. But only if the teacher is able to keep to the set curiculum and keep personal beliefs out of it. And when you think about it this would be the best way to handle it because a lot of children have questions and most parents are ignorant of other's beliefs. So who else are they going to turn too? But we would have to be very carefull about how this is done so that we don't overly influence the children one way or the other.

Wicca should not be allowed in public schools because it is a form of religion and you aren't supposed to bring "religion" into schools. the reason I state the Bible is because I am a Christian and I personally think it is wrong to practice other religions in a school system if I can't even practice my own without getting in trouble. There's an amendment that says freedom of religion, so why the heck are we not allowed to express our religion in schools? Wicca is a religion just as people think Christianity is, so that's why I think it shouldn't be allowed in public schools.

Yes, most definitely. A broader education encourages and stimulates children so as to interact more vociferously with their every-day environment, and helps them relate to wider affairs.

Yes it should be mentioned not practised but talked about and recqonised after all, the other religions are talked about!!!!!

I think if a class is an elective and it's about different religions than it might be okay but I don't think I would trust an individual teacher to present all relgions in a fair and accurate, unbiased manner. Better to have guests visit the class to explain and if there is a bias shown, it will be clearly from the guest and not from the instructor. But for the most part I don't think school is the best place for religious instruction.

I don't think any religion should be taught in Schools, if there is a religion class, it should present a wide spectrum of them, not just one, in that case, Wicca is as valid as any other religion.

Then let me clarify my answer. "Seperation of church and state" meant to the founding fathers that the national government would not establish a national religion and then persecute those who failed to join or who had different beliefs. That being said, the founding fathers had no way to know how distorted religion would become and had no way to foresee the various mutations that call themselves religions that would eventually evolve, all done by the way under the "freedom of religion" clause in the Constitution. The Constitution does NOT prohibit teaching of religion in schools, it has only been interpreted as saying that, and therefore it can be overturned by any sitting of the Supreme Court. No, I do not think that Wicca or any other religion should be taught in public schools due mostly to a lack of qualified instructors to actually teach religion. Send your children to parochial schools if you want them to have religious training. I did.

I do not think that any public school should offer instruction on how to be an adherent to any particular religion. Teaching generically and generally ABOUT what the adherents of religions believe is acceptable to me.

I think that's a very tough call. Whilst I don't believe in promoting belief in a specific religion within schools (I think that's something families should deal with within themselves, deciding which religion is right is not a job for the state, or for teachers), religion is a big part of the society and world we live in, and a large part of many peoples lives and moral values. there is a lot of misunderstanding surrounding religion - it's important that children learn about the different beliefs of others and this should involve some study into the beliefs and history of the major religions (Christianity and Islam in particular as they have such a huge role in todays political and social climate are crucial for children to have some knowledge of) Whether Wicca specifically should be included in this I'm not so sure. Whilst I don't think it should be EXCLUDED from the curriculum, it's also pretty obvious that teachers would be unable realistically to give an in depth coverage of every religion in the world - if we include Wicca, we then have to include Hinduism, Judaism, Sikhism and Buddhism obviously - and then Chinese Traditional Religion, Satanism, Scientology - potentially the list never ends, kids would end up learning nothing but religion. So I think if there are children from Wiccan families, or who have an interest in the religion, they should be encouraged to discuss that in school, along with their classmates from other religions, and educate each other about their experiences, but I think it would be impractical to include Wicca on the core curriculum.

No religion should be taught in a public school with my tax money. I am a strong believer and supporter for the seperation of church and state. If one wishes their child to learn of an unfounded religous belief system then do so out of your own pocket, not mine. As our children reach adulthood, they will be more the wiser to choose a belief system that suits them, and not be forced fed into a belief system against their will. Educating a child in a religous belief system is unfair to the child, religous sects like to get them when their young, as it only benefits the sect that has brainwashed the child into following, believeing, and working as they do. What freedom is there in that I ask you? If we are supposed to have freedom of religion in this country, why is it so many try to infringe upon your sovreign right and say that which you believe is wrong? Luckily we have a democracy, and not an idiocracy.

I don't think so for one simple reason. How will we find qualified teachers to give an accurate portrayal/depiction of Wicca? I mean, we can't even get Christianity right and many parts of the country seem to think that it's the official religion of the US. Wait, it's a non-issue. You see, GW has actually stated outright that, "... Wicca is not a religion.", so any school that wants to teach alternative religions doesn't ned to cover Wicca ;)

I think there are more important lessons to be learned in school than Wicca.

Only if it is being taught with all other religions or beliefs as a comparison of world religions; say for a history of world religions class.

No. I don't believe that my tax money should be used to teach another religion as I expect that they would object to their tax money being used to teach their children my religion. Their religion can be taught at their own expense if they have someone who wants to learn it. I never have had or do not now have any interest in Wicca. Why should I be forced to learn about it. Or my children.

I believe they should list all known religions in order of global popularity, then, starting with the most popular, they should teach the facts about as many religions as there is time to teach about ... if they can get to Wicca and the many other lesser known religions, good, ... but they should discuss at length the similarities and differences of the major religions ... before they get to the lesser ones. But to teach the details of faith and ritual is not the function of a public school and should be reserved for the religious instruction that takes place at the place of worship ... this should go for all religions ... teach about them in schools, but teach how to follow the religions only within the practicing of the religion itself. ______________________________________________________ edit - for you AntigoneRising - tried to add a comment, but it would not load - ... reality world wide ... I speak 6 languages and have lived/worked in 28 countries. I realize that there are many different religions in our world. But they all refer to the entire planet in their creation stories and I feel they should be looked at by the school systems in a global way, not locally ... Shintoism is almost nonexistant outside of Japan, yet there are over 30 million Shinto followers, Isreal is a Jewish state, most of the Middle East is Islamic ... in Canada, we have 54 different sets of aboriginal people each with a different language and religion ... and so on ... I just want the school system to teach a bit about them all, even Odin, Zeus, and other old religions. Sorry about your misinterpretation, I did NOT mean the religions themselves were lesser, I meant that they are followed by a lesser number of believers.

No moreso than any other religion.

Hi there AR! Long time... I just wanted throw in my two cents here. I have never studied or practiced Wicca myself, not for any reason except I just have never crossed that path. However, while in high school I did have a class called World Cultures, where I think that the subject would have fit in nicely. It would have provided an opportunity to explore how it fit into history and how it is currently practiced and what it fulfills for those who practice(d) it. Also, for the record, since this question seems to have stirred up some heat, I'd like to share that I went to a private Christian school.

I think Wicca deserves the same consideration as any other belief system in the public schools. In a comparative religion class, or in general discussion about religion that may arise in the study of history or social science, I think it's completely appropriate to discuss the contribution of Wicca to civilization.

Wicca furniture-making? Sure - I loved Shop in High School!

No, religion is a choice, and if one religion is taught, they all need to be taught. I would like to see a class about the history of religion and a summary of world religions taught, but it would be to easy (and potentially damaging) for teachers to push their beliefs on students.

Come on......as an educator, how much more are we going to be expected to teach? It's hard enough getting them to read and comprehend and grasp math concepts all while making sure they get exercise, art, music, health, technology, socialization, enrichment, character education. Add to that making sure they eat breakfast and lunch, have immunizations, get counseling when their parents divorce, diagnose learning disabilities, correct speech problems, etc.... I love what I do, but the plate is full. Can't religion be taught at home? Aren't parents taking responsibility for anything these days????

The first pope of the Catholic church was St. Peter, who led the church until his death sometime around 60 A.D. The Catholic church was the first and only true Christian church until the Reformation

Remember that there were two Simons among the 12 Apostles, Simon and Simon Peter. And yes, St. Peter was the first Pope of the Catholic Church. You also keep refering to the Catholic Church as though it is not Christian. It is THE original Christian church. If not, please tell me what was.

I think they should teach the basic of all religions to show the differences between them...

Personally, I think religion should be taught at home or go to schools dedicated to only teaching religions. There are so many religious congragations that none of them get the time deserved to be taught or recognized. Just touching base on certian religions is unfair to the many others out there.

You can't teach any religion in a public school.

No, I don't think that any spiritual or religion type thing should be taught in school unless they have a religion course that teaches ALL religions and spiritual concepts. At least the basic ideas of them, as there are so many different branches and types, and sides....

if it is a Wiccan school yes. ( like a Catholic schiool teaches Catholic religion or a Baptist grade school teaches Baptist religion, then YES a Wiccan school should teach the Wiccan Beliefs.) I wish all beliefs were brought up or gone over (NOT TAUGHT OR PREACHED) but explained during my school years, I had NO knowledge of what some other faiths believed and had NO KNOWLEDGE at all of the wiccan faith . (thats not a well rounded education) interesting concept +6.

thats a silly question man, the seperation of church and state disallows this, just because it's one of those 'funky new age' things , i guess it makes you cool to be all up in the hizzy with the pagan lovin

i dont think anyone should be taught religion in school and it should be seperated. but the fact of the matter is there are schools based mostly on the christian religion so there should be schools based on every other religion and wicca should be come of them. that's just confusing but yes and no....im on both sides of the line

If there is a religious studies class, yes. If its teaching them the religion randomly, or trying to convert, no. One, because its wrong to force views, and two one of the major points of Wicca is to not recruit.

Well in the Australian school system Religious Education is taught mostly in primary school but also in high school. However it really shouldn't be called Religious Education in Australia cause it's more like Christian Education, they only teach you about one religion. That's wrong. It shouldn't be taught at all if they're going to be one sided about things, I felt like I had been brainwashed when I got old enough to realize all the things I had learnt in R.E. Kids aren't stupid, often or not they won't end up following their parents so if the kids aren't allowed to make their own decision about their religion then no one else has the right to either. I say teach all of the religions or none of them. The education system is bias when it comes to religion, it's almost like we're still living in the 16th century.

i,personally, think that it should since, after all, we have to say the pledge of alegence in my school which talks about god. i think that wicca should be taught in school systems, too. but then again it is whatever the person wants to believe as their religion. so they should do what they want but wicca should be taught in school systems.

it's a religion - so why not.

I remember I once asked my R.E teacher what the bible said about pagans cause I was one and she said "They're devil worshippers and should be killed" I was like "Wtf?!" I was ten years old!!

my personal view is religion is the parents responsiblity,job...any Faith starts at home and should be taught at home and place of worship, separate from school...school is for education to get along with society.... but the U.S. has always and I pray will continue to be based on "In God We Trust"....but a childs most important education in all things "starts at home with their parents"

No. I don't believe Wicca or any other religion should be taught in schools. I believe in secular education. Religion, because of it's controversial and personal nature, should be left to family and the student's private study. Religion is a very deep subject. I felt that my religious education was poor because there wasn't even enough time to study Christianity adequately never mind all the religions. Trying to teach everything would make the depth of information pathetic.

Maybe the media can better fill this role, helping people gain more understanding of the many faiths of the world? I heard on NPR recently about a British game show whose contestants will be religious leaders tested on their knowledge of other religions. I love the idea!

In a comparative religion class yes. Since Wiccans do not believe in proselytizing, I would keep it to an informational level and leave the spiritual part in my broom closet. I would love the oportunity to educate without fear though.

no, were struggling to teach math in some schools

No if you aren't going to allow God's Religion why allow Satin in?

Separation of Church and State g-money. School = part of state Wicca = Religion (I.E. Church)

If the school has a Religions course. Yes. The high school I attended had a World Religions course as part of the Humanities selection. The thing with the course was it spent the majority of the time on the big three everyone already knows about. Christian, Judaism and Islam. Though I do agree as these are three of the major religions it is good to know about them I think there should be more time spent on religions that people do not normally know as much about. Wicca/Paganism, Buddhism, Taoism, etc.

No, because it is tiny compared to other religions. (Christianiy, Islam etc). The big ones are, I think, more important to today's society. And besides, some people so not view it as a religion.

We have that whole separation of church and state thing, but as long as it were a study of the different cultures and beliefs of people, then it should be used. It wouldn't be any different than using the Bible in English classes, eh?

I think it would be nice if all religions could be taught in a sociological/historical context... but in the USA, it would probably cause too much of a stir and is best left out of public ed. for now.

Not a scientific or historical fact, but certainly as a optional theological history or study course. Or in context to it's role in past events of history ex: a holy war, migration due to beliefs, ect.

lol...doesnt matter...we are becoming so removed from God anyway....just as the Israelites did & just as the Bible says we will.....it is the trials and tribulations of BELIEVERS of the TRUTH

of course it should i am a teen and i go to public school we have to learn about christian religion why not wicca im wiccan i think it would be amazing if public schools would teach wicca

I don't believe any one religion should be taught in schools. I went to a C of E primary school (Church of England, btw.) and all I knew was Christianity for many years. It's essentially telling kids what they should believe, not giving them a choice. Therefore, it would be far better if the concept of religion was taught, but not particular faiths.

In a comparative religions class, why not?

No religion should be taught in school. Only facts not beliefs should be covred, unless you cover all religions.

I personaly belive religion is something that should be taught at home or learned by ones self.. not taught in school... if so this relion should be taught in school http://www.venganza.org/ you should read the following .... http://www.venganza.org/about/open-letter/

No religion, under any circumstances should be taught in the public school system. I am a pagan and I would be horrified if a public school decided to teach my children paganism just as much as if it taught them Christianity. Religion is between the family and the family alone.

Yes, I believe it should be. As a Wiccan myself, I find that there are far too many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Wicca that need to be cleared up (ie. devil worship?? uh..) As long as the curriculum had its facts straight, approved by maybe the High Priestess of a Wiccan coven, then I would encourage any education on Wicca.

As long at they teach it with other faiths. But any school should not be taught a relgion