In this provocative book Warren A. Nord argues that public schools and universities leave the vast majority of students religiously illiterate. Such education is not religiously neutral, a matter of constitutional importance; indeed, it borders on secular indoctrination when measured against the requirements of a good liberal education and the demands of critical thinking. Nord also argues that religious perspectives must be included in courses that address morality and those "Big Questions" that a good education cannot ignore, He outlines a variety of civic reasons for studying religion, and argues that the Establishment Clause doesn't just permit, but requires, taking religion seriously. While acknowledging the difficulty of taking religion seriously in schools and universities, Nord makes a cogent case for requiring both high school and undergraduate students to take a' yearlong course in religious studies, and for discussing religion in any course that deals with religiously controversial material. The final chapters address how religion might best be addressed in history, literature, economics, and (perhaps most controversially) science courses. He also discusses Bible courses, and the relevance of religion to moral education and ethics courses.
While his position will be taken by some as radical, he argues that he is advocating a "middle way" in our culture wars. Public schools and universities can neither promote religion nor ignore it. Does God Make a Difference increases our understanding of a long and heated cultural conflict; it also proposes a solution to the problem that is philosophically sound and, in the long run, eminently practical.
Most public schools avoid teaching their students about religion, and university students must enroll in religious studies courses in order to learn about it. Warren Nord shows that these practices are not religiously neutral; in fact, they border on secular indoctrination. Nord uses an examination of textbooks to make a case for the study of religion in schools and universities, and explains how such study came to be neglected. He makes a number of arguments for taking religion seriously in the curriculum: most importantly, that a liberal education and critical thinking require it, as does moral education. There are also civic reasons for taking religion seriously, and constitutional religious neutrality requires it. What is to be done? Nord proposes a two-part solution to the problem. First, he argues for a required religion course in both high schools and universities. Second, he contends that religion must become a field within secondary education. He concludes by showing how religion could be taken seriously within the main subject areas of the curriculum. Nord's goal is not just to understand conflicts in our culture wars, but to propose a solution that is theoretically sound and practical and can be implemented by incremental steps in the right direction.
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