Religion and Theology

Religion is a double-edged sword. Its very powerful yet dangerous at the same time. It creates and destroys civilizations. It unites and divides people. Depending on how you let your religion influence your character, it can make you a compassionate human worthy of love or it can turn you into a narrow-minded mortal undeserving of amity. Understanding is extremely important to appreciate religion and not to be corrupted by your own misconceptions. I strongly believe that every religion is based on something that would ideally be beneficial to its believers and followers. The challenge is how to interpret religions teachings and viewpoints in a way that it will not hinder us from becoming a rational human being. As aforementioned, religion can make or destroy us as a human being. It has a very great impact on how we mold our principles and how we treat not just our brothers and sisters in faith but mankind in general.

The bilateral nature of religion makes it a crucial topic for any discussion  formal or informal. It is but necessary that the study of religion, theology, is premeditated on philosophy and logical reason because if not, it will just be a source of conflicts and misunderstanding as people have different sets of guiding principle and values. The study of religion as a discipline is as old as the pioneer educational institutions in the world. Hence, regardless if it is viewed as something subjective or objective, human beings have the calling to study and fully understand it. Theology is not just focused in one religion. It seeks to give scrutinize not just one specific religion instead it compares religions and creates an imaginary umbrella that caters the differences and similarities. Theology aims to give its learners and scholars a broad understanding on different religions so that there will be better connection amongst people despite the differences in religious preference.

I strongly assert that theology is an important part of the core curriculum. It must not be questioned that the primary purpose of theology classes is to promote a broader understanding about the different religions in the world. Through this, students will have a better appreciation of their own religion and also of others. Schools and universities are generally multicultural institutions. Hand in hand with this multicultural nature of educational institutions are the differences in race, sex and religion. Alongside with these differences is the potential of misapprehension. Misunderstandings and the possible quarrels that may arise because of the students and constituents differences are ticking time bombs that may explode anytime somebody triggers it. Consequently, it is necessary to have a common ground where students will be educated and enlightened as to why people have differences. The need for a subject like theology in the core curriculum is highly and extremely vital because it will be the common ground where students will have more knowledge about each others beliefs and principles.

As aforementioned, theology does not only focus in one religion. It compares and contrasts different religions and shows the commonalities and points of differences in a positive light. This is a very significant contribution from the discipline because it ensures that the students will not misinterpret religions aside from their own. Indeed, students or anybody for this matter can compare and contrast religions of the world by themselves without the help of professionals and experts. It is true that religion can be studied outside the four corners of the classroom. It is undeniable that religion can be taught by just anybody. However, all of these ways of learning religion are prone to misinterpretation which will eventually lead to conflicts and division. With a formal education in theology, students learn the concepts and practices of the different religions in the world in a formal and nearly objective manner.

Theology is often questioned whether it is subjective or not. My answer to this is, Theology is objective students are subjective. The course materials in theology are objective. Professors who teach theology are as objective as possible in delivering the lessons. The subjective part comes in when students interpret the lessons being taught inside the classroom. Just like in Philosophy and other liberal arts subjects, either you accept the idea or reject it to be true. Now, even if students are subjective in their understanding and perception of theology, the important thing is that the facts were presented objectively. The chances of misunderstanding and confusion is lesser compared to studying religion without the aid of professionals and experts.

Theology does not aim to dictate and demand understanding. It only educates and guides students. It erases students wrong and constricted thoughts about religion. The more students are educated about religion, the broader their understanding and judgment will be. The discipline and its experts may not be perfectly objective in their approach, yet the benefits that the knowledge they bring forth outweighs the negative. In our present time when humanity is on the verge of losing a sense of morality, the study of religion is very vital in the educational institutions formation and development of better members of the society and citizens of the world. For this reason, it must remain in the core curriculum of educational institutions.