Religious classes should be permitted in public schools.

It took forever for someone to accept that, and to that I offer my greatest gratitude to my opponent. So as we should all know, this debate will be concerning school in the USA and Canada. I will explain in 3 main contentions for this round on why an optional religious course should be provided and not banned in public school in the USA and Canada. Contention 1: It is in the charters of both countries. Most countries have some sort of charter explaining their rights and freedoms. Canada and the USA are 2 great examples of such. In the charters of rights and freedoms in Canada, it states the following: Fundamental freedoms "2. Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms: (a) freedom of conscience and religion; (b) freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication; (c) freedom of peaceful assembly; and (d) freedom of association. " [1] As you can see, the freedom of expression of religion, belief and opinion is in the charter of rights and freedoms of Canada. Because of such, it is accepted in our country to have a class about religion, where people can express and teach their religion. Also, because of such, banning religious classes from schools would be going against the charter of rights and freedoms in Canada. But that is not all! A similar rule applies in the charter of the USA: "1. Everyone has the right to associate and assemble, freely, including for ideological, religious, political, economic, labor, social, cultural, sports, or other purposes. " [2] As you can see, it is a freedom to associate freely about religion, political and other things as well. So people would be allowed to create a class, or in other words associate with students if they feel like they want to. And it would be going against the rights and freedoms to have religious classes banned As you may now understand, in both charters, religion is accepted, and allowed to be expressed. In schools is a good place to express their religions, and they can not be stopped. Doing so would go against the rights and freedoms of both countries. Contention 2: It promotes diversity In schools in Canada and the USA, the people have various different cultures. And there are thousands of cultures, beliefs, religions etc. Now let us say there is now a class explaining a religion. Children can now join that class and understand the point of view of other cultures/beliefs. This promotes diversity, and gives children an open mind of all opinions. This is a great thing to have. Now people can understand others and their beliefs under a safe environment without the fear of having to be forced to convert. This is great for students, and promotes diversity. Contention 3: Religions are good guides to life Now though we may not all believe in religion, some of the divine books are good guides to life, weather you believe in such a religion or not. Take Christianity for example. Though people may not believe in Jesus, his book still presents a helpful tool for life. For example, the 10 commandments: "20 And God spoke all these words: 2 "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 3 "You shall have no other gods before[a] me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 "You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. 8 "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 "You shall not murder. 14 "You shall not commit adultery. 15 "You shall not steal. 16 "You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. 17 "You shall not covet your neighbor"s house. You shall not covet your neighbor"s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor. " [3] This is taken directly from the bible. Now even though we may not believe in Jesus, there are good lessons in this book. Don't steal, don't murder, don't cheat on your wife, etc. In schools, if we have an optional class for religion, we can learn these things,. Even though they won't necessarily believe in the religion you are teaching, they will still learn valuable lessons for life. So in conclusion (for this round only) optional religious classes are good for students. They promote diversity, an open mind, and teach valuable lessons for life. Furthermore, in both Canada and the USA, religious classes should legally be accepted. Rejecting such would go against the charters of both countries. I thank my opponent for accepting, and I urge his response. Good luck! Sources: 1. . http://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca... 2. . http://www.wilsoncenter.org... 3. . http://www.biblegateway.com...