On babies and bathwater: A non-ideological alternative to the Mahner/Bunge proposals for relating science and religion in education

Abstract

While Mahner and Bunge grant that questions of religion cannot be completely overlooked in a modern educational curriculum, their practical proposal for handling them by teaching so-called scientific treatments in terms of such disciplines as anthropology, psychology, sociology, etc., is flawed, since such treatments almost always contain ideological assumptions, usually radically non-religious but often concealed. This is moreover a matter for concern not only for religious believers, but for all who recognize that emotional and existential issues are as important in life (and hence of as much ‘cognitive value’) as scientific statements. A ‘dialogue-based’ alternative is proposed, whereby representatives of religious, spiritual and non-spiritual positions are invited to present and defend their views in honest discussion, the only approach truly compatible with a multi-cultural society.