The Dalai Lama is turning 82 this July, and he may be the last in his line. The religious and political ramifications of this are often lost on the general public, because we are not actively taught it in school.
Many people in largely Christian Australia don't know the significance of a Mikveh in Judaism, can't explain why the Buddhist Middle Path is so important, or recite what the Five Pillars of Islam are. There are as many diverse interpretations of Hinduism as there are for Christianity, and there are as many insightful Buddhist stories as there are in the Bible.
I attended an Anglican school with a typical religious education course that revolved around the Anglican Church, but there was one year when we studied a bit of everything; how the three major monotheistic religions originated on Arab soil, the archeology of Mecca, the spread of Buddhism through East Asia.
We visited a mosque, a synagogue, and a Chinese Buddhist temple on a day trip within the city. It was the most inclusive year I ever had in religious education, which they really should have called Bible Studies if the school was being honest.
I found I knew more about other religions than my friends by way of reading graphic novels, which was absurd. How had comics been more informative about grieving mothers and mustard seeds, or the architecture in Andalucia, than the monolithic entity that was (and is) the national education system?
The conundrum is this: said education system has its roots in the Christian church, and is principally West-centric. Setting aside the fact that most schools do not have much control over their curriculum, it is in a school's own interest to promote the doctrine endorsed by its founders, its graduates, and the parents and government that grant the funds that continue its existence.
That is not to say that this is inherently wrong; teaching children the moral foundations of our forebears and extrapolating on their ideologies can be seen as noble work.
However, according to census data, Christianity is losing traction. In the 2011 census the percentage of people who are of other religions has risen to just under half the population, and in 2017 it may be that 'no religion' will win out entirely.
"There are so many parts of the world that have seen social and physical conflict in the name of religion. How can Australians contribute to the international discourse regarding religion if we are only familiar with one?"
At the same time, religious radicalisation has become an international concern. We have the Christian alt-right, we have so-called Islamic terrorists, and we have extremist Buddhist monks in Myanmar. I hope it is reasonable enough to say that most people belonging to any of these religions would denounce the violence and hateful rhetoric hurled around. Yet many members of the Christian majority in Australia are still sceptical of a Muslim's sincerity, or dubious at the thought of murderous monks.
So why not teach all religions at school?
Perhaps not extensively; theology can be explored in greater depth and at leisure in university. But we learn the basics of maths, science, literature and art in secondary school, so why not the same for religion? There are so many parts of the world that have seen social and physical conflict in the name of religion. How can Australians contribute to the international discourse regarding religion if we are only familiar with one?
Knowing nothing but your own religion is dangerous. There is plenty of infighting between Catholic, Anglican, Baptist, Protestant, and other branches of Christianity. By learning about religions outside of Christianity, not only can we appreciate the nuance within Christian churches, we can demystify the role of headscarves, the colour orange, the reason why some gods have multiple arms or an animal head. You learn that Jesus features in the Quran and you are reminded that he was a son of Judaism too.
Learning another religion does not delegitimise your own. It instead creates an environment of tolerance that this world is in more need of, and gives students and their parents an opportunity to discuss the subject with a more open mind. By going through even the most basic aspects of each religion, it is evident that there are shared key values such as empathy and kindness, charity, forgiveness, and the sanctity of Life. One does not have to be religious to appreciate that these qualities are what makes a morally sound human being.
They are different, of course, these religions. They have evolved over history in vastly separate contexts, but they are, at their core, just trying to make us into better human beings.
Sophie Chalmers is a freelance writer living in Melbourne.
Illustration by Chris Johnston