shouldn't philosophy and religion be mandatory courses in the public high school

[Sheep w/ Shotguns]

curriculum? no preaching, just straight facts, what each major religion believes in, their stories, virtues, and history, and the history and methodology of philosophy.
sound good? wouldn't this make everyone happy? nor more confusion or ignorance on the subjects we all hold dear.
sorry for typo's i went quickly (eating)
"The high schools can barely get through testing required by No Child Left Behind. Besides, environmental studies is the new "in" thing."

i see this as a potential means to bring people together and think more cognitively on their actions and daily lives. what more beneficial thing can we teach children but to think and to empathise?

[Anna P]

The high schools can barely get through testing required by No Child Left Behind. Besides, environmental studies is the new "in" thing.

[Vox Populi]

As elective courses, yes. I'm not really into forcing kids to decide to take something that they may not have any interest in taking.

[Michael M]

I think US high schools would fear treading on thin ice with respect to separation of church and state, even if the course were as you described.

On the other hand, plenty of schools have courses on world CULTURES, and the religions of the various regions studied are a major part of the curriculum.

This is nothing new. I learned about Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucionism, etc, in a social studies course I took back in the 1960's. My daughter is in a similar course right now. My wife, seven years younger than me, also had a similar course. (The three of us went to high school in 3 different states)