Recently, I got a ticket from Paddington station to Canterbury and 'surprisingly' my train was delayed, and delayed... again and again for about an hour. Fortunately, those 3600 seconds allowed me to analyse the other commuters that were also expecting the right departure time to show up. All of a sudden I was surrounded by burqas, niqabs, hijabs, kippahs, tallits, saffron clothes, and probably many hidden crosses.
I am aware that nowadays religion is a hot topic like politics and age; avoided in general. However, I realized at that time how much it is closely related to the topic of culture, and how it actually helps to understand it deeper. Knowledge on religion is also important regardless of whether we personally think it has played a positive or negative role. Religion takes place in history, shapes minds and even has an effect on how people approach each other. Even though God´s effect on human´s lives and minds has been pushed aside when it comes to understanding countries and individuals, we indeed need to keep in mind the roots and religious beliefs. Whether you like it or not, it is necessary to measure and understand today's culture by doing research on the history and faith that certain groups have professed, and the impact that those values have on our daily lives. Morality, Ethics, Philosophy, Law, Religion, etc.
By ignoring religious education, the new generations will be unable to understand the motives behind Gandhi´s actions, nor analyse in depth the “Pietá” of Michelangelo, appreciate the magnificence of Notre Dame in Paris neither understand the importance of the Parthenon for the Greeks and the spiritual impact of the Egyptian pyramids. Of course, they will not understand a thing about the “Divine comedy” of Dante, nor Dickens’s “A Christmas Carol”.
