Answer

Research Proposal: Effect of Religion on Education and the Resulting Consequences

Introduction

The relationship between religion and education is not new. Historically, religious practices are attributed to the emergency of education. Ideally, religious formations such as churches focused on teaching their members, especially young ones, about the morals and virtues to adopt as guided by their beliefs. The practice was extended to incorporate other life skills thereby giving rise to the idea of education. However, in modern times, religion and education have become two distinct concepts with each progressing independently. Whereas religion is personal and focuses on spiritual matters, education is universal and its focus is on the development of skills and knowledge that life positively. However, the independence of education from religion is not distinct as religion continues to affect it leading to both positive and negative consequences. Primarily, access to education in contemporary settings especially in developing nations utilizes structures developed by religious formations. Principally, many of educational infrastructures were developed by religious formations as a means of promoting faith and learning. For example, in Europe as well as the Middle East, Christian monks built libraries long before the establishment of the printing press. With time, these monasteries transformed into modern day universities.

Principally, religion affect’s learner’s attitude towards education as it focuses on encouraging people to adopt better life practices. Currently, education is one of the important pillars or pathway to obtaining a better life. Moreover, through education, people can have a better understanding of religion and even help to educate others. Therefore, religion encourages people to learn for both their personal enhancement as well as for spiritual growth. Religion can also affect education based on the underlying cultural doctrines and norms. In this regard, the effect is evaluated by analyzing the subject taught in schools and the emphasis it places on secular education as compared to knowledge.

Primarily, the influences of religion on education are many. They are often positive. However, sometimes, the impacts cause negative consequences such as unequal educational opportunities in some other religions. Moreover, changes in contemporary practices have led to the emergence of new, small religious formations that have conflicting views on some educational achievements such as artificial intelligence.

My goal is to accurately explain how religion affects education and the consequences of the impacts. Primarily, the impacts will comprise education’s role in promoting education and possible limitations to knowledge and educational development caused by religion. The project presentation will begin with an introductory explanation regarding the intentions of the research and examining the specific effects that have, and continues to exist between education and religion. Upon completion, the paper will be accessible to anyone with interest in education, religion, and theology courtesy of the open source databases present on the World Wide Web. For clarity and universal understanding, the paper will use simple English with all complex terms adequately explained. The research will begin with a detailed description of a historical relationship between education and religion encompassing the protestant revolution in Europe, the ancient religion in India, and influence of religion on the development of schools in European colonies both in historical and current times.

Research Question

What are the effects and consequences of the religion on education?

Search Plan and Relevant Sources

As the research deepens, more precise references on specific influences of religion on education will be sought to help in writing an accurate, well-rounded research paper. Based on the historical and popularity nature of the topic, primary sources will comprise historical books and reliable articles. Furthermore, primary data will come from interviews of professors within the state, significant religious leaders with substantial knowledge on the topic, and other scholars.

Secondary data will come from the sources in the bibliography and other scholarly, peer-reviewed journals found on reliable databases such as ProQuest. For books that are not popular and expensive, the statewide library search engines will help in providing their copies. Central to the analysis of the subject will be getting a reliable translator since religion is a worldwide concept that operates in many languages. Moreover, some formations such as Islam use Arabic characters, which might be challenging to understand if one has limited comprehension of the Arabic language.

Project Timeline

My target is to have the first draft of the research project completed by 5^th May 2019. Therefore, in order to achieve this goal, I plan to continue with my research focused on identifying and acquiring sources about the topic. Initially, books and journals will be used to provide data for the research. However, if sufficient time becomes available, I will issue interview requests to targeted participants. The interview period is expected to take seven days followed by a data analysis exercise of five days. Consequently, I should be able to write the outline of the paper by 30 April 2019. Therefore, the days between 1^st May and 5^th May 2018 will be used to write the first draft based on the available data and outline.

From 6^th May 2019 onwards, I will focus on revising and analyzing the first draft for any errors, mistakes, omissions, and other vital corrections. The changes will help in making the paper to be more specific regarding the effect and consequences of the religion on education. After that, I plan to have my second draft ready by 10 May 2019. Since the second draft will be only one step away from submission, I plan to optimize the paper’s coverage by correcting any possible issues, which will enable me to have the final research paper ready by 15^th May 2019.

Key Challenges

The primary challenge will be ensuring that all vital information and assessment of all religion is obtained properly without focusing more on one area at the expense of the other. The second concern will be ensuring that all sources used are reliable. Primarily, there are many references, especially on the internet that may contain vital research information, but they may not be peer-reviewed or scholarly. Targeted interviewees who will comprise university professors and religious leaders might also prove challenging to meet. Lastly, meeting the estimated timelines could also be a challenge because of the diverse nature of the topic.