SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY NEWS

Contact: Funda Alp, 203-396-8241, alpf@sacredheart.edu

For Immediate Release
March 6, 2006

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY RELIGIOUS HISTORY SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND INCLUDED IN TEXTBOOKS ACCORDING TO NATIONAL POLL

FAIRFIELD, Conn.— Religious history belongs in the public school classroom, say a majority of Americans in a national poll conducted by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute. Additionally, textbooks should include religious history and traditions—presented accurately—according to a majority of those surveyed.

• Respondents were asked to think about public school textbooks and their presentation of religious history in the United States. Researchers asked respondents if they agreed or disagreed with the following statement:  “Textbooks should include our religious past and religious traditions in order to understand the present.” A large majority, 79.7%, strongly (51.3%) or somewhat (28.4%) agreed.
• Similarly, 79.1% suggest it was very or somewhat important that religious history be taught in public schools throughout the United States.
• Among African-Americans, 89.0% suggest that teaching religious history is very or somewhat important. Among Hispanics, the figure is 77.8%.

According to June-Ann Greeley, Ph.D., assistant professor of Religious Studies at Sacred Heart University, “As much as the art, literature, political structure, and language identify essential truths about a people and a nation, so do the religious beliefs and traditions, according to a majority of Americans—and to ignore such traditions is unsound scholarship. For better or worse, we reveal our essential humanness in our religious beliefs.” 

• Over one-third of all respondents, 36.8%, believe public school textbooks frequently misrepresent their own religion when discussing its history.  Another 26.6% suggest such misrepresentation does not happen or seldom occurs.  Some, 36.6%, are unsure.
• Among Catholics, 34.6% believe textbooks misrepresent their religion while 35.8% of Protestants believe the same.
• Over half of all respondents, 57.8%, suggest publishers allow religious groups to review, but not edit, public school textbooks for accuracy prior to their release.  Another 27.5% do not agree and 14.7% were unsure.
• Among Catholics and Protestants, support for accuracy reviews is 63.5% and 62.3% respectively.

“A majority of Americans polled seem to indicate that not only do religious histories matter, but getting them right matters as well—and, certainly, there is a sense for a majority of Americans that many textbooks, probably unconsciously, have discussed religious traditions or practices in ways that are representative of an historical approach but not the approach of believers,” stated Dr. Greeley.

EXPERTS AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT

• June-Ann Greeley, Ph.D., assistant professor of Religious Studies at Sacred Heart University
• Jerry Lindsley, director, Sacred Heart University Polling Institute

To speak with these experts, please contact Funda Alp at 203-396-8241 or alpf@sacredheart.edu.

How the Poll Was Conducted
The Sacred Heart University Polling Institute completed 1,000 interviews with residents nationwide between February 9-15, 2006. The sample was generated proportional to population contribution in all 50 states. Statistically, a sample of 1,000 completed telephone interviews represents a margin for error of +/-3.0% at a 95% confidence level.

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About Sacred Heart University
Sacred Heart University, the second-largest Catholic university in New England, offers more than 50 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs. Its main campus in Fairfield, Connecticut, is complemented by satellites in Connecticut, Luxembourg and Ireland. Over 5,600 students are enrolled in its four colleges: Arts & Sciences; Education & Health Professions; University College; and the newly established John F. Welch College of Business, committed to educating students in the leadership tradition and legacy of Jack Welch. U.S. News & World Report and the Princeton Review place SHU among America's best colleges in the Northeast, and Intel rates it #11 among the nation's most “unwired” campuses. SHU fields 32 Division I athletic teams, and has an award-winning program of community service. www.sacredheart.edu