An example to help explain my point

A close friend rightly wanted to know if my last post described a "trap...unique to Christians or is it widespread among all those who think in terms of right vs. wrong, regardless of what religion? Or limited to those who believe in Christianity as fundamentalists?" It's a question that has already been raised three or four times in the tiny world I inhibit, so I want to try to give it a little thought here. The first thing to admit is that I'm not at all sure if religion, in general or Christian fundamentalism as it's practiced around here, is what stifles good discussion in the classroom (the kind that students connect to their lives and don't require much of me). What I do know is that students who are chiefly interested in right vs. wrong rather than a religious narrative are often far more likely to push class discussions in interesting and meaningful ways.

An extreme example:

My Miami students read a essay about homosexual couples' right to adopt children written by one of their peers. There's an Ohio law preventing gay couples from adopting, and the student-writer wanted her senator to know she thinks the law is nuts. It's an eloquent, well-constructed piece of 'first-year' writing that I thought served as a perfect example of audience awareness. And while I did try to help my students discover that, they were far more interested in the essay's content. Quite a few of my students treated the issue of gay adoption as a no-brainer: of course it would be better for kids to be adopted than remain in foster care. Others, however, were more tentative. In two out of three of my classes, a few students weren't willing to easily agree with the essay. They didn't appeal to a religious belief. Instead they worried aloud and asked heaps of questions concerning the ramifications gay adoption might have on the kids and the structure of family. In fact, one student said, "I'm not trying to get religious on you guys, I just think we should think about the lives these children will be sort of shoved into." He went on to ask provocative questions that generated what looked like reflection and re-thinking. Lots of people ended up saying things like, "alright I see what your saying, but what about..." It was awesome. Most everyone in the room gradually grew a little uncomfortable while they tried to figure out what was right and wrong.

In each class that day, but in one particularly, there were also a few students who either checked-out of the conversation or made it obvious they thought the whole discussion was flat ridiculous. Lots of them wore knowing smirks (a pose I'm fairly sympathetic toward). These were my committed Christian students, and while I did everything I could to get their viewpoint into the room, it didn't work. This was not, as I assumed, because they were reluctant to share their religious views. They were fine with that. It turned out they thought the whole discussion was kind of silly, that trying to figure out what's right and wrong isn't all that necessary. Things were much clearer for these students...

...Maybe it's best to leave it at that--the same place the class more or less ended.