The Disaster of the Absence of Moral and Religious Education in the American Public Schools

Thomas Aquinas, in his philosophy of religion, said that man is areligious being (homo religiosus). By this he meant that man is abeing that naturally stretches to the beyond, to the unknown outsideof himself. He yearns and reaches out for an infinite peace, joy, andhappiness. He does all within his power to grasp an endless happiness,a joy that knows no end. This has been his instinctive, conscious,and unconscious aspiration. He tends to pursue and grab that whichcaptures his attention and wins his admiration. Many a time, he endsup grabbing a shadow, an illusion of real happiness, an illusion of thesource of true and lasting happiness. When he grabs that shadow, hesettles to worship it as the ultimate source of an infinite happiness. Itwill not be long before he discovers that it is all a mirage.This ultimate joy and happiness is not found within mans immediateenvironment, because whatever he clings to seems to fail in providingsuch ultimate joy, peace, and happiness, which men, by nature, tend toyearn and long for. Man has always interpreted peace, joy, happiness,and their sources differently. Thus, his beliefs and objects of worship,devotion, and dedication vary one from anotherhence the reason fordifferent world religions and creeds today (Christianity, Judaism, Islam,Buddhism, atheism, etc.).To say that man is a religious being implies that naturally manalways believes in and worships something. Hence, there can neverbe an atheist in the real sense of it. Not to believe is to believe. Forexample, not to believe in the existence of God is to believe thatGod does not exist. Even though some people do not believe in theexistence of a personal God or god, they still believe in something,which could be anythingmoney, freedom, wealth, riches, power,beauty, achievement, talent, name it. Just as our ancient fathersbelieved in carved idols as gods and worshipped them, so do peoplein the modern time hold on tenaciously to all kinds of idols in the formof money, beauty, wealth, riches, power, achievement, talent, etc., andworship them as gods and hope that someday these might give theman endless peace and happiness, which have been the ultimate end ofmans endeavor or pursuit on earth.This false hope of mans longing to achieve endless peace andhappiness from material possessions or natural endowment explainsitself in some ancient cultures whereby the dead are buried along withsome of their possessions, including gold, money, slaves, etc. The factthat people of outstanding talents, riches, and wealth have committedsuicide has put a big question mark to this erroneous ideology thathappiness could be achieved through material possession. Whatwas wrong in the lives of those affluent and talented people whokilled themselves contrary to all instincts of self-preservation? Whatwas missing in their lives that none of their material acquisitions orachievements could satiate or afford?Man longs for lasting happiness. He has the capacity to conceive andyearn for infinite happiness. Hence, he does not want to be happy todayand sad tomorrow. But how would he achieve that joy or happiness that hasno end, which has always remained mans unrealized dream? No branch ofdiscipline or knowledge has been able to provide an answer and a remedyto mans natural longing for endless joy, lasting peace, and happiness, butreligion. Religion has an answer, a remedy, and a hope.In this book, I will demonstrate how religion provides an answer, aremedy, and a hope for mans ultimate search and yearning for lastingpeace and happiness in his life and in the society in which he lives. Iwill explore the idea that man is a spiritual as well as a religious being. Iwill also delve into how his natural endowment with freedom, intellect,and will enables him to express his religiosity.I will further demonstrate how the misinterpretation andmisapplication

Fr. Christopher O. Ezeh is a citizen of the United States of America. He published his first book in 1994, titled Children: A Blessing or a Curse; The Task of Family Child Upbringing. Christopher earned his bachelors degrees in philosophy and in theology in 1990 and 1994, respectively, from the Pontifical Urban University Rome. He did his masters degree in educational administration, with specialization in higher education, at the University of Rochester, New York, USA, and graduated in March 2006. He also earned a masters degree in theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio, USA, graduating in December 2009. Fr. Christopher was endorsed as a Chaplain for and by the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, in 2007. Fr. Christopher is currently a PhD research student. His hobbies include reading and writing, music, badminton, and jogging.