My last religion class was a pretty normal one. There was the scripture journal that we were required to keep (a staple in most religion classes), which had to conform to exacting specifications and amounted to at least a thirty-page paper, single-spaced. Then, since we weren't assigned to read all of the books in the Old Testament for our journal, we had to write two page papers about them, single-spaced. We also had to read four books that were on hold in the library and write three critiques of non-LDS authors from them. Then, of course, there were the six quizzes, the three exams and attendance. Like most other religion classes, this was a two-credit class.
I will not argue about whether religion classes are spiritually uplifting or not. I will not seek to find a loophole that will get me out of taking these classes. I simply ask, is it any wonder that most BYU students dislike their religion classes so much? Why they bend over backwards to find a way out? Most of the religious classes have a workload disproportional to the credit hours that they are worth. Because of the intense work involved, thoughts like 'This is stupid' quickly take the Spirit from the classroom. The amount of work involved kills the objective of the course, while at the same time lowering students' GPAs and morale. In short, I don't think that the dean of religious education, is doing a very good job. I ask him to come to his senses; to increase the credit hour worth of religious classes, or to make the teachers who are under him to lower the amount of work required from students.
Jeffery Perry
Sacramento, Calif.