Does Religion Improve Grades?

by: Mohamed Abouzied

Edited by: Eman Nadeem

 

According to The University of Iowa, a study shows that religious kids do better in school. Dr. Fargan, director of the Center for Research on Marriage and Religion and Senior Fellow at the Marriage and Religion Research Institute, found out that kids who attend church are more committed to school and education, which helps them perform well in school. Not only did going to church improve grades, but it also reduced behavioral risks. Most countries around the world have religious schools. Studies show that students that attend religious schools are more likely to enter better universities. Most parents influence their kids to follow their religion. Not all students believe in a certain religion, but the ones that do are more likely to be more educated students according to studies made by University of Michigan.  

 

Many Saudis send their schools to saudi schools because saudi schools teach religion. One of their main courses is “deen” which is also known as religion. The main religion in saudi arabia is Islam and is taught all around the country. Most saudi kids are expected to Graduate memorizing the Quran and knowing a lot about their religion.

 

Religion plays a big role in Saudi Arabia, many people take religion into consideration and depend on it throughout their lives. But does being religious impact students grades Saudi Arabia too?

 

The American International School of Riyadh is an international school and has students from all around the world. Muslim and Christians make most of the population in AIS-R. AIS-R has just started to teach religion to Saudi kids, and Saudi kids are expected to attend it every sunday at lunch.

 

Not everyone in AIS-R takes religion in to consideration. I researched about how religion impacts grades in the United States and I found many sources that said that religion really helps a student perform better in school and have better behavior. I was interested to find out if the same is applied in Saudi Arabia, mostly in AIS-R.

 

According to surveys conducted by AIS-R, the students in the high school who claim that they are religious perform worse in school. The students who chose not religious at all, students have an average GPA of 3.6. The students who are very religious, have an average GPA of 2.5. Data shows that religious students in AIS-R perform worse than students who are not religious at all.

 

Farris Al-Qalam, (many people believe that he is one of smartest in the grade) said this when he was asked about the topic: “I’m really smart I guess. I follow my religion a lot and I follow what my religion asks. I think that religion really helps the way I live and it helps me with many things. I believe that religion can make me a better person, but probably not my grades.”                                                                                                                                

 

Zein Holail claims that he isn’t doing really well in school but still claims to be religious. “I don’t really perform well. In my life, I didn’t really know much about my religion. When I came to Saudi Arabia, I really wanted to know about my religion and where I came from. I started following my religion a lot and I’m proud of that. I dont think it impacted my grades in anyway though.”

 

Juju is a student who claims that she is religious and is an average performer. When she was interviewed, she said that religion doesn’t impact her grades at all. “I consider myself really religious. I don’t think religion impacts my grades at all. I think if I was less religious I wouldn’t of performed any differently in my classes.”

 

Kids usually perform better when they are religious in the United states. The research was made by many professors and educated people and they found that students who are religious usually perform better in school. The same isn’t in AIS-R. According to surveys conducted by AIS-R, students in the high school who claim to be religious have worse grades than the kids who claim to be religious at all.