In its basic essence, religion is a philosophy that will make the meaning of life and nature around us simple. In reality, it has often been the basis of much strife all over the world. With the shrinking global culture and amalgamation of varied religions under one roof, it has become imperative that we make efforts to learn the truth behind our differences.

The place and importance of religion in school has been debated for years, but perhaps has never seen so much drama as in recent times. For a diverse nation like the United States, it is inevitable that there will be a lot of debate over religious sentiments — particularly in areas of the country that offer heavy intermingling.

Schools are by far the most volatile of platforms where these diverse sentiments must be both respected and uniformly treated with the same focus. There are two distinct sides to this controversy.

Group 1: Religion should be in schools

One school of thought believes that teaching religion in school would help students from diverse backgrounds understand each other better. They strongly believe that learning more about different cultures and religions would help in curbing religiously-motivated hate crimes and would also prepare students to live in an increasingly diverse and connected world.

In fact, the most recent Hate Crime Victimization report released by the U.S. Department of Justice has shown that religiously-motivated crimes have increased nearly threefold in the last decade, from 10 percent in 2004 to almost 28 percent in 2012. Of these, nearly 1 in 5 of the violent hate-crime perpetrators was under the age of 18.

So the issue is certainly a matter of concern, and some believe that instead of skirting around various religious issues for the fear of offending anyone, schools should address them and create a more respectful learning environment.

North Carolina enacted legislation last month that outlines how students can participate in religious activities in public schools, and this has fueled the "religion in school" debate even further across the nation. The legislation proclaims that students have the right to pray and share their diverse religious viewpoints within reasonable restrictions. It demands school administrators comply with federal law about constitutionally-protected prayer and thereby religious tolerance.

Supporters of the law make direct reference to the First Amendment to ensure a student's right to religious expression in school. They believe the First Amendment's Establishment Clause and Free Exercise Clause pave the way for a more balanced relationship between religion and public schools.

Group 2: Keep schools secular

The other school of thought also relies on the First Amendment, but as a guide to practice active secularism in schools. People like Carl Turner, superintendent of schools in Storm Lake, Iowa, says the best way to handle the diversity of schools in his jurisdiction is to be secular.

Commenting on the recent North Carolina legislation, Turner said it is easier to allow religious practice in schools that have a more homogeneous population like in North Carolina as they will have lower risks of strife or imbalance.

Many agree with him that the primary focus is to educate kids, and therefore subjects like religion have to find a common middle ground upon which everybody can agree and stay there. For them, the "opt out" philosophy works better.

Bill Maher of HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" fame has vociferously opposed the implementation of religious practices in schools. According to him, religion belongs to history or sociology classes and should never be a part of the mainstream curriculum in any school.

Others like Annie Laurie Gaylor, co-president of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, point out the inherent dangers of religious instructions in public schools. Gaylor says religious and cultural diversity is still at a nascent stage in the U.S., and this immaturity is ripe for strife and discord. In such a mindset, fable and superstition would take precedence over fact and undermine the nation's ability to compete in the global market.

Only time will tell which school of thought prevails.