When Donna Graves was a student at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School in Boca Raton, she was not taught about other religions.
"It almost made me fearful of Jews and Protestants," she said.
Graves now teaches at the school, and part of her job is to instruct students in other religions.
As more church-state separation cases come to the fore and baby boomers draw away from institutionalized worship, questions arise for those in interfaith work:
-- If public schools don't teach religion and a child learns nothing beyond beliefs at his own church or synagogue, what opinions will that child form regarding people of other creeds?
-- On what information will those opinions be based?
Ignorance is not always bliss, religious educators say, and in some cases, it can lead to prejudice.
"Anytime you put up walls, there is fear and prejudice," said Sister Patricia O'Hea, director of St. Joan of Arc's religious education program. "Walls are torn down by education. We can't continue to blame each other for what our ancestors did."
In Jewish circles, such prejudice has been documented by the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, which tracks acts against Jews, ranging from verbal insults to killings.
The ADL argues that the root of anti-Semitism committed by youngsters is based in ignorance: for instance, a youngster who draws a swastika on his notebook is probably unaware of the powerful emotions the symbol evokes for Jewish people.
"People who are less educated tend to hold more anti-Semitic attitudes," said William Gralnick, southeast region director for the American Jewish Committee, who will speak next week at a conference with St. Joan of Arc and Temple Beth El educators.
St. Joan of Arc parish and school are across the street from Temple Beth El, a Reform synagogue with an after-school religious education program. For several years, the two congregations have had a cooperative relationship hailed as a national model in Catholic and Jewish circles.
The congregations have combined efforts in establishing an activities program for the elderly, migrant assistance and youth education.
"These two institutions said, 'Let's approach each other as friends and neighbors. Let's establish a personal bond and then begin exploring more of each other,"' Gralnick said.
The impetus for the relationship also comes from the proximity the schools and their similar socioeconomic statuses, Gralnick said.
With interfaith marriages increasing and with Catholicism and Judaism being dominant religions in Palm Beach County, educators find it necessary to provide such education.
Sister O'Hea said cross-religious education is instrumental in "erasing this blame we've put on each other" -- for Jews, the blame of Christians for the Holocaust; for Christians, the blame of Jews for the death of Jesus.
She added that lesser-known facts are that Christians perished in the Holocaust as well and that the Jews' responsibility for Jesus's death is not a Catholic teaching.
Children at both schools say they have friends outside of their own faith background and they say their differences mean nothing to them.
Steven Bell of Temple Beth El says the majority of his friends are Christian. He adds that the controversy over singing Christmas carols in public school doesn't bother him. "I like them better," he said.
Student Heather Shafer said she enjoys the experience of decorating Christmas trees with her Christian friends, but added: "I like being Jewish."
Although their program of educating each other's students, particularly at holiday times, is deemed exemplary, educators from both schools are still uncertain about the quantity of that education.
Because Jews are ethnic and religious minorities in the United States, teachers think their responsibility is to provide Jewish education, said Robin Eisenberg, director of Temple Beth El's religious education program.
"It's a very delicate decision, whether we spend a lot of time giving Jewish education or give them information on the Christian/Jewish stuff so they're better able to deal with the world," she said.
Children at Temple Beth El are not taught about other religions until they enter junior high school, when they are offered an elective comparative- religion course.
Some of the discussion centers on anti-Semitism and how to respond to charges that the Jews killed Jesus. While these issues portray negative images of non- Jews, Eisenberg said the children are taught that not all differences between Christians and Jews lead to such negative experiences.
A "historical breath of fresh air is blowing through many religious denominations," Gralnick said. "It started with the Catholics and Vatican II and now Presbyterians and the United Church of Christ and others are addressing the issues of Jews. This is a golden age of attitude about Jews." He attributes it to better education.
But he cautions that unless other congregations establish relationships similar to that of St. Joan of Arc and Temple Beth El, such improvement is only spotty.
Interfaith education must exist on the seminary level, he said.
"If rabbis, priests, and ministers have a firm grasp of other faith traditions, then (what they teach) is going to come out all right," he said.
Even if that's accomplished, that doesn't address the education of those who don't attend a house of worship.
Programs can be established in public schools that can teach about religious differences without promoting religion, Gralnick said.
Next week's conference is primarily geared to Temple Beth El and St. Joan of Arc educators, but other educators may be interested. At 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Robin Eisenberg and Sister O'Hea will discuss curriculum presentation and teaching techniques at Temple Beth El, 333 SW Fourth Ave.
WHAT KIDS SAY
When asked "What is a Jew?" students at St. Joan of Arc Catholic School had these answers:
Cindy Benson, eighth grade: "We're actually a lot alike, but Jewish people have a lot more rules than we do. They speak English, but when they're in the temple, they speak Hebrew."
Renee Daniels, sixth grade: "They're basically like a Catholic. They have the same God, but they don't believe that Jesus was the Messiah. They have a lot of laws and everything. They fast a lot. The food that they eat means something. Orthodox Jews can't always do a lot of things."
Ronnie Tomassi, seventh grade: "We celebrate Christmas and they celebrate Hanukkah. We have a Bible and they have a Torah."
Silvia Cesari, eighth grade: "We both believe in God and both basically have the same laws. We both have the Ten Commandments and they just have different holidays."
-- The answers from the Jewish children to the question "What's a Christian?" Brad Zimring, fifth grade: "I don't really know much about that religion."
Eric Rausher, fifth grade: "Someone who doesn't celebrate Jewish holidays. Someone who doesn't go to temple."
Heather Shafer, sixth grade: "A person who celebrates Christmas and Easter and who goes to church and prays and believes in Jesus Christ."
Allison Strauss, fifth grade: "A person who believes in different things than a Jewish person. They believe in a God who's going to come down to earth and we believe in a God who just stays up there."
Ari Lehman, sixth grade: "Someone who believes in Jesus and they study the New Testament and sing hymns and they have different brands of Christianity."
Jennifer Lewin, sixth grade: "Just a person who believes in Jesus. They're pretty much like us, but they believe in different things.