Religion in English class - assuntos de religião nas aulas

I've been thinking a lot about this for a while now. Most of my private students are religious to one degree or another, with the exception of a couple, the youngest ones, who are decidedly not so. And the topic of religion comes up from time to time, with interesting and varying results. So my question is, should there be discussions about religion in English class or not? The Pope comes to Brazil, the Boston Marathon bombers kill in the name of religion, the fall (again) of the Egyptian government and the ongoing civil war in Syria, which the US is about to stick its meddling nose in, are all religiously motivated. They are also all great topics of classroom discussion. But are there any religious topics that are taboo? How far should a teacher go when introducing religious themes? What should they avoid? How far should other students go when commenting on them? Religion is a touchy topic, and some people find it offensive to even mention it. But it makes up so much of what is relevant to so many people, it seems a shame not to discuss it? What do you think?