Religious Literacy for Educators

For fellow teachers in our course: This is an active blog designed for student use in my AP Language and Composition course.  Students post and read the material on here.

For students: This is a blog post for my course entitled Religious Literacy for Educators.  I did not wake up today and decide to reflect on my religious literacy and post it for you!

According to our readings, religious literacy is defined as the “the ability to discern and analyze the fundamental intersections of religion and social/political/cultural life through multiple lenses.” 

I feel like I am fairly literate when it comes to the basic tenets of most religions.  I am in no means an expert.  Raised in a Lutheran family, attending Sunday School for years, and most importantly, being a History minor in college, I have at least been exposed to major texts and beliefs of the “major” religions.

However, if you take the word “religion” out of the definition, in many ways, this is the foundation of AP Language and Composition.  It is literacy.  How does we take a text (image, words, speech, etc.) and discern it through multiple lenses?  How do we write essays that address multiple lenses?

I feel like this is where my “religious literacy” must come from.  Recognizing the idea that there are multiple cultures, religious beliefs, and even multiple interpretations of the same belief within my room, I need to “walk the line” so to speak.  My job is to get students (you) to deal with words, arguments, and meaning.  Your job is to interact with text and learn to do your darn best to leave your personal beliefs, religious or not, at the proverbial door.  You can and should have them, but your job is to argue well, not argue your view.

What I am quickly realizing in this course, confirming my earlier beliefs, is we cannot judge an individual on any label (again, religious or not) that he/she claims or possesses.  Two Christians may have “less in common” than a Hindu and a Christian based on their behaviors, proclivities, and interests, for example.  People who are religious vary in every way, and so there is no one approach a religious group.

Therefore, I hope my assessment of religious literacy doesn’t seem glib, but here it is: yes, I know something about most religions and their social, political, and cultural influences, but I almost think that this isn’t so important in the language arts classroom that I run.  My “literacy” has to come from the idea that I know everyone is bringing something to the table, all of those things are different, and a good writer/thinker knows how to navigate text and ideas with the least shrouded view of what is actually being said. Recognize bias in others’ writings and try to take bias out of your own thought process.  To me, this is literacy.  This is the goal of the AP Lang student, and it should be the goal of all people as we live our daily lives.

My Essential Question: Given that there are many cultural and religious beliefs and behaviors in a classroom, and given that religious, political rhetoric is so emotionally charged, biased, or filled with logical fallacy, how do we navigate a text with neutrality?