Equipping Educators to Teach Religious Literacy: Lessons from a Teacher Education Program in the American South

163 Pages·2022·7.557 MB·English

by  Emile Lester, W. Y. Alice Chan

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C Routledge Research in Religion and Education
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IG EQUIPPING EDUCATORS TO
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TEACH RELIGIOUS LITERACY
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C LESSONS FROM A TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM
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IN THE AMERICAN SOUTH
Emile Lester and W. Y. Alice Chan
Equipping Educators to Teach
Religious Literacy
This volume provides a detailed evaluation of a unique education program
implemented in secondary schools in Georgia to enhance teachers’ religious
literacy and their ability to promote this in schools and classrooms. The
text demonstrates that religious literacy can be proactively taught to stu-
dents, whilst also highlighting key considerations and tensions around reli-
gious liberty in the American South.
Spanning rural, urban, and suburban Georgia, the text presents an orig-
inal approach to the growing field of religious literacy by foregrounding
community voices and perspectives. Using rich empirical data and qual-
itative interviews with religious and political leaders, scholars, teachers,
parents, and students, the book evaluates the challenges, efficacy, and ben-
efits of the program in view of rising political polarization. In doing so, the
text tackles historical and contemporary issues around race and religion,
and considers tensions between religious and nonreligious groups in the
US. Ultimately, the book presents a significant contribution to the dialogue
around fostering religious literacy in schools.
This text will benefit researchers, academics, and educators with an inter-
est in religious education, teacher education, and religious literacy more
broadly. Those interested in the sociology of education, as well as diversity
and religion in America, will also benefit from this volume.
Emile Lester is Professor in the Department of Political Science and Interna-
tional Affairs, University of Mary Washington, USA.
W. Y. Alice Chan completed her PhD at McGill University, Montreal, Can-
ada. She is Executive Director and cofounder of the Centre for Civic Reli-
gious Literacy (CCRL), Canada.
Routledge Research in Religion and Education
Series Editor Michael D. Waggoner, University of Northern Iowa, USA
1 Teaching Sexuality and Religion in Higher Education
Embodied Learning, Trauma Sensitive Pedagogy, and Perspective
Transformation
Edited by Darryl W. Stephens and Kate Ott
2 Curriculum Renewal for Islamic Education
Critical Perspectives on Teaching Islam in Primary and
Secondary Schools
Edited by Nadeem A. Memon, Mariam Alhashmi, and Mohamad Abdalla
3 Islamic Religious Education in Europe
A Comparative Study
Edited by Leni Franken and Bill Gent
4 Teaching Religious Literacy to Combat Religious Bullying
Insights from North American Secondary Schools
W. Y. Alice Chan
5 Law, Education, and the Place of Religion in Public Schools
International Perspectives
Edited by Charles J. Russo
6 Engaging with Vocation on Campus
Supporting Students’ Vocational Discernment through Curricular and
Co-Curricular Approaches
Edited by Karen Lovett and Stephen Wilhoit
7 Equipping Educators to Teach Religious Literacy
Lessons from a Teacher Education Program in the American South
Emile Lester and W. Y. Alice Chan
Equipping Educators to Teach
Religious Literacy
Lessons from a Teacher Education Program
in the American South
Emile Lester and W. Y. Alice Chan
First published 2022
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2022 Emile Lester and W. Y. Alice Chan
The right of Emile Lester and W. Y. Alice Chan to be identified as authors
of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 9780367775216 (hbk)
ISBN: 9780367775223 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003171775 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003171775
Typeset in Sabon
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
To the educators who are promoting religious
literacy to support their students and global
citizenship in Georgia and globally.

Contents
List of Figures ix
List of Tables x
Series Editor Foreword xi
About the Authors xv
Acknowledgments xvi
1 A Changing Context: The Challenges of Religious
Diversity in Georgia 1
2 Theoretical Perspectives on Religious Literacy
and Religious Liberty 12
3 The Georgia 3Rs Program 24
4 Conducting Qualitative Research in Urban, Rural,
and Suburban Communities 32
5 Religion and the 3Rs: Navigating Conservative,
Non-Religious, and Non-Christian Religions 46
6 Race and the 3Rs: Engaging with Majority-Minority
Populations 61
7 Success in the Suburbs: Gwinnett, Fayette, and
Cobb Counties 69
8 Can Rural Be a Fourth R? The 3Rs in Bleckley County 88
viii Contents
9 Alternate Forms of Education: Exploring Beyond
Traditional Education Settings 101
10 Outcomes and Implications for the United States 116
11 International Implications 126
Index 139
Figures
1.1 Religious affiliation in Georgia, Atlanta, and the
United States, 2017. 2
10.1 Number of training sessions by county or organization,
from 2017 to September 2019 118
10.2 “How helpful was the training?” Teacher responses 119