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

This book evaluates a unique education program implemented in secondary schools in Georgia to enhance teachers' religious literacy and promote this in schools and classrooms. It demonstrates that religious literacy can be proactively taught to students while highlighting key considerations and tensions around religious liberty in the American South. The book presents an original approach to the field by foregrounding community voices and perspectives and using rich empirical data and qualitative interviews. It evaluates the challenges, efficacy, and benefits of the program in view of rising political polarization and tackles historical and contemporary issues around race and religion. It makes a significant contribution to the dialogue around fostering religious literacy in schools.

Format: Hardback
Length: 144 pages
Publication date: 18 March 2022
Publisher: Taylor & Francis Ltd

This comprehensive volume offers a thorough assessment of a distinctive educational program implemented in secondary schools in Georgia, aimed at enhancing teachers' religious literacy and their capacity to promote this knowledge within schools and classrooms. The text underscores that religious literacy can be proactively imparted to students, while simultaneously addressing crucial considerations and tensions surrounding religious liberty in the American South.

Spanning rural, urban, and suburban regions of Georgia, the text presents an innovative approach to the rapidly evolving field of religious literacy by prioritizing community voices and perspectives. Through the use of robust empirical data and in-depth qualitative interviews with religious and political leaders, scholars, teachers, parents, and students, the book evaluates the challenges, effectiveness, and benefits of the program in the context of rising political polarization. In so doing, the text addresses historical and contemporary issues related to race and religion, as well as explores tensions between religious and nonreligious groups in the United States. Ultimately, the book makes a substantial contribution to the ongoing discourse surrounding the promotion of religious literacy in schools.

This text will be of immense value to researchers, academics, and educators with a keen interest in religious education, teacher education, and religious literacy in general. Those with an interest in the sociology of education, as well as diversity and religion in America, will also find this volume to be of great relevance.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780367775216