My first degree was in education. My current studies focus on religion. When a book called Faith Ed,: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance came out I was compelled to read it. Not only did the author — journalist Linda K. Wertheimer — provide an in-depth and thoughtful look at particular cases of controversy and success in religious studies education at primary and secondary levels across the U.S., but she rightly highlights a public education system wrestling with the practicalities of how to nurture a new generation of religiously literate U.S. citizens.
To explore the topic and the text more I caught up with Wertheimer. Below is our Q&A.
*Listen to Wertheimer speak at Books & Books: Miami, FL | Sunday, Jan. 17th 4pm.
Where did you draw your inspiration to write this book?
Faith Ed. grew out of two events, one in my childhood and one more recent. When I was in fourth grade, my family moved from western New York state to rural Ohio. I was the only Jew, other than my brothers, in our new school system. My school had weekly Christianity classes taught in the classroom by a woman from a local church. My parents had me excused from those classes, but peers noticed that I left and asked why. I told them I was Jewish, and as a result, I experienced some ostracism as well anti-Semitism. I always wondered, though, if my peers’ treatment was more ignorance than anti-Semitism. I wondered, too, if it would have made a difference if teachers had taught us about many religions instead of promoting only one. Those kind of questions inspired me in part to write Faith Ed.
The second event that led to writing this book was hearing about a suburban Boston middle school’s field trip to a mosque and a subsequent controversy. I was fascinated to learn that sixth-graders were spending half a year learning about the world’s religions and even more intrigued to find out that learning about religion was required as part of social studies. I wanted to know more.
What's the one takeaway you want people to get from this book?
My hope is that readers realize the importance of teaching about religion in public schools and the difference it can make not only for religious minorities but for those in the majority. I also hope this book can renew dialogue about the best way to teach about religion and how young to begin such instruction. It’s more vital now than ever to emphasize the importance of religious literacy because education can reduce ignorance and the bigotry we’re hearing aimed at Muslims in particular these days.
Do you feel that education is a necessary precursor to respect and tolerance? Is it enough?
The goal should be that we learn to respect other faiths rather than simply tolerate them. I do believe education is a great way to help achieve respect for different religions. Is it enough? No, because education only reaches those in the classrooms. What about the adults who never learned about other religions? We need to figure out how to reach them. Children are greatly influenced by their parents.
You focus a lot on Islam; what other religions are being marginalized without proper religious education?
It is not just Islam that is greatly misunderstood. Students who were Sikh, Jewish and Hindu spoke of being bullied because of their faith. So did a Jehovah’s Witness. Religions in the minority as well as lesser known branches of Christianity all face some of the same issues as Islam.
People on all sides of the issue have passion and purpose in their reasoning. Do you think the passion is helpful or hurtful to the cause of education about religion?
I don’t think passion is a problem as long as educators and parents can be objective whether they are teaching the material or their children are learning it. Some of these protests against lessons on Islam stemmed from ignorance and bigotry. There wasn’t enough reasoned discourse about the events.
Who is doing education about religion right?
