Disrupting Protestant Dominion: Middle School Affirmations of Diverse Religious Images in Community Spaces

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 32
  In Roundtable Session: Intersectionalities of Christian Literacies and Literacy Education in U.S. Schools

Abstract

Objectives
This participant/research study features a public middle school classroom of the US Midwest in a region where a tacit sociocultural caste system has historically privileged Protestant Christians. The participant/researchers worked alongside 19 sixth-graders from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds to question and dismantle the taken-for-granted domination of Protestant discourses and to explore the possibilities for religious pluralism and hybridity as part of their English Language Arts classroom discussions.

Theoretical Framework
This study is situated in the corpus of scholarly literature about the importance of navigating the controversial topic of religion in a public school (e.g., Moore, 2010). Providing space for religion in literacy instruction offers a holistic approach to education that affirms the diverse backgrounds of children, including those from traditionally marginalized communities (Magaldi-Dopman & Park-Taylor, 2014). Literacy education scholars have only recently begun to examine the intersection of students’ religious literacies and ELA instruction in elementary and middle school classrooms (e.g., Damico & Hall, 2015; McMillon & Edwards, 2008). Research has suggested that when teachers allow opportunities for students to explore diverse perspectives on topics such as religion, students are better prepared to interpret and engage with controversial issues in the region and within the broader society (e.g., Noddings & Brooks, 2017; Zimmerman & Robertson, 2017).

Methods & Data Sources
This qualitative study was conducted within the context of a four-session interdisciplinary classroom unit called “Religious Images in Many Places & Spaces” about the presence of religious images in the visual landscapes of neighborhood communities, in children’s picturebooks, and in mainstream media. Data were generated from audio and video recordings of each session of the unit, fieldnotes, teaching materials (e.g. picture books, murals, video news clips), and all student-created artifacts from the unit. For this paper, data were reduced to focus on the students’ interpretations of religious imagery across different media/venues. Transcripts were coded and analyzed for students’ applications of visual and critical literacies to make sense of how the images were contextualized in varying media/venues (Serafini, 2014).

Findings
The findings indicate that many of the children recognized the personal significance that seeing a religious figure holds for some people. They were also attuned to the dismissive qualities of tacit social narratives that align with an implicit religious caste system that privileges the historical legacy of Protestantism in the U.S. Midwest.

Significance
The data illustrate that the children favored religious inclusivity, which is a core element of a pluralistic community. The study corresponds with the research described by Lester (2011), who found that students living in an ethnically and culturally diverse community benefitted from learning about their neighbors’ faiths and traditions. In other words, albeit a source of controversy (Noddings & Brooks, 2017; Zimmerman & Robertson, 2017), providing opportunities for students to exercise their visual literacies (Serafini, 2014) and to discuss divergent religious perspectives as part of an interdisciplinary ELA curriculum can be a worthwhile educational endeavor.

Authors

• Denise Davila, The University of Texas at Austin

• Allison Volz, Arcadia University