Including Religion for Social Justice

• In Event: Inclusive Leadership Promoting Social Justice Praxis

Abstract

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify historical and contemporary influences of religion in U.S. public schooling, to provide examples of the “blurry Christianity” (author, 2008) which functions as the norm within many schools, and to provide analytical questions which social justice leaders can ask about the practices embedded in their own schools. It acknowledges the importance of religion in both curriculum and community and offers suggestions for making schools more inclusive around religion without violating either the Establishment clause or the Free Exercise clause of the First Amendment.
Perspective and Evidence
Religion can be a “historically marginalizing factor” (Theoharis, 2009, p. 11) like race and ethnicity, social class, gender, disability, and sexual orientation. Religious affiliation can associate with student achievement and educational attainment (Jeynes, 2009; Lee, Ana, & Clark, 2007; Park, 2001; Sikkink & Hernández, 2003). Commonly perceived as a matter of family or individual choice, religion is often neglected in the social justice literature. However, if all students are to be included in school, their religious belief or unbelief also must be acknowledged and included.
A social justice leader must consider religion in policies, curriculum, and community partnerships. As U.S. public schooling is rooted historically in Protestant Christianity (Kaestle, 2001; Nord, 1995) and 78% of the U.S. adult population identifies as Christian (Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, 2008), school policies and practices tend to privilege Christianity. Most school calendars, for example, schedule their vacation breaks around Christmas and Easter. Applying Blumenfeld (2006)’s theoretical framework of Christian privilege to this situation would identify it as both social/cultural and institutionalized oppression, where Christianity has become a norm and policies which benefit it are not questioned.
Inclusive leaders must also determine how religion can be included in the curriculum; in order, for example, to make sense of historical events such as the Civil Rights movement or of current events such as the war in Iraq. Teaching about religion while maintaining an inclusive classroom environment and not violating the religion clauses of the First Amendment requires sensitivity, tact, and courage.
Finally, most leaders recognize the importance of partnering with community groups to share resources and gain trust. Religious groups should be included to assist the students they share in common. However, it is vital to provide guidelines for participation and to ensure that non-Christian or non-religious students do not feel further marginalized.
Conclusions and Significance
Social justice leadership presumes an ethic of critique, which Starratt suggests includes asking questions such as “Who benefits by these arrangements?” and “Who defines the way things are structured here?" (1991, p. 189). The inclusive leader must apply those critical questions with an eye towards the ways in which Christianity is privileged within the school. At the same time, the inclusive leader must recognize the importance of including religion within the curriculum and invite potential partnerships from the religious community. These brief examples illustrate the tensions that a social justice leader must manage when trying to be inclusive of religion.

Author

• Joanne M. Marshall, Iowa State University