HDS - H-STARS Project - Introductory Letter to Teachers

HDS Study on Teaching About Religion in the Schools

Introductory Letter to Teachers

Dear Teaching Colleague,

Greetings. I am writing you in my capacity as a professor at Harvard Divinity School and director of a unique graduate level teacher-training program here called the Program in Religious Studies and Education (PRSE).¹ Through my work with the PRSE, I have initiated a project entitled the Harvard Divinity School Study on Teaching About Religion in the Schools (H-STARS). H-STARS is an ongoing research project originally funded by the Center for the Study of World Religions at Harvard Divinity School. The overarching goals are to learn about what is currently being taught in the schools about religion and to hear from teachers about what resources they need to enhance this dimension of their work. The specific aim of the study is to gather data about 1) where the study of religion is incorporated in secondary school curricula in both public and independent contexts; and 2) what resources teachers utilize when teaching about religion. Currently there are no comprehensive data available that are related to the study of religion in the schools and this effort will help provide information for the creation of relevant educational resources and teacher training opportunities. Phase One of the investigation focused on Texas, California, and Massachusetts. We are now expanding the scope nationally. I am writing to solicit your support and participation.

Many educators would argue that knowledge about the world's religious traditions has always been an important dimension of a well-rounded education, but it is especially needed now given that 1) the U.S. is the most religiously diverse country in the world² and 2) religion figures so prominently in national and international movements and conflicts. Ironically, though studies show that citizens of the United States are both religious³ and religiously diverse, we are arguably the most illiterate about religion and the world's religious traditions due to a common misunderstanding of the religious liberty clauses of the First Amendment.

Contrary to popular belief, the academic study of religion in public schools is not constitutionally prohibited. Indeed, in the pivotal 1963 Abington Township v. Schempp Supreme Court decision banning state-sponsored prayer and Bible readings in public schools, Associate Justice Tom Clark wrote the following for the court:

It might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization. It certainly may be said that the Bible is worthy of study for its literary and historic qualities. Nothing we have said here indicates that such study of the Bible or of religion, when presented objectively as part of a secular program of education, may not be effected consistently with the First Amendment.⁴

Many educators have recognized the need to include the study of religion in the schools and as a result it has been increasingly incorporated in state standards and frameworks, especially in history, social studies and English. There are also growing numbers of sectarian and nonsectarian independent schools that are incorporating religion into their curricula. As you know, however, there are correspondingly few teacher training opportunities or resources available for teachers to learn for themselves about the study of religion as it pertains to their discipline. The H-STARS project is designed to gather primary data and to work with teachers in the field to construct sound, relevant resources and training opportunities for in-service and pre-service educators in the U.S.

The main instruments for data collection are questionnaires designed for secondary school teachers of English, history/social science, and (where relevant) religion and religious studies. Those who respond to the questionnaire will be invited to become teacher affiliates to the H-STARS project and will be invited to participate in programs aimed at strengthening the collaboration between teachers, scholars of religious studies, and teacher education scholars here at Harvard and across the country.

I hope you agree to participate in this project by filling out an online questionnaire that should take approximately 30 minutes of your time. I hope the project goals and general directions are clear, but please don't hesitate to contact me directly if you have any questions. I can be reached at 617.384.8047 or via email at hstars.dlmoore@hds.harvard.edu.

Many thanks in advance for your support of this initiative. We are hopeful that through this effort we can join with educators across the country to strengthen the resources and training opportunities available to enhance the study of religion in the schools.

Sincerely,

Diane L. Moore, PhD
Professor of the Practice in Religious Studies and Education
Director, Program in Religious Studies and Education
Director, Harvard Divinity School Study on Teaching About Religion in the Schools
617.384.8047
hstars.dlmoore@hds.harvard.edu

Notes

1. Students in the program graduate with a Massachusetts middle and/or secondary school teaching license in one of several disciplines along with an academic degree in religious studies. Given their unique training, graduates are able to incorporate the study of religion into their teaching field(s) of expertise in constitutionally sound and educationally innovative ways. See PRSE.

2. See Diana L. Eck, A New Religious America (New York: Harper Collins, 2001).

3. 86.8% of Americans view themselves as "religious" according to statistics compiled by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, U.S. Census 2002; The Gallup Organization, and the Brookings Review. Source: www.pbs.org/now/society/religionstats.html, March 18, 2005.

4. School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania, et al. v. Schempp et al. 374 U.S. 203, June 17, 1963.