Interpreting intercultural encounters with 90 Day Fiancé in the world religions' classroom

Abstract

AbstractWhile many college courses on “world religions” have as their foundation an assortment of institutionally‐authoritative, primary sources selected from a canon of sacred texts, this paper argues for a critical reevaluation of such textually‐based teaching methodologies in light of the religious literacy standards set by the American Academy of Religion. When professors are asked to defend the value of a degree in religious studies, they may tout such skills as cultural literacy or being able to conduct business in a globalized marketplace. These are not necessarily the skills one acquires from reading translations of texts like the Bhagavad Gita or the Quran. More often, these texts are assigned because the professor themself studied them in college, in a lineage that dates back to Max Müller and the beginnings of the “World Religions Paradigm.” This article uses the recent standards for religious literacy proposed by the American Academy of Religion to suggest a different object of analysis for obtaining these skills and framing intercultural encounters: the reality television franchise 90 Day Fiancé. This is presented as a case study of how a re‐imagined World Religions course may feature more creative and deliberate choices in order to achieve the skills promised.