Preservice Teacher Views on Critical Religious Literacy to Counteract Epistemic Injustice in Teacher Education Programs

Abstract

While there has been growing scholarly interest in the role of religious literacy in K-12 teacher education, scholarship on how preservice teachers understand religious literacy as an aim of social justice-oriented education remains limited. This empirical case study of one teacher education program in a Canadian university examines the perspectives of preservice teachers and how they view critical religious literacy (CRL) as a means of addressing the potential harms of religious illiteracy. Using empirical data collected in personal interviews and focus groups, this qualitative case study employed philosophical analysis centered on a theoretical framework that includes the concept of epistemic injustice. The data show that preservice educators feel unprepared to engage with religiously diverse students, to navigate issues related to religious diversity, or to respond to the potential epistemic harms of religious illiteracy, such as exclusion, discrimination, or polarization. As such, this paper contends that to reduce the potential epistemic injustices related to religious illiteracy in their programs and in K-12 classrooms, teacher educators ought to include CRL as an educational aim in preservice teacher education.