OVERCOMING RELIGIOUS ILLITERACY AND FOSTERING PLURALISTIC VALUES

Quebec as a Case Study

About Us Arzina Zaver

Is a second year PhD student w i t h t h e D e p a r t m e n t o f Integrated Studies in Education a t McGi l l Un ivers i ty. She graduated with a Double Masters (Master of Arts and a Master of Teaching) from the Institute of Education, London, UK. Her research interests include: teacher identity, third space, the teaching of religious education and teacher development. arzina.zaver@mail.mcgill.ca

Alim Fakirani

Is a graduate of McGill University, Montreal (BA) and the Institute of Education, London, UK (MA, M.Teach). Alim currently works as an educator in a newly developed religious education program geared towards Ismaili Muslim youth. His areas of interest include the study o f p l u ra l i sm , re l i g i ous and multicultural education, interfaith dialogue and the philosophy of education afakirani@gmail.com www.alimfakirani.com

Our Thesis

In order to alleviate rampant ignorance about the religious and cultural traditions of others, we must provide an education about

the value and importance of pluralism

What is Religious Literacy? • Religious Literacy entails the ability to discern and

analyze the fundamental intersections of religion and social/political/cultural life through multiple lenses. (Moore, 2006)

• Religious literacy helps students to recognize that all interpretations of religion are essentially human enterprises; the faithful may consider certain religious truths to be divinely revealed, but the meanings they construct from these truths are heavily dependent on their worldly circumstances and realities. (Asani, 2011)

Why is Religious Literacy Important? Attributes of Religious Literate Individuals • A religious literate person has “a basic understanding of

the history, central texts (where applicable), beliefs, practices and contemporary manifestations of several of the world’s religious traditions and religious expressions as they arose out of and continue to shape and be shaped by particular social, historical and cultural contexts”

• And “the ability to discern and explore the religious dimensions of political, social and cultural expressions across time and place”

(Moore, 2006)

Canadian Demographics •  Canada is changing

•  2001: 2.5M Visible Minorities (VM) •  2006: 5M VM (16.2% of population) •  2011: 6.2M VM (19.1% of population)

•  “In 2011, about 2,373,700 people, or 7.2% of Canada's population, reported affiliation with one of these [Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist] religions. This was up from 4.9% a decade earlier, as recorded in the 2001 Census.”

•  “Immigration has contributed to a higher share of the population having affiliation with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religions as well as to a higher share of the population having no religious affiliation. Of the immigrants who came prior to 1971, 2.9% were affiliated with Muslim, Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist religions, whereas 33.0% of immigrants who came between 2001 and 2011 reported affiliation to one of these religions.”

-  Statistics Canada, 2006 & 2011 Census data

Pluralism as a Value 1.  Pluralism is not diversity alone, but the energetic

engagement with diversity. Mere diversity without real encounter and relationship will yield increasing tensions in our societies.

2.  Pluralism is not just tolerance, but the active seeking of understanding across lines of difference.

3.  Pluralism is not relativism, but the encounter of commitments. It means holding our deepest differences, even our religious differences, not in isolation, but in relationship to one another.

4.  Pluralism is based on dialogue. The language of pluralism is that of dialogue and encounter, give and take, criticism and self-criticism.

From What is Pluralism? Diana L. Eck, The Pluralism Project Harvard University

Is Diversity the Problem? No

•  The issue isn’t diversity itself, it is rather how societies and governments promote an engagement with such diversity

•  The issue isn’t that diverse people are living together or that these religious traditions are inherently hostile towards others

• We believe the issue is that people who are living in proximity to one another do not know enough about their neighbours.

•  This has been suggested by several people as a Clash of Ignorance leading to rising tension and conflict (Said, 2001, HH the Aga Khan, 2008, K. H. Karim, 2012)

Quebec as Case Study

Timeline Early 2007 - 2008

Quebec faces the Reasonable Accommodations debates bringing to the forefront latent issues with Quebec’s burgeoning multiculturalism

May 2008 The Bouchard-Taylor Report is released after much consultation with the public. It provides recommendations on how to mitigate escalating tensions with regards to reasonable accommodations of cultural and religious practices

September 2008

Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) curriculum is launched (in development since 2006)

August 2013 The Quebec Charter of Values is introduced by the Parti Quebecois (PQ) with great controversy

April 2014 The Quebec provincial elections sees the PQ ousted and along with it the Charter of Values

Reasonable Accommodations •  “An arrangement that falls under the legal sphere, more

specifically case law, aimed [at] relaxing the application of a norm or statute in favour of an individual or a group of people threatened with discrimination for one reason specified in the Charter [of Rights and Freedoms]" (Bouchard-Taylor Repot, 2007)

Examples of Tensions

The Ethics and Religious Culture Program •  The Ethics and Religious Culture program will allow your child

to: •  acquire or consolidate, if applicable, an understanding of how

all individuals are equal in terms of right and dignity •  learn to reflect on issues •  explore, depending on his/her age, different ways in which

Québec's religious heritage is present in his/her immediate or broader environment

•  learn about elements of other religious traditions present in Québec

•  grow and develop in a society in which different values and beliefs coexist

- From the Ministre de l’Éducation, Loisir et Sport

Screenshot From the Ministre de l’Éducation, Loisir et Sport website

The Fly in the Ointment

• We are suggesting that education about religious and cultural diversity and the promotion of a pluralistic ethos in our society is sine quo non to the establishment of vigorous, democratic societies

• However, even after the introduction of the ERC

curriculum, we still see issues around religious sensitivity emerge as evidenced by the the Charter of Values

However… • Educating takes time

•  The ERC program is launched in 2008 •  Education is based on action and the results of our actions in this

regard takes time

•  This form of education needs to be multigenerational •  Currently, the ERC is geared at developing religious and cultural

literacy skills in young students •  However, similar initiatives do not exist for adult populations

Re-imagining the Future of Education • Quebec provides us with an example of the potential

tensions that fast-evolving societies are susceptible to give the rise in multiculturalism

•  This is a reality facing many countries including Canada, the US, France, Germany and the UK

• We recommend being proactive instead of reactive before such issues surface

• One proactive measure that governments can undertake is to provide an education about the diversity of traditions, practices and perspectives

Concluding Remarks

We believe that providing such an education will mitigate the escalation of conflict while promoting equality, fostering

deeper dialogue and discourse amongst people, engendering understanding, and promoting democratic

values,