Professional REflection: Theory and practice Reflections on the Paul Smalley is a Senior Lecturer progress of developing in RE at Edge Hill University and is the Chair of NASACRE. He leads an Undergraduate Secondary RE religiously literate with QTS degree and researches educational policy and practice related to RE and Collective citizens in England Worship. On Twitter as @PabloPedantic Paul Smalley [email protected] Religious literacy is an important topic and one that has been given considerable attention in recent years. It is, however, an imprecise term depending as it does on the hugely contested concept of religion. Here Paul Smalley contributes a provocative article that suggests that RE over recent years has been guilty of producing discontented philosophers rather than religiously literate young people. Introduction Religious education in the Basic literacy is defined by Kirsch (2001) as The context of this article is Andrew Wright’s secondary school: prospects the ability to read, write or speak a given seminal 1993 book Religious Education for religious literacy language based on background knowledge in the Secondary School: Prospects It is now 25 years since I completed my in it. Hirsch (2009) argues that to engage for Religious Literacy, published in the degree in Biblical Studies and Andrew in democratic society there needs to be a shadow of the White Paper Choice and Wright published his book. Reading it as common literacy, but this use of language Diversity (DfE 1992). It will draw parallels part of my PGCE helped shape my thinking goes hand in hand with the common between the situation in England then and educational philosophy. It was written knowledge to understand the content of the and now, problematising the notion of in the shadow of Choice and Diversity and text. Basic literacy is a part of education, religious literacy in a changing religious began by asserting that ‘Religious Education but in our schools the curriculum subject of and educational landscape. By looking at today is in a state of flux’ (p. 1); some things English should develop far more than basic other literacies – basic literacy, physical appear to change very little. It was in this literacy, and conversely basic literacy is literacy and information literacy – it will book that Wright highlighted the necessity taught as a part of all school subjects. come to a workable definition of religious to address religious literacy. Wright suggests literacy. Drawing on challenges from Carr a questioning approach is taken where Whitehead describes physical literacy as (2007), Conroy (2013, 2015) and others, students enquire after the truth of ultimate ‘the ability and motivation to capitalise on it will critically analyse the relationship questions in a plural society. our motile potential to make a significant between religious literacy and RE and contribution to the quality of life. … An consider whether RE has been able to Twenty-five years on saw the publication individual who is physically literate moves deliver widespread religious literacy in the of the State of the Nation report, estimating with poise, economy and confidence in intervening years. Finally, it will suggest that 800,000 pupils are left ‘without the a wide variety of physically challenging that RE teachers should be sure of their religious literacy they need’ (RE Council situations’ (2005, p. 5). A physically understanding of the complex multi- 2017, p. 5), whilst the RE Commission’s RE literate individual can ‘read’ the physical dimensional and multi-faceted concept for All interim report suggests that religious environment and use their knowledge and we call religion, and become passionate literacy is key to employability in modern understanding to respond in an appropriate advocates of the lived reality of the religious Britain (CoRE 2017, p. 24). way, deciding, for example, when is it experience in the life of many diverse acceptable to run rather than walk and believers in order to help pupils understand Literacy or literacies? being able to do both. and appreciate this paradoxical reality so But why literacy – and what does it signify? that they are able to develop as religiously There are of course many ‘literacies’ and I literate citizens. shall briefly consider three before returning to religious literacy. 58 Professional REflection: Theory and practice Information literacy is the ability of multiple ways of conceiving of religious Wintersgill (2017, p. 5) avoids the term but a subject to access information in the literacy, some of which focus intently on suggests ‘Schools should, through their RE digital age: ‘To be information literate, a the what of religion … and others which programmes, aim systematically to prepare person must be able to recognise when focus more on the dynamic ways in which students for the spiritual and intellectual information is needed and have the ability religious commitments form the self- challenges of living in a world with diverse to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the understanding of individuals and groups, religions and beliefs as well as non-belief.’ needed information’ (American Library orient them in the world, and direct their Association 1989) or ‘Information literacy actions’ (Gallagher 2009, p. 218). Steven Prothero, who has carried out is about people interacting, engaging, large-scale quantitative surveys of religious working with information in many Towards a definition literacy in the USA (something that has contexts’ (Bruce 2011, p. 335). of religious literacy not happened in the UK), defines religious There have been a number of writers who literacy as ‘the ability to understand and use To be literate one would be able to interact have tried to define what is meant by the religious terms, symbols, images, beliefs, fluently with knowledge and language religious literacy. Taylor (2009) says that practices, scriptures, heroes, themes, and (basic literacy), with our own bodies religious literacy … stories that are employed in American public and the physical environment (physical life’ (2007, p. 13). Gallagher (2009) also notes literacy) and with many sources of … allows people to better that Prothero divides religious literacy into a information, including knowing what to understand religion as variety of subtypes including ritual literacy, trust and what to reject. The element of confessional literacy, denominational interaction and engagement is important in complex and individual literacy, narrative, and interreligious all three of these ‘literacies’. religious traditions as literacy, to which we could add biblical internally diverse and literacy (Edwards 2015) and spiritual literacy The contested concept (McVittie and Smalley 2013; Filipsone 2009) of the religious constantly evolving … [It] and possibly others. So what of religious literacy – what do we, also helps us understand all of us at a societal level, need become how religion has been – and Carr (2007) suggests that religious literacy literate about? is intrinsically interwoven with geographic will continue to be – used and historical knowledge, political and Jackson (1997) problematises our notion to justify the full range economic awareness and an understanding of what religions are, better being viewed of human agency from of culture, literature and the arts. He as dynamic, fuzzy-edged collections of suggests that developing these literacies individuals rather than fixed, bounded, heinous to heroic. may not be best achieved by a separate reified wholes. Dinham and Francis independent subject of RE. Echoing these (2015) concur, suggesting that religion thoughts, Conroy (2013, p. 225) has some is shorthand for a whole semantic field very serious challenges to RE and its of doxis, praxis and communities, and ability to develop religious literacy: ‘The not dichotomous with ‘secular’, pointing failures to distinguish properly between out the value of including non-religious civics, ethics, religion and education are identity as a part of religious literacy. Thus both a methodological problem and a it is widely agreed that there is no simple philosophical conundrum around what definition of religious literacy: ‘there are might constitute viable “religious literacy”’. 59 Professional REflection: Theory and practice A definition society at large. Burrell (2013) has noted in terms of boosting examination results, not Therefore, having surveyed some of the that a contemporary audience would not in improving religious literacy (Ofsted 2013). literature around the contested concepts of understand the humour of Monty Python’s RE has become increasingly instrumental religion, literacy and religious literacy, I offer Life of Brian, and there are frequent in its interdisciplinary nature (Conroy et al. this definition: examples in published news media (and 2013) with beginning RE teachers frequently even more so in the unregulated social listing the aims of the subject as being Religious literacy is the media world) that display a serious lack of tolerance, respect and questioning. ability to interact fluently religious literacy (see, for example, Rushton 2016). Littau (2015) has conducted a large- Teachers of RE, their pupils and the with the ideas and customs scale study of American journalism students population at large have become skilled at of any religious group and concluded that religious literacy is critically questioning and evaluating both commonly found in our local poor. This is worrisome since religion and individual religious phenomena and