Opinion: How to better integrate religion into Alberta’s draft curriculum

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Since the release of the UCP’s proposed K-6 curriculum, many have questioned the role of religion in the draft document and voiced legitimate concerns. To further the conversation, we examine four topics that we believe require consideration.

Recognizing the harm

When one of us came across the term “Christo-fascism” in a Twitter post rejecting the draft’s Euro-Christian focus, it hurt. But we acknowledge the pain of those harmed in and by the Church, including the trauma perpetrated by the churches that operated the residential schools. Too often, churches are judgemental rather than inclusive spaces. Today, we see Grace Life Church flout public health rules, endangering everyone and embarrassing many Christians.

Expanding beyond a single story

And yet, religion cannot be reduced to a single story. Religious communities have both contributed to social justice and themselves experienced discrimination.

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In Canada, Christian denominations supported the Dene Nation in their struggle against the proposed Mackenzie pipeline during the mid-1970s, lobbied for greater recognition of refugees in the Immigration Act of 1976 and for the private sponsorship of them, and called for the cancellation of debt held by the world’s poorest countries via Jubilee 2000. Globally, a broad base of religious communities advocated for affordable HIV/AIDS medication for sub-Saharan Africa at the turn of the millennium. The Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding documents religious peace-builders helping to resolve armed conflicts, religious bullying, and more.

The Canadian state has always managed religion and at times non-religion. The Indian Act made Indigenous spiritual practices illegal for over half a century. Despite the long history of Jews, Muslims, and Sikhs in Canada, they faced persecution, with the restrictions against Jewish people that extended into the 20th century described as Jim Crow-like. Prior to the mid-1960s, atheist immigrants were sometimes deemed unsuitable for a “Christian Canada”

Beyond policy, discrimination continues. For example, Islamophobia escalated after 9/11 and continues to target Muslim women and youth wearing religious clothing. But religious groups have been resilient. The Sikh community achieved their right to vote and wear their religious symbols in new contexts (e.g., the RCMP). Jehovah’s Witnesses helped expand religious freedom. Today, Calgary is led by Naheed Nenshi, a Muslim, and the federal NDP is led by Jagmeet Singh, a Sikh. However, Nenshi has raised the alarm about increasing levels of hate, especially on social media, and Singh has described the racism and discrimination he has endured.

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Clearly, the story of Canada cannot be told without telling the story of religion.

Religion in the draft curriculum

The draft curriculum attempts to include religious diversity but does so in ways that are not age-appropriate. It resorts to Christian-dominant interpretations, pays insufficient attention to the spiritualities and religious affiliations of Indigenous peoples, and ignores the nearly 25 per cent of Canadians who self-identify as religious “nones.” In response, some call for the elimination of religion from the curriculum while others want students to learn something about religion to better understand diversity, but not in the way developed in the draft.

Ways of moving forward

So how might a curriculum include religious diversity in ways that are generous and hospitable to all Albertans? We suggest three elements are critical for successful integration.

First, if all students are to see themselves in the curriculum, then Indigenous spiritualities and those who do not self-identify as religious must be included.

Second, as students get older, an exploration of the definition of religion would be a valuable historical and cultural study. Students should realize that religious traditions change over time and space, and that there is diversity within religious traditions.

Third, the current curriculum provides good examples of how religion could be integrated well into curriculum. Students in Grade 3 social studies examine communities around the world. When studying a community in India, for example, it makes sense to include some basic introductions to Islam and Hinduism. In high school, students’ study of the novel The Life of Pi is enriched if they acquire some basic knowledge of Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity.

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This is in stark contrast to the draft curriculum, which consistently misses opportunities to integrate religion into students’ historical and cultural learning. Just one example: in the proposed Grade 5 social studies curriculum, mention of the role of Christian churches in the Indian residential school system is strangely muted.

To live with each other more respectfully and share public space, education about religion when appropriate can only deepen neighbourly awareness, civic respect, and the common work of building a more just world for all.

Rev. Jonathan Nicolai-deKoning is pastor and father of two elementary school-age children.

Dr. Margie Patrick is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at The King’s University.