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On the Importance of Religious Literacy

Updated: Mar 16

When I taught at a Canadian graduate training program for aspiring diplomats some years ago, I was surprised to learn how little my students knew about religion. Not just about the dominant religion in Canada - Christianity, in all its different forms - but also about the basic tenets of Islam, Hinduism, and others. Most had only modest levels of basic religious literacy.


The program, the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, is a remarkable place. The students are almost always top-notch, and the program is highly selective; if I recall correctly, only one in seven applicants could get in when I taught there.


I am not religious myself, but when I tried to integrate religious faith as a topic in our classes on human security, international development, human rights, or international security, some students were resistant.

A fascinating discussion of American ignorance of basic religious tenets by a leading scholar
A fascinating discussion of American ignorance of basic religious tenets by a leading scholar

I recall one class in particular, in which we were talking about international efforts to persuade Israeli settlers in the West Bank to behave differently towards the Palestinians living around them.


We talked about the possibility of invoking international human rights treaties, but I noted that Israelis did not hold the UN in particularly high regard.


Since many settlers tended to be conservative, traditional, or Orthodox Jews, I suggested an exercise, tasking the students with reading any part of the Old Testament they wanted, along with later Jewish writings and teachings, and finding passages that talked about treating non-Jews with respect.


Hassidic Jews
Hassidic Jews

I was thinking about the host of Jewish laws and rabbinical interpretations about how Jews should treat "strangers" in their midst. The notion of treating non-Jews with respect and dignity is by no means foreign to the Jewish tradition.


Some of the students took the exercise seriously and came up with interesting stuff. Some of them, however, were utterly confused - why should they, secular Canadians aspiring to work for the Canadian government, United Nations, or other international agencies, bother to study obscure religious texts?


One student even went so far as to say, "Doesn't talking about this kind of stuff just legitimate religion, which is entirely illegitimate when it comes to the acts of Jewish settlers in the West Bank? The settlers go there, at least in some cases, because they believe God gave them that land. Why should we engage in a discussion of Jewish tradition, when the settlers are essentially stealing Palestinian property?"


Woman wearing a conservative Muslim head covering. Shouldn't an aspiring diplomat know even a little about the content of her beliefs?
Woman wearing a conservative Muslim head covering. Shouldn't an aspiring diplomat know even a little about the content of her beliefs?

I responded that when seeking to work as a diplomat, you should be able to meet people where they are. If you want to speak with devout Hindus, Muslims, or Jews, you should know a few basic things about those religions. If you are trying to persuade a member of those faiths to treat others with dignity, why not learn what the great interpreters of their traditions have to say on the topic?


If you were tasked with speaking with leaders of the Islamic Republic in Iran about their treatment of minorities or women, wouldn't it serve you well, as a skilled diplomat, to know what the Koran and respected Islamic scholars have said on the issue?


I wrote a piece in the Toronto Star about that class and the broader issue, and it got me invited onto one of Canada's leading talk shows, "The Agenda with Steven Paikin," on TV Ontario.


I recently found that older interview on YouTube, and am posting it here. I am proud of this particular discussion; I felt I added something useful to the debate that evening, and I think the topic is still pertinent and useful today.




Check it out - it's pretty short - and let me know what you think.


About James Ron

Learn more about James on his website and LinkedIn profile. To read his scholarly articles, please visit James' ResearchGate and Academia.edu profiles. To learn how other scholars have used his work in their own research, visit his Google Scholar page. You can read James' social science blog here and his personal blog here. 

 

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