Chapter 9: Teachers’ and Students’ Experiences Working with Religious Issues in U.S. Schools

This chapter argues for the need to incorporate discussions about religion and religious identities within the research on diversity and equity in the United States. The authors contend that limited emphasis has been placed on religious dimensions of diversity and how it impacts the experiences of students who belong to marginalized religious groups in the United States. The discussion explores how teachers’ beliefs, experiences, and perspectives shape the ways in which they work with students and how teachers’ religious and spiritual beliefs influence their day-to-day classroom instruction. It similarly explores how teachers of diverse ethnic backgrounds negotiate their racial and religious identities in schools and how they collaborate with teachers to promote religious diversity. The chapter concludes by emphasizing the need to address religious dimensions of prejudice and the importance of infusing diverse religious knowledge in school curriculum.