Part I Introduction

As teacher educators, our students often ask why our courses require them to read and become familiar with social and educational theories. They’re looking for examples they can “use” in their classrooms, focusing almost exclusively on actions they can take rather than thinking critically about what might guide their actions and why. Teaching about religion and valuing religious diversity within public institutions are complex endeavors requiring deep understanding of diverse students’ religious identities, laws protecting students’ freedom of religion, and social dynamics that produce and reproduce power relations within lived experiences of religious identity in public schools. As Bettina Love (2019) puts it, “Theory helps explain and examine our reality and our students’ realities” (p. 132). In a society shaped by systemic injustice, “theory gives you language to fight, knowledge to stand on, and a humbling reality of what intersectional social justice is up against (p. 133). In short, theory helps us make sense of complexity and provides a rationale for informed, intentional action toward more just classrooms, schools, and society as a whole. These theories were developed through research.