Exploring New Ground for Religion in the Classroom

In their December 31st 1999 issue—the final issue of the millennium— The Economist wrote an obituary for God, boldly pronouncing him dead. After recounting the wide impact of religion in preceding centuries and acknowledging that, even in a post-enlightenment world, “the corpse just wouldn’t lie down,” the editors concluded that the time had finally come to bury the dead. Religion, they declared, had become largely insignificant (“Obituary”).1 As it turned out, the death knell was premature.2 Just a few years later, with the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon and with wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the conflation of national identity (or national allegiance) and Christianity emerged with renewed zeal.3 For many Americans—including Muslim-Americans—these events intensified their previously held commitments and the degree to which their religion informed their worldview and sense of self. At times, intensified religious identifications have led to division and tension between religious groups in this country, sometimes erupting in violence. But, at the same time, these events have prompted in many Americans a desire to learn more about religious traditions other than their own and the media, scholars, and Islamic organizations have responded to meet this demand. Oprah, for instance, devoted a full episode to “Islam 101” and Larry King invited a series of Muslim guests to his show. News outlets humanized Islam by running features on Muslim Americans, from Girl Scouts to comedians (Helms; Lee). Scholars published popular books that analyzed the new religious landscape in America and that illuminated the perspectives of Muslims abroad (e.g., Lincoln; Lawrence and Howarth).4 Finally, mosques and Islamic organizations across the country hosted educational events as well as interreligious dialogue. So while fear and distrust have created fissures between some religious communities, a newly educated public has also begun to forge new interreligious understanding and relationships, revealing another feature of American nationalism: religious tolerance and freedom (Eck). In addition to playing a role in national identity and foreign policy, religion is also an increasingly significant indicator of political affiliation. (See, for instance, a recent Pew Center report on the coincidence of religious right membership and support of the Tea Party [Pew Research Center, “The Tea Party”].) Religious logic and rhetoric is also a persistent feature in domestic policy debates, most notably around gay marriage, abortion, and stem cells (Pew Research Center, “Religion”).5 So,