Religious Education: Lessons from the United Kingdom

The ability to interact with a plurality of religious worldviews is an increasingly important part of navigating a globalized world. However, religion remains largely untreated in the US public education system. In other arenas, efforts have been made to address religious literacy. Interfaith groups promote community-wide interactions between people of different faiths. Religious studies programs increase knowledge and outreach at a university level. However, while these efforts are extremely important, involvement in such activities is largely self-selecting, and participants are often already inclined towards interfaith engagement. In order to prepare a generation of young Americans to interact with the religious diversity of a globalized world, more must be done to increase their knowledge and exposure to a variety of faith-traditions.