AAR Workshops: What U.S. College Graduates Need to Understand about Religion


Summary

The American Academy of Religion (AAR) will host four online workshops, initiating conversations about the fostering of religious literacy on college campuses. Based on the AAR’s “Religious Literacy Guidelines: What U.S. College Graduates Need to Understand about Religion,” the workshops will examine elements of religious literacy that contribute to a basic level of cultural competency in a religiously diverse society and show how these elements apply to everyday life, on campus and in professional contexts. 

The Religious Literacy Workshops will help faculty, staff, administrators, and students examine existing courses, programs, and learning objectives to reflect on how religious literacy can be an integrated component of learning across the curriculum and campus life.

Dr. Kate Soules, an education researcher and curriculum developer, who specializes in religious literacy and teacher education, will facilitate the workshops. Soules is co-founder and Executive Director of the Religion and Education Collaborative (REC), an interdisciplinary network of scholars and practitioners working at the intersections of religion and schooling. She believes that religious literacy starts with self-reflection. “Participants will reflect on their own religious literacy and identify concrete action steps to increase their knowledge and understanding about religion,” says Soules. “If faculty, staff, and administrators are to be tasked with fostering religious literacy for students, it is important for them to first examine their own understandings of religious literacy and areas for growth.”

You can watch recordings of past sessions here. 

Focus Areas and Dates

Each standalone workshop will explore examples of religious literacy understanding for higher education faculty, staff, administrators, and students in one of the following contexts: seminaries and theological schools, humanities and social sciences, STEM, and student affairs. Each workshop will examine multiple components of religious literacy and the importance of developing religious literacy across all aspects of campus, classroom, and community life. Participants will identify specific opportunities for fostering religious literacy understanding in their diverse roles at their institutions. Each workshop will have a broad context still be beneficial to those who must attend based on their schedule rather than their focus area. 

To register, select one of the workshops listed below.

  • April 29, 2022, 12-1:30 PM ET | Seminaries and Theological Schools 
  • May 6, 2022, 12-1:30 PM ET | Humanities and Social Sciences 
  • May 13, 2022, 12-1:30 PM ET | STEM 
  • May 20, 2022, 12-1:30 PM ET | Student Affairs
  • June 28, 2022, 2-3:15 PM ET
  • July 7, 2022, 2-3:15 PM ET
  • July 14, 2022, 2-3:15 PM ET | Register (NEW!)