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I understand that talking about religion in public is complicated, and that the upside is hard to quantify.
But if we let universities strip away their commitments to religious diversity, we are actually making our communities less safe. https://religionnews.com/2020/12/04/why-universities-and-the-rest-of-us-need-religion-studies/
But if we let universities strip away their commitments to religious diversity, we are actually making our communities less safe. https://religionnews.com/2020/12/04/why-universities-and-the-rest-of-us-need-religion-studies/
This week, the University of Vermont announced the elimination of its religion department. This comes as a surprise given the caliber and credentials of the department's faculty; in addition to being prolific scholars, they are regular recipients of grants, awards and fellowships
The real shock is the timing: devaluing religion after an election cycle in which our president-elect ran on restoring the “soul of our nation,” when the Supreme Court is reappraising the establishment clause and the secretary of state has sought to redefine religious freedom.
Even more troubling is that this is not an isolated incident; the University of Vermont’s proposal comports with a larger pattern of cutting religion programs in academic institutions.
Teaching about religion is not just about understanding politics. It’s also about creating cultural literacy, ensuring that our young people are familiar with the diverse people they meet on the street.
University brass often refers to religious literacy as a civic good, but as a brown-skinned, turban-wearing, beard-loving Sikh dude in Trump’s America, people knowing who I am and having an appreciation for my religious heritage can mean the difference between life and death.
Think about it from the perspective of those who are minoritized: By stripping away our commitment to religious diversity, we are actually making our communities less safe.
At a moment when everyone is clamoring for more resources devoted to diversity, equity and inclusion, why would an institution take away resources that already exist and are not easy to replace?
The counterargument goes that cutting programs like these is purely business: The departments don’t bring in enough majors and therefore don’t serve the university’s bottom line.
We have spent the better part of the past few decades thinking of our educations as pathways to professional careers. Look what has happened to our society in the process. We may have a more polished workforce, but at what cost?
There’s nothing wrong with going to college to get a well-paying job. But what are our educational institutions doing to shape our moral and ethical outlooks?
What expanded my mind in college, more than anything else, was coming to terms with the reality that my way wasn’t the only way, or the best way. Learning about others’ faiths and cultures challenges our self-centered chauvinism and helps us meet others where they are.
When done right, the work of the humanities is the work of anti-racism.
It’s the work of undercutting assumptions about the people around us and bringing nuance to our perspectives, so that we stop seeing in black and white and begin seeing the richness of our human experiences.
It’s the work of undercutting assumptions about the people around us and bringing nuance to our perspectives, so that we stop seeing in black and white and begin seeing the richness of our human experiences.
If we want our kids to grow up to appreciate people from all the various backgrounds they will encounter in their lives, we must first equip them with the appropriate knowledge. To not do so, to tell them that understanding faith is not important, is setting them up for failure.
