As a teacher of Religious Education (RE), my professional background has been the driving force in ensuring the most suitable way of teaching RE (or RPE Religion Philosophy and Ethics) is appropriated within schools starting from the youngest age possible. In my teaching, I have demonstrated critical ways in helping students from various backgrounds understand the knowledge and use it to help them draw meaning to examine their own beliefs and those of others. The classroom experience has shown that RE as a subject helps in empowering our future generation through difficult conversations and taboo subjects. For example, within the theme of Peace and Conflict, students examine attitudes towards:

• conflict and peace
• just war
• terrorism
• bullying
• forgiveness

The key responsibility for us all is to take these opportunities and create dialogue within the classroom. Helping to develop tools that enable the use of various lenses within the dialogue empowers our younger generation. Through critical engagement, challenging stereotypes with the hope of a new, better world!

However, do we have enough time in the classroom to create such safe spaces?’ Have we nurtured an environment of trust and dialogue? How can we, as educators play our role? Are we supporting our future generation to develop their religious literacy? How is religious literacy helping to build social relationships today, tomorrow and the future? I hope to address some of these questions in my research.

As educators, we are responsible for helping our young people develop, whether in the classroom or through various other projects and initiatives within the community. A community of learning and engaging is key to strengthening our society for today and the future.

I have come across the theoretical framework of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in my educational journey. CRT is a powerful lens in understanding various prevalent issues within society. The framework is useful to reflect on how socially constructed concepts such as race or religion are used to maintain the interests of those in power.

History shows that between the 16th and 18^th-century race was a folk idea that served as a general categorising term within the English Language, (Smedley & Smedley, 2005:19).

The term race’s usage increased by the 18^th century, and its meaning became solid, leading to a new way of structuring society. Demoiny (2017) states: ‘the ultimate purpose of race was to distinguish between superior and inferior human species’. Race as a concept needs to be recognised, and the responsibility lies with us as educators.

In a nutshell, race is not biological, and as a teacher, I see it as my responsibility to help our younger generation prepare as responsible citizens. People’s lived experiences matter and give a voice to how race as a social construct or religion is constructed as the ‘other’ affects people’s lives in various situations.

CRT was developed in the 1970s when lawyers, activists and legal scholars realised, ‘that the heady advances of the civil rights era of the 1960s had stalled and, in many respects, were being rolled back’ (Delgado & Stefancic 2017:4). Quite recently CRT has received publicity even in the parliament discussions.

A basic tenet of CRT subscribes racism is ‘ordinary, not aberrational’. Such a powerful view reflects what is going on in society. It points out that the usual way society does business is through constructing racial discourses. It demonstrates that racism is ‘normal’ and the living everyday experience of most people of colour. ‘Because racism is an ingrained feature of our landscape, it looks ordinary and natural to persons in the culture’ (Delgado & Stefancic 2000: xvi).

A quick look at highlighted news around the world shows various cases of racism. Individuals being disadvantaged due to their racial background and in some cases, even facing police brutality. CRT helps examine racism experiences through their voices and how they have been made to feel like the minority and victimised through their accounts.

CRT helps to understand how racism operates within society on an individual level and a structural level. As a result, it shapes individuals’ lenses through the experience seen either in the media or bias filters from home. For example, as a Muslim, do I need to feel apologetic every time something happens? Can I be an independent human being who cares for the society where I live and breathe?

I would, of course, condemn the perpetrators for the evil actions they commit! Such evil actions that take away innocent lives! My Islamic religious value promotes “Saving One Life Is As If Saving Whole Of Humanity…”– Quran 5:32.

Meaningful conversations are necessary for the classroom to help lead to developing an understanding of others and their beliefs; however, can we say that all pupils participate without victimisation?

References:

Delgado, R., & Stefancic, J. (2000). Introduction. In R. Delgado & J. Stefancic (Eds.), Critical Race Theory: The cutting edge (2nd ed., pp. 1-14). Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. (2017) Critical Race Theory: An Introduction. (3rd ed) New York: New York University Press.

Demoiny, Sara B & Botzakis, Stergios, 2018. Websites to Explore Race as a Social Construct. Journal of adolescent & adult literacy, 61(4), pp.469–472.

Smedley, Audrey & Smedley, Brian D, 2005. Race as Biology Is Fiction, Racism as a Social Problem Is Real. The American psychologist, 60(1), pp.16–26.

This blog post first appeared on the RE: ONLINE blog and has been republished with permission.

Sukaina Manji is a PhD student in the Department of Educational Research at Lancaster University.

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