On Faith and Pedagogy

Firstly, before you assume the position of a reader and embark on this reading journey, I first want to ask you to be inwardly whole and ask yourself this: “What does faith mean to me?” Subsequently, now ask yourself this: “Do I have faith or do I believe in faith?” 

Done? Let’s begin. 

Faith has many a definitions and understandings. Even the dictionary defines faiths in 8 different ways, that in itself is exhausting. In essence, and in my humble opinion, faith is a mere subjective notion we enact to give and bring us purpose and guidance. Now, let’s bring this to the matter at hand – faith and pedagogy. 

At most, it is a rather difficult task finding the balance in implementing one’s own faith within their teaching practice. The concept of faith and its place within pedagogy, particularly within student-teacher interactions/discourse (e.g. lectures, workshops, tutorials), can be very tricky, one might argue. There are numerous factors (e.g. intersectionalities) one must put into diligent and cautious consideration. 
For context, let’s assume the role that I, as an educator am a Christian, a part of my intersectionality which also forms a part of my identity; thus, it is imperative that I must be wary and and be careful within my positionality as a Christian faith educator, in implementing my faith and beliefs within my teaching practice which is aimed at different students with different cultures and backgrounds, faiths and beliefs, as one would expect. Hence, my beliefs and standpoint might and will differ to others, particularly those of different faith. For that reason, it is vital that I ensure my teaching methods and practice – through the aid of resources and case studies provided via UAL’s The Community of Practice; Shades of Noir etc – is not of bias, discrimination and/or prejudice, and does not cause any offence or insult to my students whom might be of my faith belief, or might be but do not necessary agree or stand with my point. That all being said, as mentioned in the aforesaid, student-teacher interaction is important to applying the resources provided (Manke, 1997) to my own teaching practice. 

There are two primary factors to highlight here:
1. Dialogue/discourse is key.
2. Interaction between both parties (student and teacher).

Both, particularly the second, must take place with the student being the protagonist – and by this I mean, I as the educator/teacher must not exact my position/positionality and intersectionality within the discourse being had with the student or students on the topic of faith, nor must I take on a performative act/role (Ahmed, 2006) just relay and offload my “story” or insight (see hooks, 1994). But rather, I must bring the discussion to them and create a space for the students to equally, with no prejudice or discrimination. It’s important to present students with a question focused around what faith is/means to them and how can we all come to the point where our collaboration is a blended mix of different faiths and beliefs, with achievable results? 

How does one come to achieve this? Essentially, it starts with a simple conversation. Albeit, there are and will be complications, and though some of the provided resources (and researched ones) will and might not be of aid in resolving matters or simply “cooling down” a tempered situation (as mentioned, faith is/can be a tricky and touchy subject), it is essential to bring it all relatively home through holistically looking outward of ourselves (student and teacher alike) to see and understand the mere and simple fact that we are humans first before anything else, especially our intersectionalities and positions within life and society. Comparatively, Neumann (2011) talks of the notion of critical pedagogy and faith – a concept that has most times been associated with “faith traditions such as liberation theology” (2011: 601) – but particularly presents the argument that critical pedagogy “cannot just benefit from a connection with faith traditions, but is actually, in and of itself, a practice of faith….[as well as] critical pedagogy manifests as a practice of faith (2011: 601).

Ultimately, I believe and could argue that faith does not make a man or woman, it merely helps inform choices in terms of religious belief systems and life decisions. Although positionality is generally and culturally “ascribed and regarded as being fixed to gender, race, skin-colour, nationality” (Chiseri-Strater, 1996; Holmes, 2020: 2) and faith, mostly in the form of religion, isn’t directly perceived as aspects of identities nor viewed as factors that relate to our intersectionalities (Crenshaw, 1989), one must still regard faith as a factor that adds to the definition of our identities and position in society. That being said, I  personally would argue that myself, a black man, is not necessarily nor particularly defined as such because I am Christian, nor would that be the case for someone who is Muslim or Jewish or Hindu or Sikh or Buddhist, and so on; but rather I am a man because of my mere humanistic form, shape, and design (though, I’m sure some might contest this). 

Religion in Britain – Moodod & Calhoun (2015)

Now let’s shift to the topic of Religion in Britain, a multifaceted topic in a diverse Britain, though 59.3% of the population in England and Wales are of Christian faith. On that note, I found Modood’s (2015) paper on the changing nature of public religion in Britain rather interesting. Modood makes the argument of political secularism, particularly in Western Europe, and how autonomy of both the state and the church, is paramount to the free will of people to “believe, worship, and form religious organisations within the law” (Modood, 2015: 5).
It’s fascinating how said free will of the people to believe, worship and form must fall within the law. One of my outtakes of this is that in order to keep political structure, the publics free will must align with the laws and guidelines set by the state and arguably, the church. Relating this to the context of pedagogy and faith, one could argue that said free will or freedom of belief and faith highlighted by Modood, essentially is similar to structures put in place at Universities, but could be a cause for chaos within the classroom. For example, declaring to students that within the classroom space, they are free to believe, worship, and form any religious groups or gatherings but it must only fit and align with the University policies, overall, one could argue that this in itself could be seen as restrictive. 

On the other hand, Calhoun (2015) highlights that religion, though “paradoxically prominent” within the public sphere, the same feeling and perception is assumed within Universities, particularly at ceremonies. Calhoun goes further to argue and point out that students or rather “gowned students (2015: 15), in ceremonial scenarios, aren’t “expected to be…’enthusiasts’” (2015). However, as stated already, religion is a very tetchy and perhaps problematic topic/subject. It is a difficult task to bring faith into the pedogial space; students’ religious views and beliefs can be largely influenced by their intersectionalities and ensuring a complete equal and safe space for all to express their faith and beliefs isn’t as secular as presented. Calhoun (2015) does well to argue that religion (and/or faith) “deserves more serious attention from academics in a range of fields and from university leaders” (15). That being said, this deserved attention should only be enacted if done right and appropriately, but the issue is some educators’ belief can conflict with some students faith or belief and thus bias and performative teaching interferes. 

Kwame Anthony Appiah – The Reith Lectures (2016)

Engaging with material produced by or relating to an Academic/intellectual whose reputation precedes them, can either be overwhelming or inspiring. The knowledge, wisdom, and critical thought presented by cultural theorist and philosopher, Kwame Anthony Appiah on the topic of religion is indeed inspiring. I’m always fascinated by people’s minds, but more so I’m captivated by those that challenge my critical thinking, and perspective, especially on delicate topics/themes such as, faith. Appiah’s reflection on his background and intersectionality gave me something to relate to, to an extent. I am not of dual race like Appiah, but I was born to parents whose faith differed in the early stages of me being born. My mother in particular, a woman raised both Anglican and Catholic, I could relate to Appiah’s complexities through the stories my mother relayed to me on growing in both denomination. Overall, I appreciate Appiah’s analysis of faith and his belief and perspective that faith is not as rigid as it has historically, socially, and culturally being presented. Faith is very fluid, and I believe we, as educators must also be fluid in our mindset, especially when faced with classrooms of multi-faith and diverse beliefs.

Conclusively, discourse on faith is not easy. However, effort is required in order for progress to be made. 

Speak soon, 

T.

NB. All references are hyperlinked for reference/referencing purposes.