Webinar Series 2016 The role of religious literacy in challenging religious prejudice 4.00pm pm Wednesday 25 th May

Supported by UNESCO Helps pupils understand the world around them & respect cultural and religious diversity Offers high quality cross-curricula resources to use with pupils at Key Stage 2 and those embarking on their Key Stage 3 transition Supports core personal and social skills development as well as self-directed, exploratory learning Promotes universal core values & the development of ethical thinking Designed to compliment RE and PSHE teaching, alongside citizenship education

Webinars Support teachers in their work around interfaith dialogue and RE; as well as PSHE and Citizenship learning in schools Offers a space for teachers to come together and think about issues arising from classroom practice in these areas

Webinar Presenter Claire Clinton o An experienced teacher within EYFS, Primary and Secondary education o She has over 20 years of classroom experience, and 16 years of advisory work at a national and local level o For the past 10 years has been the Religious Education Advisor for the London Borough of Newham

Session objectives To consider: o What teachers need to know about anti-Semitic and Islamophobic attitudes in British society; o How to promote tolerance and respect among your pupils for all people, including religious minorities in our communities; o How to develop religious literacy in children and young people’s lives and help them learn about religious prejudice as well as racism ; o Offer practical activities that teachers can use in the classroom

What is religious literacy? Religious literacy is the knowledge of, and ability to, understand religion In the British context: more people profess a post- Christian spirituality, humanism or atheism belief & other faith communities have become prominent The Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life on religious literacy:Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life ‘the potential for misunderstanding, stereotyping and oversimplification based on ignorance is huge – and schools have a big part to play in putting this right’

AntiSemitism (1) The Oxford English dictionary defines anti-Semitism as: ‘Hostility to or prejudice against Jews’ The Cambridge English dictionary defines it as: ‘the strong dislike or cruel and unfair treatment of Jewish people’ The EU adopts the EUMC definition: ‘Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.’

Anti-Semitism (2) Some recent statistics based on a 2015 commissioned ‘YouGov’ survey of 2230 British Jews: o 45% questioned feel ‘their family is threatened by Islamist extremism’ o 82% agreed with the statement ‘Media bias against Israel fuels persecution of Jews in Britain’ o 77% agreed with the statement ‘I have witnessed antisemitism that was disguised as a political comment about Israel’ o 84% agreed with the statement ‘Boycotts of businesses selling Israeli products constitute intimidation’

Islamophobia (1) The BBC programme ‘Inside out’ in September 2015 reported: o Islamophobic crime in London was up by 70% according to police statistics; and o There were 816 reported crimes as compared with 478 in the previous 12 months. A 2015 report by Tell MAMA (Measuring anti-Muslim attacks) states: o 60% of Islamophobic victims were women; o “We realised quite early on that women who wear a Niqab, suffered more aggressive incidents.”

Islamophobia (2) Tell MAMA also undertook analysis of the words used by UK newspapers from 1998 – 2009 to describe Muslim people in Britain and found: o Muslims ‘were frequently constructed in terms of homogeneity and connected to conflict’ o That the ‘West and Muslim were often presented as distinct realities, setting up difference rather a greater understanding of nuances being presented’

Islamophobia (3) Tell MAMA’s research also shows that Muslims: o Of equal qualifications are less likely to obtain employment; o Live in the most deprived areas of Britain o Are more likely to find it hard to gain employment o More likely to experience Islamophobic attitudes Tell Mama have a number of useful posters you can display at school to highlight the importance of reporting instances of Islamophobia

What is critical thinking? ‘reasonably and reflectively deciding what to believe or do. Critical thinking means making reasoned judgements. We use it to critically judge the quality of something.’ Robert Ennis Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Education University of Illinois

In schools we need to… Challenge pupils views around religion that we commonly find in wider society: especially around intolerant attitudes to minority religions Use facts and real lives/examples from people so pupils can’t talk from generalisations Ensure that what we teach, and the sources / pictures we use around Jewish and Muslim people are fair and contradict the stereotype

Practical activities Avoid questions that result in recall or comprehension answers; Ask questions that demand analysis, application, evaluation and synthesis; Deploy games and dialogue that build up confidence in using religious terminology, e.g. Key word quiz; Use unhelpful headlines and stereotypes to challenge unhelpful thinking; and Use classroom activities that develop thinking skills, and the ability to reference other beliefs.

And finally… ‘Religious literacy helps you move from tolerance to respect’ Prof Adam Dinham What teacher’s need to do differs depending on school and community context; Regular conversations in our classrooms helps pupils build up their ability to discuss religion with respect and curiosity Ensure we as educators keep up with current developments within any religion

Wrap up Any questions?

Contact us For further information about the webinar series and how Interfaith Explorers can support you visit: or contact Rokhsana Fiaz OBE Chief Executive Maimonides Interfaith Foundation