Incorporating the study of religion into Canadian citizenship education: More than the political

To date Canadian citizenship education in English Canada has largely ignored religion. Given the religious diversity of the Canadian population and the increasing political salience of religion in national and international events, the marginalization of religion within citizenship education is no longer tenable. Citizenship education is integrally connected with diversity policies, and the religious illiteracy common among Canadians harms those who belong to minority religions, many of whom are first- and second-generation immigrants. More specifically, religious illiteracy breeds misperceptions about religious adherents who highly identify with their religious identity and it hinders the ability of society to take religious differences seriously. Despite the links between religious and citizenship education however, there are concerns about reducing religion to its political expediency of addressing religious diversity and pluralism. In this article I draw on research about religion conducted in various disciplines that promote citizenship education and address religious illiteracy without reducing religion to its political functions. The three areas studied are religious pluralism, religious identity and inter-religious dialogue.