Preservice Teachers' Beliefs and Practices: Religion and Religious Diversity

Discussions about religious aspects of diversity are often absent from research. Similarly, topics such as religious forms of prejudice and religious dimensions of identities have not been fully explored in the context of teacher education. Too often, in the schooling context, what religion is and what constitutes an authentic religious identity operates in European American epistemologies. By examining the beliefs and practices of preservice teachers, this article argues for the need to emphasize topics of religious diversity in teacher education programs since teachers will undoubtedly teach those who come from diverse religious backgrounds. In particular, the article explores how various students in the study negotiated and resisted recognizing structural discourses on religion, especially when religious issues interconnected with race and gender topics. Overall, the author proposes that teacher educators include religion when teaching about social differences, particularly how religious dimensions of prejudice operate in schools.