Survivals: The Stakes of Religious Literacy

What is it about?

Johannes Wolfart makes a compelling case that the nebulousness of “religious literacy” belies a complicated history not just of “religion” but of “literacy” in his recent article, “‘Religious Literacy’: Some Considerations and Reservations,” in Method & Theory in the Study of Religion. Wolfart has reservations about religious literacy, its instrumentalization, and specifically the lack of empirical evidence that would support programs that promote religious literacy. He is concerned that “religion,” “literacy,” and of course “religious literacy” are imbricated in theological projects, whether alive or long dead; ultimately, we might characterize his position as deeply concerned with religious literacy as a liberal Protestant project. In this response essay, I suggest that reducing religious literacy to Protestant liberalism prioritizes thought experiments over the survival of minoritized people and communities. It is clear that religious literacy is a framework deployed not for lofty goals of social betterment or a vague sense of liberation, but for survival: survival of academic programs and departments, survival of a body politic, and often the survival of individuals and groups who are targets of hate.

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