Idea 3

Lingo Lifting

You may regard your classroom of "citizens" with full neutrality regarding religion. They may see each other in the same egalitarian light. Does that mean everybody is actually on equal footing? Only if you can "speak it so." Are changes in order for your own vocabulary?

Elaboration

Commonly used terminology in our culture is hardly bias-free. We think in these culturally-provided terms, though. And we think in culturally conditioned ways.

People can fall into traps of stereotyping and overgeneralization and bias without even being aware. Teachers are no exception. We teachers are human. Our intentions may be exemplary, but we are often unaware of elements of our own ethnocentrism. We may fail to make necessary and careful distinctions (for example, between the teachings of any religion and the behavior of the people who are adherents). We are as prone as anyone to oversimplify, to emphasize one or two characteristics while sacrificing depth, or to generalize from a limited domain to situations unsubstantiated by data.

For someone who strives for the neutral stance, language is perhaps the most problematic of all areas to be faced. Sociologist Ayad Al-Qazzaz has a saying for teachers in his workshops on Islam: "We can't think without a language, yet because of the language, we can't think straight." In his presentations, he offers many examples of how we can get caught in our English language and reach erroneous conclusions.

You can of course try to make purposeful changes for the better when your goal is neutrality. (Caution: Changing language changes thinking!).

Use Precise Terms

It is desirable that a teacher leave behind "lay talk" and employ practiced vocabulary. You want to be as academically precise as you can. In an academic sense, it would be preferable to use (and accustom your students to using) whatever term is most exact in a circumstance.

Regarding the topic of religious neutrality, consider these words so often used interchangeably: "religion" / "faith" / "outlook" / "life stance" / "heritage" / "tradition" / "worldview". Were you to delve very deeply into studies of religion and society, each of these would take on its particular meanings and applicable contexts. Upon discovering the slightly different connotations, ideally you would want to use the most fitting term. You would apply those terms that most specifically fit the narrow need in each instance.

The reality of common usage makes it difficult if not impossible to surmount all the problems. It is hard to stop using some terminology, however problematic it might be. Also, so many terms have multiple meanings, which adds confusion. For example, in a prior lesson of this series [Lesson 2, Step 2] you learned that one word—faith—is a bit sticky.

Refresher: It is problematic when religions are listed as various "faiths" (category labels). Because of the dominance of the Christian religion in the U.S., as the term "faith" is used a Christian sense of the term gets inadvertently "laid onto" other worldviews, when there is no equivalence of meaning within several religions. One "Lingo Lift" would be: Choose to use the term, religion in place of faith whenever it fits.

One can hardly be expected to fine-tune terminology that lies outside one's field. As classroom teachers, most of us must go with customary terms of expression until we learn otherwise. In general, though, as you become more informed over time, you can purposefully refine your terminology, adopting usage that is most precise and least confounding.

Counter Partiality

You need to be alert to societal biases that afflict the nation at large and try not to inadvertently transmit them. You will want to use impartial terminology wherever you can, avoiding partial terms. Interestingly, in some areas our language makes difficult even the best of intentions. Upon consideration, seemingly neutral terminology turns out to be not to be so nonaligned.

Many present problems when viewed from your key neutrality goal: to put the various "citizens" of your classroom onto a level playing field as regards religion.

Refresher: The important conceptual building block for the notion of "religious diversity" is the term religion. Yet in many situations, worldview is a term more in sync with the notion of civic diversity and a level playing field for all the public. Another Lingo Lift would be: Choose to use the term, worldview in place of religion whenever it fits.

As was mentioned in Lesson 3, "religion" is not as inclusive a term as is "worldview." The latter term is more attuned to all individuals. (Everyone has a worldview; not everyone has a religion.) When you broaden the narrower concept of "religious diversity" "to speak of "worldview diversity," no one is left out.

Elevating the criterion—civic equity, a level playing field for all—can lead you over time to identifying several critical "terminology shifts" you may wish to make.

Idea 2 "E Pluribus Unum"

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Last updated 8/18/2006

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