Critical Religious Literacy as Equity Literacy: Disrupting Silence in Teacher Education

Abstract

Religious diversity remains a marginalized aspect of social justice-oriented teacher education, leaving many preservice teachers ill-equipped to navigate the complex religious landscapes of Canadian K–12 classrooms. Drawing on qualitative case study interviews with five Canadian teacher educators, this article examines how teacher educators perceive and navigate critical religious literacy as a form of social justice. Applying Gorski’s equity literacy framework, we find that teacher educators experience silencing and self-censorship, are concerned about potential harms for preservice teachers, and consider dialogue as a point of disruption. These findings suggest that teacher educators who create intentional space for cultural safety and critical dialogue around religious diversity are better positioned to prepare preservice teachers for the religious complexity of contemporary Canadian classrooms. This kind of dialogic practice constitutes an underrecognized but essential dimension of equity-oriented teaching.