Religious Representation and Power Dynamics in High School Social Studies Standards

Throughout scholarly literature, religious scholars advocate for religious education in both K-12 and higher education, often in response to the knowledge that most Americans lack knowledge of world religions and are mostly illiterate about their own religion (Prothero, 2007). While a recent study reviews elementary social studies standards about religion (Author, 2024), a comprehensive review of social studies standards regarding religion at the secondary level has not been conducted in over two decades (Douglas, 2000). With this in mind, an updated critical analysis of social studies standards at the secondary level is essential to advance discussions about what is being taught about religion according to state standards documents.

Critical theories broadly focus on the dynamics of power and justice across fields, especially their misuse as they relate to race and gender (Kincheloe & McLaren, 2002), but the misuse of power also manifests in religion (Aronson et al., 2016; Edwards, 2016; Puchner & Markowitz, 2020; Tannebaum, 2018). Even though hate crimes motivated by religion rank second only to those driven by racial prejudice (Gunn et al., 2020), there is little research conducted that positions religious identity through a similarly critical lens (Edwards, 2016). Further, when religion and education are written about in the United States, they frequently focus on some form of Christianity (Blumenfeld-Jones, 2016; Juswik et al., 2020; Moore, 2016; Muhammad, 2015; Sarroub, 2004). This proclivity is indicative of a deeply rooted equity problem: a privileging of the Christian religion as the default or dominant religion, the core or prototype around which ideas of religion are defined and communicated (Asad, 2003; Juswik et al., 2020).

Because Christianity is both the prevalent religious and spiritual culture in the United States (Blumenfeld, 2006; Ferber, 2012; Todd, 2010), it is often woven into broader power structures. This dominance extends to Christianity being “implicated in virtually every other category of oppression: racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, classism… every one of these categories has been undergirded by Christian theological justifications” (Todd, 2010, p. 142). Commonly referred to as Christian hegemony, this power dynamic contributes to Christian privilege (Puchner & Markowitz, 2020), a sensitive and often taboo subject (Case et al., 2013). Building on concepts of Christo-normativity (Ferber, 2012) and Christian hegemony (Blumenfeld, 2006), Critical Religious Pluralism Theory (CRPT; Small, 2020) is a framework that includes seven core tenets and analytical questions that scholars can use to interrogate and challenge dominant hegemonic Christian narratives and uncover the pervasive ways in which Christianity is integrated into educational and societal contexts.  

Using this framework as a jumping-off point, in this study, we seek to answer the question, “How are different religious groups and events included and addressed in high school (9-12) state social studies standards?” Leaning on CRPT, we look to interrogate how power dynamics, particularly the life cycle of systems of power, are present through our high school state standards about religion. Using a qualitative design modeled after similar social studies standards analyses (An, 2016; Author, 2024; Shear et al., 2015), we gathered high school state social studies standards about religion across three phases. Then, using ground theory methodology (Glaser & Strauss, 1967), we inductively coded these standards, looking for ways the standard reified power dynamics, including the development, legitimization, consolidation, centralization, maintenance, resistance, and/or dissolution of power in conjunction with religion. Data collection for this study is ongoing, but preliminary findings suggest an ongoing dominance of Christian ideals within standards about religion and historicization and/or anachronistic views of other religions.