Research objective and background
In recent years, the concept of religious literacy has gained significant attention in the study of religion, particularly in discussions about its role in religious education. The importance of integrating religious literacy into curricula and training programs is justified in various ways, reflecting distinct societal contexts and academic traditions. In the US, religious literacy is often framed as the knowledge and understanding of major world religions, with an emphasis on fostering interfaith dialogue and tolerance (Moore, 2007). It is viewed as an essential tool for navigating the complexities of a religiously diverse society, aimed at bridging gaps between different groups and promoting peaceful coexistence (Campbell & Tsuria, 2021). This understanding tends to prioritize religious knowledge as a means to address social fragmentation and to enhance civic engagement. In contrast, European definitions of religious literacy are frequently linked to secularization trends, where the focus is on increasing awareness of religion’s cultural and historical significance in a post-religious society (Melloni & Cadeddu, 2019). European scholars, such as Dinham and Francis (2015), argue that religious literacy is necessary for understanding the role of religion in shaping cultural identities, national narratives, and public policy, especially as religious engagement declines. Here, the concept is less about fostering interfaith understanding and more about combating the religious illiteracy of young pupils in secularized societies.
Despite these differences when advocating for more religious literacy, the main criticism is the lack of solid empirical evidence for the claims made about religious literacy (e.g., Authors, forthcoming; Wolfart, 2022). This critique underscores the challenges in measuring the real-world effects of religious literacy programs. Responding to the empirical gap, this experimental survey inquiry investigates: a) whether religious literacy leads pupils to develop a more positive attitude towards religious diversity, and b) whether secularization leads to religious illiteracy among pupils and lower scores in their attitudes towards religious diversity.
Method and context
Considering the emphasis on the implications of religious literacy in educational programs, we found Finnish schools to be a good case study, as the premise of religious literacy is embedded in the national curriculum. Our survey-based experiment targeted Finnish upper secondary schools, where first-year high school students are required to take a mandatory religious education course aimed at enhancing their ability to engage with religious diversity. This provided us with a “natural” research setting to test the students' knowledge of religious traditions and non-religion before and after an intervention, which was the mandatory course. To measure religious literacy, we particularly focus on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and non-religious worldviews. The questionnaire also contained items that measured attitudes towards religious diversity. We gathered a representative sample from first-year high school students in 2024 in two key regions of Finland: the Helsinki capital region, which has the lowest church membership in the country (sample size: 416), and the Ostrobothnia region, which has the highest church membership (sample size: 290).
Results and Conclusion
We conducted a T-test using SPSS to compare the mean scores of religious literacy and attitudes towards religious diversity before and after the intervention. Religious literacy scores before and after the intervention in the capital region respectively had means of M = 19.43 (SD = 5.7) and M = 22.29 (SD = 6.7). The results indicate a significant increase in students’ religious literacy when comparing the scores before and after the intervention (t = -6.66, p = 0.001). The comparison of attitudes towards religious diversity before (M = 28.41, SD = 4.17) and after (M = 28.27, SD = 4.33) the intervention (t = 0.49, p = 0.323) shows no significant difference. This means that an increase in religious literacy did not lead to a significant improvement in attitudes towards religious diversity.
The results from data obtained in the Ostrobothnia region demonstrate similar findings, where the mean for religious literacy before the intervention was M = 16.63 (SD = 5.47) and after the intervention was M = 18.91 (SD = 7.99). This implies a significant change (t = -3.59, p = 0.001) in increased religious literacy in the Ostrobothnia region. However, this increase in religious literacy was not accompanied by a significant increase in the score for positive attitude towards religious diversity (t = -1.306, p = 0.096), where the means before and after the intervention were M = 26.13 (SD = 5.10) and M = 26.72 (SD = 5.86), respectively.
Unlike the claims made by advocates of religious literacy, the results indicate that the students in the secular context of the capital region have significantly higher religious literacy (t = 6.49, p = 0.001) before the intervention, compared to the students in the less secular context of Ostrobothnia. More importantly, the pupils in the secular context significantly hold a more positive attitude towards religious diversity (t = 6.51, p = 0.001) than the youth in the less secular context. These differences do not significantly change after the intervention. With these results, we conclude that offering religious literacy as a social remedy through religious education oversimplifies the complex dynamics of societal challenges around religion, which often stem from deeper structural, political, or economic issues, rather than from mere ignorance or misunderstanding of religious beliefs and practices.
References
Melloni, A. & Cadeddu, F. (Eds.) (2019). Religious Literacy, Law and History Perspectives on European Pluralist Societies. Routledge.
Campbell, H. A., & Tsuria, R. (2021). Rethinking religious education: A critical examination of religious literacy in contemporary societies. Springer.
Dinham, A., & Francis, M. (Eds.). (2015). Religious literacy in policy and practice (1st ed.). Bristol University Press.
Moore, Diane L. 2007. Overcoming Religious Illiteracy: A Cultural Studies Approach to The Study of Religion in Secondary Education. New York: Palgrave Macmillan
Wolfart, J. C. (2022). ‘Religious literacy’: Some considerations and reservations. Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, 1–28.
In recent years, the concept of religious literacy has become central in discussions on religious education. A key critique is the lack of empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness. To address this gap, an experimental survey was conducted to explore two main questions: a) whether religious literacy leads pupils to develop a more positive attitude towards religious diversity, and b) whether secularization leads to religious illiteracy among pupils and lower scores in their attitudes towards religious diversity. The results show that religious literacy improves through religious education but does not necessarily lead to more positive attitudes towards religious diversity. Contrary to some claims, religious literacy and attitudes towards religious diversity were both higher in the more secular context. This suggests that societal challenges related to religion stem from deeper structural, political, or economic issues, rather than from a mere lack of knowledge about religions.