Connecting Religion and Teacher Identity: The Unexplored Relationship between Teachers and Religion in Public Schools

"This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Vol 25 number 6, Author: Kimberly R. White, "Connecting Religion and Teacher Identity:
The Unexplored Relationship between Teachers and Religion in Public Schools", Pages 857-866, Copyright Elsevier (August 2009)”.

It is increasingly acknowledged that for individuals to participate in a pluralistic and democratic society, they must understand religious conviction and difference. In educational literature, the discussion surrounding education and religion focuses on the implications for students. It is important to consider what this may mean to the teachers, as teachers directly influence student learning.

This article uses literature on religion, multiculturalism, teacher identity, and popular culture to connect teachers' private religious identifications to their professional identities in public school classrooms.

It supports future research in this area and provides a theoretical framework for subsequent studies.