Abstract
Debates about sexuality education are witnessed in numerous national contexts, in parallel with flashpoints regarding religious identity, public religion, and ‘national values.’ These two sets of controversies are not isolated from one another, witnessed when new sex education curricula are introduced (protested by particular religious groups) and when religious freedom claims are sought (and gender and sexual minorities groups voice concerns about religious freedom). This portrayal of sexuality and religion as inherently oppositional misses the nuance of both categories, ignoring intersectional identities and the challenges of living across religious and sexual diversities. This chapter explores the construction of both religious and sexually diverse identities as represented in debates about sexuality education. As sexuality education and curricula develop, it is important to consider the future of education about sexuality as also education about religion, secularity, and ideology.
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Notes
- 1.
A note about terminology; I am using the acronym LGBTQI to refer to multiple spaces and experiences of sexual diversity, recognizing that there are other acronyms that are current or in use. When I refer to LGBT or other shortened formats, it is simply to acknowledge the way the scholar or policy I am citing refer to the sexual minority groups in their article and policy.
- 2.
Note here, I do not intend to imply that this equates to an inherently inclusive or welcoming experience for normative or alternative genders and sexualities; I mean only that our language has significantly developed in the last several decades, so that diversities of these identities are better known within the public imagination.
- 3.
- 4.
There is a vast literature on the category of religion from a historical and theoretical perspective. It is outside the scope of this particular chapter, however there is a growing debate about the category itself and the lack of reflexivity within academia regarding ‘religion,’ see for example, Arnal and McCutcheon 2012.
- 5.
It is clear that religious studies (particularly here, the study of religious identities) would benefit from the work that has been done within the fields of gender and sexuality studies, but it seems that the problem of ‘non-religious’ has not yet been resolved; increasingly, individuals identify as non-religious, which is often mistaken for anti-religious or hostile toward religion in some fashion (Halafoff forthcoming; Shipley 2016b, among others). This assumption misses the mark when it comes to the complex interweaving of ethics and values expressed by the ‘nones’ (a forthcoming edited collection on Youth, Religion and Identity, edited by P. Beyer, P. Gareau, and S. Bullivant, Brill Academic Press, considers this subject in detail). The subject of the rising ‘nones’ and the connections between religious and non-religious identities are outside the scope of this chapter, but a great deal of recent research demonstrates the similarities in expressions and values between those who identify as religious and those as non-religious.
- 6.
Notably in Canada, the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto first began marrying same-sex couples in the 1970s and spearheaded the campaign for marriage equality. See Shipley 2016a.
- 7.
Wynne was criticized for her ‘lack’ of qualification to implement education policies when the new sex education curriculum was introduced. She responded to the criticism in the legislature as such: “Is it that I’m a woman? Is it that I’m a mother? Is it that I have a master’s of education? Is it that I was a school council chair? Is it that I was the minister of education?” (CBC 2015b).
- 8.
Furthermore, as was noted during one interview with a mother in Ottawa who had taken her children out of school in protest, was that while she repeated during the interview that she was opposed to her children being told about oral and anal sex (and this was why she was protesting), she was in fact discussing these topics while they were in the room (CBC 2015c).
- 9.
- 10.
And to play a devil’s advocate, would the mere fact that instruction has been solely about heterosexual families and heterosexuality actually not eradicate the world of anything other than heterosexuality at this point?
- 11.
In tandem with the modifications to the sex education curriculum, particularly the addition of consent to the curriculum, Wynne has launched the “Who Will You Help?” sexual assault prevention campaign; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=opPb2E3bkoo
- 12.
- 13.
The subject religious education is currently a hot topic in the UK, as many consider the challenges of how to teach religion and religious identity. See Wallis 2014.
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Shipley, H. (2017). Teaching Sexuality, Teaching Religion: Sexuality Education and Religion in Canada. In: Allen, L., Rasmussen, M.L. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Sexuality Education. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-40033-8_8
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