In this episode of the Arizona Civics Podcast, host Liz Evans is joined by Dr. Tim Hall, educator and founder of Religion Matters, for a thoughtful conversation on religious literacy—what it is, why it matters, and how it can be taught responsibly in public schools.

Dr. Hall explains how religious literacy helps students better understand history, civic life, global affairs, and one another in a pluralistic democracy. The conversation explores constitutional guardrails, classroom strategies, and trusted resources for educators who want to approach religion academically, not devotionally.

What You’ll Learn

• What religious literacy means in a public school context
• Why religion is essential to understanding history, civics, and global issues
• How religious literacy supports global competence and civic engagement
• Constitutional guidelines for teaching about religion in K–12 classrooms
• The Six-Point Framework and the “lived religion” approach
• Why the Scopes Trial still matters nearly 100 years later
• Trusted, classroom-ready resources for educators

Resources & Links Mentioned in the Episode

Core Religious Literacy & Civics Resources

• National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) – Religious Studies Companion to the C3 Framework
  https://www.socialstudies.org
  
  
• First Amendment Center – Guidelines for Teaching About Religion
  https://www.freedomforum.org
  
  
• American Academy of Religion (AAR) – Definition of Religious Literacy
  https://www.aarweb.org
  
  
• Pew Research Center – Religion & Public Life
  https://www.pewresearch.org/religion
  
  

Teaching & Curriculum Resources

• Tanbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding
  https://tanbaumcenter.org
  
  
• Harvard Divinity School – Religion and Public Life
  https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu
  
  
• Religion & Education Collaborative
  https://religionandeducationcollaborative.org
  
  
• Religion Matters (Dr. Tim Hall)
  https://religionmatters.org
  
  

Global Competence Resources

• World Savvy
  https://www.worldsavvy.org
  
  
• Asia Society – Center for Global Education
  https://asiasociety.org/education
  
  
• Project Zero (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
  https://pz.harvard.edu
  
  

Historical & Civic References

• The Scopes Trial (1925) – Religion, science, and public education
• Declaration of Independence – Religious influences on the Founders
• First Amendment Religion Cases – Including cases related to the Pledge of Allegiance

The Arizona Constitution Project

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Hand students a real budget and a ballot, and watch a campus transform. We sit down with Tara Bartlett (ASU), KaRa Lyn Thrasher, and Sabrina Estrada (Center for the Future of Arizona) to unpack how school participatory budgeting turns student voice into visible change—without adding noise or partisanship. From the first Arizona pilot to 80+ schools statewide, the story is clear: when students lead, engagement grows, trust deepens, and communities benefit.

We break down the complete school PB cycle in plain language: forming an inclusive student steering committee, collecting ideas from the whole school, vetting costs and feasibility, building a transparent ballot, campaigning with civil discourse, and running a real vote day complete with booths and “I Voted” stickers. You’ll hear vivid examples—water bottle refill stations and AEDs that solved urgent needs, therapy dogs that scaled district-wide, and a Watho shade structure built with tribal partners—that showcase how culture shifts when young people drive decisions.

Beyond inspiring stories, we dig into outcomes you can measure. Using a KASP framework—civic knowledge, attitudes, skills, and practices—students report stronger public speaking, teamwork, project management, empathy, and confidence to act. We address common hurdles like educator time, funding myths, and adultism, and share practical solutions: integrate PB into coursework, set aside a budget slice, recruit “not the usual suspects,” and use bite-sized trainings and resource hubs to make facilitation easier.

Curious to bring school PB to your district or classroom? Explore the toolkit, try the short videos, and start with a student-led committee and a real line item. If this conversation resonates, follow the show, share it with a colleague, and leave a review telling us what your students would put on the ballot.

Check it out: https://www.arizonafuture.org/programs/education-programs/school-participatory-budgeting-in-arizona/

The Arizona Constitution Project

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Interested in a Master's Degree? Check out the School of Civic and Economic Leadership's Master's in Classical Liberal Education and Leadership

We explore how Mark Twain’s writing, not his public persona, teaches a demanding civic balance: democratic equality joined to a living culture of excellence. Through Huck Finn and Connecticut Yankee, we trace how humor, empathy, and imagination form judgment without sliding into cynicism.

• distinguishing Twain the persona from the unified teaching in the work
• equality, liberty and the cultivation of greatness in tension
• Connecticut Yankee as a parable of science, soul and trade-offs
• Huck and Jim’s shared fate and moral growth
• literature as civic education and imagination-building
• satire that critiques pretension while honoring the noble
• teaching Twain in class through short forms and humor
• America 250 as a moment to reread Twain
• patriotism as rededication, not reflex; moderation over hubris
• warnings against technocratic certainty and the loss of the human

Listeners, I will be putting a ton of links into the show notes to make sure that everything that we've talked about is available, as well as Dr. Dobski's books.

The Arizona Constitution Project

Check Out Our Free Lessons on Arizona History and Government!

Follow us on:
Twitter
Linked In
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube
Website

Interested in a Master's Degree? Check out the School of Civic and Economic Leadership's Master's in Classical Liberal Education and Leadership