ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we transition from a focus on the context of the 3Rs program to a more direct examination of the program's outcomes. This chapter focuses specifically on the benefits and risks that religious participants we interviewed associated with the use of the 3Rs approach in Georgia public schools. Evangelical leaders, for instance, welcomed the 3Rs as an opportunity to buttress students' inadequate knowledge of Bible stories and Christian theology while appreciating the 3Rs emphasis on teaching respect for religious diversity. Several evangelical leaders, though, did express concern that the 3Rs approach might encourage a critical and historical approach to religion incompatible with evangelical beliefs. The leaders of non-Christian groups, and atheist and secularist organizations were supportive of the 3Rs emphasis on respect for religious freedom. They were anxious, though, about how their religious viewpoints might be handled by teachers who were not from and might even be occasionally hostile to their own views about religion. These leaders stressed the importance of robust inclusion of representatives of their groups as panelists in Georgia 3Rs training sessions for administrators and teachers. Our interviews also yielded unexpected intersectional concerns. A leader of an African-American atheist organization, for instance, understood that 3Rs would promote respect for racial diversity in Georgia. However, she was concerned that the course might promote an overly sanitized view of the role of African-American churches in the African-American experience, and emphasized the need for a more balanced approach. Thus, this chapter identifies the crucial concerns of different religious groups in Georgia, and their views on religion, and the value of a religious literacy program in their region, state, and country. For each subsection, we interviewed different religious and community leaders, professors, educators, activists, and non-profit leaders to understand a diversity of perspectives about the 3Rs program. Each shared personal, observed, and academic perspectives on the issue. Altogether, this chapter elucidates the difficulty in discussing religion through the 3Rs program in Georgia.
