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How our ultimate belief systems provide us with a basic moral compass about showing up in the world and how we relate to others

Religion is an ancient and universal human activity that helps us make meaning by revealing purpose and value in life. Religion connects us deeply to the things we care most about 鈥� the holy, other people, nature and our innermost selves (or souls).

Yet despite or because of its encompassing significance, religion as a human phenomenon is widely misinterpreted and misunderstood.

At a time of anxiety and uncertainty about the role of religion in public life, especially the question of whether religion helps or hurts efforts at promoting intergroup cooperation and peacemaking, we should devote more time to this topic. It is a complicated and high-stakes matter, but we have shining examples and key clues about how to manage and lead such inquiry to reach wise and just outcomes.

When we consider the topic of religion in the classroom, I think it is useful to place it in a larger context before returning to the wonderful, life-changing place we call the classroom. This is a large topic, and as organizational leaders and administrators, our habit is to see the big picture before locating our work in a particular space. (In that regard, I admire the mission line for this magazine that provides 鈥渂ig picture perspectives on a broad range of issues in school system leadership.鈥�)

A Positive Force

Think first about religion in the world. And then, religion in the nation. What ideas and emotions come forward for you? Conflict, polarization, competition, violence, prejudice and fear often are associated with the topic of religion in the global public square. But according to the Pew Research Center, most people around the world and the nation believe religion is a positive good that encourages tolerance, and we should do more to understand and mobilize those 鈥渂etter angels鈥� or good elements in all religious traditions.

After a career as a college president, I have returned to my vocation of teaching about religion, ethics and moral leadership on a university campus. Some scholars of religion focus on the beliefs and practices that comprise a tradition鈥檚 core identity. The philosopher of religion, Ninian Smart, calls them 鈥渕ultiple dimensions of religion鈥� that include its central stories, rituals, institutions, theological doctrines and ethical values.

Another perspective championed by anthropologist Clifford Geertz highlights a religion鈥檚 key symbols and the powerful emotions that are associated with those readily identifiable sacred markers (a star, wheel, cross, crescent, etc.). One symbol can be a gateway into its larger spiritual universe. And, because large numbers of people do not embrace or identify with any particular religious tradition, its probably wise to include them in this discussion because all our neighbors in and out of the pews do embrace certain moral values and practices that orient their lives.

The influential theologian Paul Tillich suggested that we speak of the holy as an 鈥渦ltimate concern.鈥� In this broad and diverse field of religions, some people use the word 鈥淕od鈥� and others do not, but they do have an ultimate concern such as truth or justice or life with dignity. According to numerous surveys, most people believe in God and participate in one or more religious traditions. Many do not. But all humans seem to have ultimate concerns.

Virtue of Restraint

Given this more nuanced approach to religion, think of what happens when a public school leader who embraces a particular religious tradition enters a classroom where students may have a different religious orientation or no formal religion at all. Writer C.S. Lewis said this potentially awkward encounter calls for courage. Courage to be who you are authentically and fully. But also courage to respect, listen and openly engage other people鈥檚 value systems.

Not only is this a time for courage, it is a time of testing and even temptation to use or abuse your authority and professional privilege. It is not appropriate to proclaim particular truths as the only truths or demand compliance with particular religious priorities. In such moments, even occasional clashes, we are called to be good moral citizens who display humility, yes intellectual humility. And we should use these sometimes awkward occasions to demonstrate the virtue of restraint.

Recall how America鈥檚 Founding Fathers chose not to impose their religious faith on others but tried to create a community (a new republic) that would be safe and tolerant for all religious traditions and even safe for the nonconformists who are part of every community. As the National Constitution Center reminds us, 鈥淎fter Independence, there was widespread agreement that there should be no nationally established church. The Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, principally authored by James Madison, reflects this consensus.鈥�

So the First Amendment says clearly 鈥淐ongress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion.鈥� They could have done the opposite, by declaring an official religion for the new republic. But they did not, in order to enable free exercise of religion and full rights of citizenship for all Americans. Restraint and respect led them to create a sacred and safe space for all to be free to worship or not in good conscience.

Understanding Reality

I believe we should not, and in fact cannot, retreat from the reality that religion is already in our classrooms. We should not pretend it isn鈥檛 important in people鈥檚 lives.

Religions and ultimate belief systems provide us with a basic moral compass about how we show up in the world and how we should relate to other people who are there. How we show up refers to our attitude and basic orientation to the world and the larger universe. Is the universe a safe place? Is it trustworthy? Is it worth trying to be a good person and live a good life? What happens when people hurt or offend us? And what happens when bad things happen to good or innocent people? Indeed, how can we make sense, make meaning, of this disorder or injustice?

Religion offers us tools to make sense of this complicated reality. Nearly all formal religious traditions offer a deep orientation to life and to other people as souls with value. They offer us opportunities to share our lives with others in community. As we all know, community (including our lives and professional work in classrooms) requires negotiation. We must show respect to others in order to share limited living and working space. We can bring generosity, peace, mindfulness, compassion, fairness, kindness and patience to every interaction in the classroom.

Moving from the classroom to the larger society, I had the opportunity to observe carefully a leader who was guided by his religiously informed moral compass. That person was Congressman John Lewis of Georgia. Many will recall he was a student leader during the years that Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks were leading the civil rights movement to realize and expand our American democracy with freedom and justice for all American citizens.

John Lewis and Martin Luther King Jr. were Christians, and they were deeply influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, who embraced Hinduism. They could have used their religious beliefs and practices to include only those who shared their religious orientation. That is something that many people do by including those who share commonalities and excluding those who do not.

Lewis and King instead allowed their religious outlook to open their minds and hearts to appreciate the treasures in other traditions and, in some cases, to learn from others and even incorporate new practices into their own lives of faith.

I watched and I joined Lewis when we locked arms with a diverse group of fellow citizens who had different religious and non-religious perspectives to walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. That is the same bridge where Lewis was attacked by state troopers in March 1965. Afterwards, many people saw him as a symbol of the personal sacrifice for the public good that deeply held religious beliefs encourage and support.

One way he made meaning was by believing something I often heard him say, namely, 鈥淯nmerited suffering can be redemptive.鈥� By practicing nonviolence even toward his violent opponents, his faith appealed to the larger society, and, thereby, the promise of democracy came one step closer while many lives were spared.

Common Good

There is an important moral and spiritual lesson there. Sometimes good people make sacrifices for the common good, and instead of being rewarded, they suffer, are persecuted and are unfairly stigmatized. Yet they persist and remain dedicated to the righteous action of doing good no matter the consequences. This also reveals the encouraging insight that a particular faith tradition can guide and fuel action for the common good.

I love the way retired superintendent Deborah Wortham notes in her recent book, Setting the Atmosphere: Beliefs, Practices, and Protocols for Faith-Filled Educational Leaders, that her biblically based faith inspires her 鈥渢o create, support and sustain systems that foster successful leadership and student achievement.鈥�

Earlier, I mentioned I teach courses on moral leadership today. John Lewis inspired this direction in my life. Moral leaders inspire us to become better versions of ourselves. Moral leaders possess key virtues such as integrity, courage and empathy, and they mobilize those virtues to serve the common good.

They also invite other people to join them in the ongoing work of creating good communities (schools and classrooms) and just societies that provide freedom and fairness for all.

I have an exercise for my students in which I ask them to imagine a Mount Rushmore of moral leaders for today. 鈥淲ho are the monumental figures who inspire you to become your best self?鈥� As you might imagine, all sorts of interesting nominations emerge 鈥� from Taylor Swift and Beyonc茅 to Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai.

When I interrogate students about their choices by asking questions about the role of faith and religion in the moral leader鈥檚 impact on society, many do not know whether those individuals have religious beliefs and, if so, what they are. But they feel powerfully drawn to the moral leaders鈥� ideas and presence, their hopes, energies and behaviors that promote peace, forgiveness, love and mutual respect. Faith is a verb. It is action that offers meaning, value, clarity, calling and purpose. All these leaders are seeking in manifold ways to be people of true faith.

Assigning Purpose

Maybe this is a place to begin discussion about the kind of school, the kind of nation and the kind of world we all desire. What does religion bring to the conversation? How do particular religions make meaning and assign purpose and value to life? What actions and good character are prescribed and praised by the faith tradition you know best?

As the other contributors to this issue of the magazine demonstrate, religions, all of them, have something valuable to contribute to making a better world. And that should be a goal for our collective action. n

Robert Franklin is the James T. Laney Professor in Moral Leadership at Emory University and president emeritus of Morehouse College, both in Atlanta, Ga.