Table of Contents

PROLOGUE

CHAPTER ONE
Burkagate

CHAPTER TWO
Did a Field Trip Put Students in the Lion’s Den?

CHAPTER THREE
Whose Truth Should They Hear?

CHAPTER FOUR
How Young Is Too Young?

CHAPTER FIVE
The Church Lady

CHAPTER SIX
Carefully Taught

CHAPTER SEVEN
Raising Religiously Literate Americans

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NOTES

About the Author

Linda K. Wertheimer, a former Boston Globe education editor, is the award-winning author of Faith Ed- Teaching About Religion In An Age of Intolerance. During her nearly thirty-year journalism career, she was a reporter at the Dallas Morning News and the Orlando Sentinel as well as for other publications. Her work has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Boston Globe Magazine, USA Today, Time, and many other publications. Faith Ed in 2016 won a national book award-second place in the Religion News Association nonfiction religion book contest. She has also won awards for her writing from the Education Writers Association and other organizations. She was a 2014 finalist in the Massachusetts Cultural Council artist fellowship awards. A graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, she lives in the Boston area with her husband and son.

Reviews

“This book sheds light on the reality that people hide their religious background in a school environment at times out of fear. It may be of value for individuals who have experienced religious intolerance at school or for those linked to public schools by raising awareness for religious groups that may not yet have a voice.”
—Library Journal

“This is an important and compelling book.”
—The Jewish Advocate

“Insightful and engaging, Faith Ed shows how education fights intolerance. This is an important book, with huge implications for public policy and stronger communities.”
—Jonathan Eig, author of The Birth of the Pill and Luckiest Man

“Faith Ed offers deep insights into the combustible issue of teaching religion in American schools. Linda K. Wertheimer combines her personal experience with vivid reporting to reveal the fault lines as well as a pathway to progress. At a time when religion and intolerance are at the heart of conflicts both global and local, this powerful book is required reading.”
—Mitchell Zuckoff, author of 13 Hours and Lost in Shangri-La

“Linda Wertheimer has given us a deeply reported, sobering look at the promise and taboos of teaching religion in our public schools. With a sharp eye and open mind, she brings to light the heroes of tolerance, the isolationists who choose safe harbors of ignorance, and the ongoing struggle over what it means to be an American.”
—Scott Helman, coauthor of  Long Mile Home: Boston Under Attack, the City’s Courageous Recovery, and the Epic Hunt for Justice

“Readers enjoy a front-row seat in the classroom with Linda Wertheimer's revealing book about teaching world religions in the public schools. This is essential reading for everyone concerned about building respect among young people for the diversity of religious faith in America.”
—Stephen D. Solomon, author of Ellery's Protest: How One Young Man Defied Tradition and Sparked the Battle over School Prayer

“In Faith Ed, an impassioned journalist takes her readers on a tour of timely topic:  what it is like to teach the world’s religions in a climate of hostility and ignorance. The result is a heartfelt plea for open-mindedness and civility, in the classroom and beyond.”
—Madeleine Blais, author of In These Girls, Hope Is a Muscle