Webinar Series 2016 Religious Literacy Judaism and gender equality The prominence of women

1. Webinar Series 2016 Religious Literacy Judaism and gender equality The prominence of women within the Jewish faith tradition 4.00pm - 4.45pm Tuesday 8th March 2016 http://www.interfaithexplorers.com/webinars

2. www.interfaithexplorers.com • Supported by UNESCO • Helps pupils understand the world around them & respect cultural and religious diversity • Offers high quality cross-curricula resources to use with pupils at Key Stage 2 and those embarking on their Key Stage 3 transition • Supports core personal and social skills development as well as self-directed, exploratory learning • Promotes universal core values & the development of ethical thinking • Designed to compliment RE and PSHE teaching, alongside citizenship education

3. Webinars • Support teachers in their work around interfaith dialogue and RE; as well as PSHE and Citizenship learning in schools • Offers a space for teachers to come together and think about issues arising from classroom practice in these areas

4. Webinar Presenter • Claire Clinton • An experienced teacher within EYFS, Primary and Secondary education • She has over 20 years of classroom experience, and 16 years of advisory work at a national and local level • For the past 10 years has been the Religious Education Advisor for the London Borough of Newham • Miriam Lorie • Supporter of the Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance • Public Education manager, Cambridge Inter-Faith Programme • Founder, Borehamwood Partnership Minyan • BA in Theology and Religious Studies; graduate of the Susi Bradfield Educators Fellowship at the London School of Jewish Studies and the Adam Science Leadership Programme.

5. Session objectives • To consider: • How gender equality is promoted within the framework of halakha (Jewish Law) • the implications of social change around gender issues which are occurring in the Orthodox Jewish community; • how teachers can use this knowledge to enhance the religious literacy of their pupils about contemporary faith practice in the Jewish community; • how to promote gender equality issues when teaching religious education. • Offer practical activities that teachers can use in the classroom

6. What is religious literacy? • Religious literacy is the knowledge of, and ability to, understand religion • In the British context: more people profess a post-Christian spirituality, humanism or atheism belief & other faith communities have become prominent • The Commission on Religion and Belief in Public Life on religious literacy: ‘the potential for misunderstanding, stereotyping and oversimplification based on ignorance is huge – and schools have a big part to play in putting this right’

7. Judaism: some facts • The 2011 Census shows that Britain’s Jewish population represents 0.5 per cent of the population: • some 263,346 compared with 259,927 in the previous 2001 count • In some local areas, the Jewish population rises to 40%: • 56.9% of Britain’s Jewish population live in London (representing 1.8% of Londoners); • The London Borough of Barnet has the largest Jewish population in the country, with some 1 in 5 people being Jewish • The neighbourhood of Golders Green in Barnet is the most populous Jewish neighbourhood in the country.

8. Judaism: denominations (1)

9. Judaism: denominations (2) In 2013 a study by Jewish Policy Research highlighted that of Britain’s Jewish community : • A quarter (26%) of respondents describe themselves as being ‘Traditional’; • A similar proportion (24%) as ‘Secular/Cultural’; • A minority (16%) as ‘Orthodox’ or ‘Haredi’. • Some 18% describe themselves as ‘Reform/Progressive’.

10. Orthodox Judaism & halakha • One defining feature of Orthodox Judaism is its adherence to halakha (Jewish Law) • Halakha in a nutshell: • Halacha is the code of Jewish law. It affects not only religious belief but many aspects of life • The root of the word is HLK, a root shared with Holekh “to walk”. So one translation would be “the way of walking” but this also signifies something very important about halakha – it is flexible and can move depending on time and situation • It was written as early as the first century CE and codified in the late Middle Ages… but it continues to move • Halakha is built on a Jewish study tradition of conversation – many different Rabbi’s voices are quoted and different opinions can be brought out in different cases

11. Gender opportunities in Judaism • How gender equality is promoted within the framework of halakha (Jewish Law) • Halakha was first written down nearly 2000 years ago, and so needs to be contextualised. However the flexibility of the system should allow for movement if the call of contemporary times requires. But there’s a tension between re-interpreting a rulebook to suit what we want… and responding to genuinely changes circumstances; • Gender equality was not a concept in the times when halakha was being developed. Protecting women’s rights was a key halakhic concern, but men and women had radically different religious and societal roles; • Gender equality is promoted within the framework of halakha because its flexibility allows it to move with the times; • Examples: batmitzvah, women learning and teaching Torah, women having roles in lay leadership

12. Gender challenges in Judaism • There are many areas in halakha where it is hard to imagine men and women ever being equal • An example • Three key terms in Halakha: obligated (chayyav), exempt (patur), permitted (mutar) • General rule: Women are not obligated in time-bound commandments. For example, doing the full prayers in the morning (the Rabbis’ version of flexible working?!) They are, of course, permitted to pray if they can • Being ‘obligated’ trumps being ‘permitted’, so men will always be the ones to lead certain prayers within the halakhic system • If you go to an Orthodox synagogue, women tend to be observers, often high up in a gallery

13. Challenges and opportunities (1) Traditionally in orthodox Judaism, women simply do not take on public religious roles. Their role in Judaism has tended to revolve around the home, with responsibilities like keeping a kosher home, preparing for Shabbat, educating young children, and keeping the laws surrounding menstrual cycles Sadly, Judaism for some women, is limited to preparing kosher food and choosing a good hat for Synagogue… for me this isn’t good enough

14. Challenges & opportunities (2) • The Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance sees its role as “to expand spiritual, ritual, intellectual and political opportunities for women within the framework of halakha” • It does this through: • Advocacy on key issues (like women in leadership) • Education (resources, journal, school curriculum • Creating a community of likeminded women – and men – who believe in its principles

15. Implications • The implications of social change around gender issues which are occurring in the Orthodox Jewish community and wider society are complex • They are controversial. Not everyone agrees with decisions. Fears that increased gender equality moves towards a different denomination (Reform in particular) are powerful. Splits and schisms have already happened and will continue to happen • As women take on more roles, the roles of men will inevitably need to change too to support women who have, for example, childcare responsibilities • An example – Kehillat Nashira, the community I founded

16. Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (1) • Equalities Act 2010 applies to all maintained and independent schools, including Academies, and maintained and non-maintained special schools; • As far as schools are concerned, for the most part, the effect of the current law is the same as it has been in the past – meaning that schools cannot unlawfully discriminate against pupils because of their sex, race, disability, religion or belief or sexual orientation; • Protection against discrimination is now extended to pupils who are pregnant or have recently given birth, or who are undergoing gender reassignment.

17. Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (2) • The Act makes it unlawful for the responsible body of a school to discriminate against, harass or victimise a pupil or potential pupil: • in relation to admissions • in the way it provides education for pupils • in the way it provides pupils access to any benefit, facility or service • or by excluding a pupil or subjecting them to any other detriment

18. Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (3) The Act deals with the way in which schools treat their pupils and prospective pupils: • the relationship between one pupil and another is not within its scope; • It does not therefore bear directly on such issues as racist or homophobic bullying by pupils; • However, if a school treats bullying which relates to a protected ground less seriously than other forms of bullying – for example dismissing complaints of homophobic bullying or failing to protect a transgender pupil against bullying by classmates – then it may be guilty of unlawful discrimination.

19. Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (4) • The content of the school curriculum has never been caught by discrimination law, and this Act now states explicitly that it is excluded; • However the way in which a school provides education – the delivery of the curriculum – is explicitly included. • So excluding the content of the curriculum ensures that schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas and materials in their syllabus, and to expose pupils to thoughts and ideas of all kinds, however challenging or controversial, without fear of legal challenge based on a protected characteristic; • But schools will need to ensure that the way in which issues are taught does not subject individual pupils to discrimination.

20. Promoting gender equality: what teachers need to know (5) • Some examples can best explain the distinction between content and delivery of the curriculum as the Act applies: • A boy complains that it is sex discrimination for him to be required to do a module on feminist thought. • A girl complains that putting The Taming of the Shrew on the syllabus is discriminatory; or a Jewish pupil objects to having to study The Merchant of Venice. • A fundamentalist Christian objects to the teaching of evolution in science lessons unbalanced by the teaching of “intelligent design”. • A school does a project to mark Gay Pride Week. A heterosexual pupil claims that he finds this embarrassing and that it discriminates against him on grounds of his sexual orientation; a Christian or a Muslim pupil objects to it on religious grounds. • A Muslim pupil objects to the works of Salman Rushdie being included on a reading list.

21. RE & promoting gender equality • Ensure you are aware of the cultural expectations for boys and girls in your community; • Recognise these, and work to challenge and question why things are this way; • Ensure discussions in your classroom are balanced between who is speaking; • Don’t let discussions build up stereotypes.

22. Practical activities • Avoid questions that result in recall or comprehension answers • Ask questions that demand analysis, application, evaluation and synthesis; • Deploy games that build up confidence in using religious terminology, e.g. ‘Don’t say that…’ • Use classroom activities that develop thinking skills

23. And finally… ‘Religious literacy helps you move from tolerance to respect’ Prof Adam Dinham • What teacher’s need to do differs depending on school and community context; • Regular conversations in our classrooms helps pupils build up their ability to discuss religion with respect and curiosity • Ensure we as educators keep up with current developments within any religion

24. Wrap up Any questions?

25. Contact us For further information about the webinar series and how Interfaith Explorers can support you visit: www.interfaithexplorers.com or contact Rokhsana Fiaz OBE Chief Executive Maimonides Interfaith Foundation rokhsana@maimonides-foundation.org