The Harvard Divinity School calls it 'religious literacy' — that is, the knowledge and understanding of the tenets of the world religions and, in their words, 'the roles that religions play in human experience across political, economic, and cultural spheres'.
A person with religious literacy has an understanding and appreciation of the teachings of religions in the world, is knowledgeable about the various applications and manifestations of those teachings, and, perhaps most crucially, understands how religious faith forms, informs and enriches contemporary human society.
At the same time, they are able to recognise and critique the shadow side of religious faith, such as theocratic government, forced belief, and other forms of religious fundamentalism.
In a world where Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are on the rise, endangering and taking the lives of so many innocent people of faith, it is difficult to overstate the importance of religious literacy. Hatred and fear of Islam or Judaism is often justified by misinformation about what Muslims or Jews believe — for example, that Muslims believe in terrorism or Jews believe in killing Christians.
As an adult my own faith looks more like goddess-centred witchcraft, but I grew up with Catholic religious instruction, which included some serious attention to other religious practices and the possibility of a rich co-existence. Within this, I heard from many adults about how they came to their faith and the history of their articles of faith.
One of the great benefits of such a schooling was exposure to, and education in, the presence and work of belief in the world, for better and for worse.
That is, people of faith believe in things we can't see. Some of us feel spirits on the wind and our ancestors by our side. Some of us believe in a time and space after the death of the body. We tend to worship a power that is bigger than the world, that exerts unseen and unpredictable agency over our lives and the lives of others.
When faith of any kind is attached and amassed through a human institution like an organised religion, its power is extraordinary; capable of both horrifying brutality and life-saving human solidarity. It is always cultural and also always individual.
"Maybe if religious literacy were one of the aims of mass education, it wouldn't be so easy to decide to believe that so many of our fellow humans are plotting against us."
As well as developing my own faith, I believe