Keywords

literacy, youth, Latter-day Saint, scriptures

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Although we are learning more about how young people make sense of religious truths, there is a conspicuous dearth of research examining the meaning-making practices of Latter-day Saint youth. As a result, it is unclear, for example, how Latter-day Saint youth read scripture. What’s working for them? What’s not? How do we know? “Faith without understanding” may be the sardonic standard for religious literacy in the United States, but I am confident that in the Church we can do better. We can help youth develop faith and understanding. Without a clearly articulated conception of religious literacy, however, the Church may be unintentionally leaving religious educators without a clear framework to guide youths’ construction of gospel knowledge and the development of their faith. In this article I offer a sociocultural model of religious literacies that addresses the following questions