Are the Profession's Education Standards Promoting the Religious Literacy Required for Twenty-First Century Social Work Practice?

Abstract

This article analyses regulations and standards that frame social work education and practice across a set of English-speaking countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the USA, as well as the Global Standards for the Education and Training of the Social Work Profession. All documents were keyword searched and also read in their entirety. Religion and belief appear briefly and incoherently and are often deprioritised, unless particularly problematic. There is a common elision of religion, belief and spirituality, often expressed in the designation 'religion/spirituality'. References to religion and belief, and their inclusion and removal, are recognisably subject to debates between policymakers who frame the guidelines. This makes them issues of agency which might themselves benefit from analysis. Religion and belief may frequently be addressed by the use of overarching frameworks such as 'anti-oppressive' or 'anti-discriminatory' practice. Yet, such proxies may prove merely apologetic and result in standards that aim only to establish what is the minimum required. It is hard to argue that religious literacy has been a priority in the English-speaking social work countries, though new law and emerging best practice may make it so.