Fellowship for Teachers

Religion is always present in the classroom, even when no one names it.

Students bring religious identities, assumptions, histories, holidays, and inherited narratives with them every day. Teachers do too. So do curricula, calendars, and school cultures. The question is not whether religion is present, but whether we are prepared to engage it thoughtfully.

ICJS Teacher Fellows develop skills to transform classrooms and schools into places where learning about religious diversity prepares students for fuller participation in the life of our city, nation, and world.

Because many young people first encounter religious difference in the classroom, teachers are uniquely positioned to foster a culture of religious understanding and inclusion. Helping teachers gain facility in leading these intellectual and human encounters is a key goal of the ICJS Fellowship for Teachers. 

The seven-month Fellowship provides professional development opportunities for Baltimore-area educators to explore how to provide students with an informed appreciation of the religious diversity that contributes to civic life. This cohort-based program helps educators apply an interreligious framework to their classroom. As a result, educators gain skills and confidence to foster interreligious literacy in their classrooms and to become interreligious leaders in their schools. 

The fellowship is directed by Christine Gallagher with support and instruction provided by ICJS resident interreligious scholars.  

Interested in learning more about our Fellowship? Recruiting for the fall 2026 Fellowship for Teachers will start during the summer. The Fellowship cohort will begin meeting in October, 2026. If you’d like to be considered, please complete the interest form below.

Apply to the Fellowship for Teachers if you are…

• a secondary school educator at any type school (e.g., public, religious, or independent) —all subject teachers and administrators welcome
• in the Baltimore area
• interested in applying an interreligious framework with students

Program Benefits

• Bring Meaningful Dialogue to Your Classroom | Learn how to guide students through conversations across difference with intellectual rigor, empathy, and curiosity—skills that cultivate both civic responsibility and personal growth.
• Gain Tools for a Multireligious Democracy Explore a rich, interreligious framework that equips you to address religion in your classroom in ways that are nuanced, accurate, and inclusive—no matter what you teach.
• Collaborate Across Schools and Religious Traditions Join a vibrant cohort of educators from diverse religious and cultural backgrounds, building professional relationships and community that stretch beyond your own school.
• Engage Deeply with Religious Literacy and Identity Reflect on your own commitments and expand your understanding of how religion shapes identity, culture, and society—so you can help your students do the same.

Program Commitments

• Attend 11 meetings, approximately every three weeks from October through May
• Experience religion in the public square by attending 5 outside learning experiences 
• Create a lesson plan or project to bring your learning back to your school
• Write a reflection on your learning
• Engage in thoughtful dialogue with a cohort of diverse educators