RELIGIOUS LITERACY TRAINING FOR
POLICE SERVICES
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Law enforcement and police officers need information, skills and support to help them build relationships and navigate increasingly diverse communities.
Religious literacy can help.
Religion, and its impact on culture and politics, affect day to day policing. At Encounter, we provide important context but also the practical information about the way the world's religions influence cultural norms. We will discuss everything from what officers need to know about traffic stops and entering a home, to handling domestic violence or doing a body search and religion's role in hate crimes.
““The world religions program was an incredible experience and beneficial both personally and professionally. I would recommend all officers invest in such a program.
The knowledge gained can be applied immediately upon return to the front line
or specialty bureaus in Law Enforcement.”
Law Enforcement Officer, Peel Police
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Three–Day Police Literacy Program
Created specifically for police officers, this three-day program gives your team a practical understanding of the world's major religions – the kind that shows up on the job, not just in the classroom.
You will:
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Meet religious community leaders
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Engage with colleagues about best practices for connecting with diverse communities
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Tour houses of worship and learn about sacred spaces and traditions
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Learn how to handle sensitive police actions appropriately including: entering homes, conducting a search involving a covered woman, removing religious head coverings during arrest, kirpan possession, or handling a deceased person under Islamic or Jewish practice
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Take part in classes and discussions designed to build knowledge and comfort with religious practices and communities
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Taught from a non-sectarian perspective, this program covers Canada's most common religious minority traditions and helps officers connect with colleagues, community members, and the public they serve.
How does religious literacy help with policing?
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Officers encounter religious diversity every shift — in homes, at scenes, in interviews, on patrol. But because North Americans don't talk openly about religion, we don't always have the knowledge we need.
Religious literacy goes beyond typical diversity training. It's specific to religious practice, belief, and law.
At Encounter, our unique policy training program is built and taught by a subject matter expert with a PhD in religion, and focuses on concrete, job-relevant scenarios rather than general awareness. It complements existing DEI training rather than duplicating it.
Religious Literacy for Police
One of our most popular presentations makes the case for why religious literacy matters for police.
Participants learn:
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What we mean by religious literacy
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Why it's especially important for police services and law enforcement in Canada
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How Canadian understandings of religion (the "Western lens") can distort how non-European traditions are read
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Examples of literacy and illiteracy on the job and the possible unintended consequences
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Practical and useful information to support respectful, inclusive relationships with colleagues and the community
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Tradition-Specific Training
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Focused training on the traditions, culture, and history of Canada's major religious communities — Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, and others. Services can select the traditions most relevant to their team and community.
For each tradition, learn:
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A working overview of the tradition
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Visual cues to help identify a person's religion accurately
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How to facilitate respectful interactions that build trust
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Handling sensitive police actions appropriately including prayer accommodation in custody, entering a mosque or temple, or respectful handling of religious articles seized as evidence
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Building stronger community relations with these traditions
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Making the workplace more welcoming for minority officers, supporting retention and recruitment
Site Visits
Visiting a place of worship is one of the most valuable ways to learn about a tradition and its community. We facilitate local tours or visits to larger centres, best paired with some pre-learning earlier in the day or on a separate day.
These experiential visits:
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Build comfort and confidence entering a place of worship, often a new experience for officers
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Create space for real conversation with a community leader — their needs, and officers' questions
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Build familiarity with religious items and visual cues that help officers do their jobs with more skill
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Let officers observe rituals and learn about important celebrations firsthand
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Customized Training
We tailor training to the specific needs of a police service — combining any of the above elements or building unit-specific content. Past examples include training for Victim Services units on comforting grievers appropriately, respectful and compassionate handling of the deceased, and the religious and cultural nuances of intimate partner violence.
Another custom product is our Understanding the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict program which helps officers understand the background context, the perspectives of various parties, and how different slogans are understood. This program offers a neutral perspective that's valuable when handling conflict between groups.
We have given this to multiple police services and at a large Ontario Association of Police event.
TESTIMONIALS
“This is one of the best courses I've taken. Brian is an eloquent presenter and I most appreciated his non-judgmental approach. He's clearly a leader in this area and an excellent presenter.
I'm grateful this was offered because what I learned will directly inform both my personal and professional lives.”
Law Enforcement Officer, OPP
“I had the opportunity to take the course in Summer 2022 and it gave me a newfound appreciation of the impact religions have on our daily lives.
Brian is a wealth of knowledge and his lectures were easily digestible.”
Law Enforcement Officer, Niagara Police
Who's Teaching
Brian Carwana, Executive Director of Encounter World Religions, has a PhD in religion and politics from the University of Toronto and is an occasional lecturer at the university. For more than 20 years, he has delivered thousands of religious literacy programs to individuals, organizations, schools and community groups.
He is the subject matter expert for religious literacy for the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion and has been interviewed by the CBC and other media on multiple occasions.
He has been a keynote speaker for the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and worked with officers and units delivering religious literacy programs for over the past decade.
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