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My Religion, Your Religion by Lisa Bullard

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My Religion, Your Religion by Lisa Bullard

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This book is about a young boy named David, who has a jewish friend, a non religious friend, a buddhist babysitter, and muslim neighbors. It focuses on how David finds common ground with these people, and learns how much he enjoys learning about other religions.

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From Islam to Christian by Baby Professor 

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From Islam to Christian by Baby Professor 

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This book teaches students what different religious festivals are celebrated around the world. Each religion has different holidays and special occasions that they celebrate in diverse ways.

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This book helps children understand the different ways that members of various religions pray. It lets them know to be respectful of different religions, and also how to celebrate their differences.

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This website goes over major religions and explains very simply their basic beliefs.  This website also includes links that goes into further detail about these religions.

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A world religions professor explains the basic history, facts and beliefs of several different religions from an educational and faith-neutral perspective.

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Lesson Planning Ideas: The World's Religions

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Lesson Planning Ideas: The World's Religions

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This lesson plan is for grades 6-12th and goes over nine different world religions that gives an overview of each of these religions and their basic beliefs.

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Looking to liven up grade 6-12 social studies instruction or add a multicultural element to your class? Want to celebrate diversity by discussing holidays around the world, and not just in December?

Expand students' world views by helping them understand religions with which they might be less familiar. Offering kids a global take on religion lets them appreciate the perspectives of the many faith groups within, and outside of, the United States. In this way, kids develop the diversity skills they will need to succeed in the 21st century.

Click on the names of the religions in the table below to access mini-articles that provide more information on the religion, as well as the corresponding holiday that falls within a particular month. Faiths in the table include: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism and Baha'i.

The mini-articles offer a basic rundown of beliefs and practices, information about two holidays observed in the faith, and links to enrichment resources such as photographic images and relevant phrases in various languages.

Inside a mosque (Islamic house of worship)
in Damascus, Syria

Each month of the school year, try opening discussion on one or more religious observances that might be new to your students. The selection of faiths here is certainly not exhaustive; you will want to encourage students to identify and explore additional religious traditions not on the list.

Below the table, you'll find (1) general tips for discussing diverse religions in the classroom, (2) introductory information for students, and (3) discussion points and activities you can use to cover each religion.

NOTE: The indicated timing is approximate for many of the holidays. Many observances are timed to lunar cycles that change from year to year. In addition, some observances begin in the month indicated but carry over to a subsequent month. If you prefer to teach about a holiday on its actual start date, you will need to research the specific date on a year-to-year basis.

Discussing Diverse Religions in the Classroom

Religion can be a complex and even contentious issue and therefore needs to be approached carefully in the classroom. The good news is that clear guidelines offer appropriate practices for public-school educators.

The Teaching About Religion site offers a helpful list of "do's and don'ts" as well as concrete examples of what appropriate classroom instruction on world religions looks like. In general, educators will want to present a secular discussion that neither endorses nor denigrates any one religion. They will also want to make sure that the experience is comfortable for students of any faith, as well as those who do not have a religious affiliation.

As such, teachers will want to make sure they avoid:

Role-playing any sort of practice that can be considered a worship activity (i.e., holidays should be discussed rather than "celebrated").

Requiring or pressuring students to disclose or discuss their own religious beliefs (this includes singling out students who may represent a particular faith).

Allowing student discussion to go in the direction of proselytizing or judging peers.

Stereotyping adherents of various faiths or ignoring the diversity present within every faith.

Likewise, any outside speaker the educator may engage should be comfortable abiding by these guidelines.

Introductory Information for Students

What is a religion?

Begin by asking students to define the term "religion." Record students' responses on chart paper, or have them share their ideas verbally with the class. Alternately or additionally, you may wish to have students record their answers in a personal journal.

Compare their ideas to sociologist Emil Durkheim's classical definition:

"[Religion is] a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden--beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community."

The United Religions Initiative also offers a thorough definition of religion that's geared toward younger students.

Remember that students may tend to provide definitions that reflect the scope of their personal beliefs. Through discussion, ensure that you arrive at a definition that's inclusive enough to cover monotheistic, polytheistic and nontheistic religions.

If students have written their initial definition as a journal entry, after teaching about world religions, have them go back and determine whether they want to revise or expand their definitions.

What do we know about world religions?

Introduce the names of nine world religions: Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism, Taoism, Shintoism and Baha'i.

Ask students: Are any of these familiar? Have students use a journal or KWL chart to indicate what they know about these religions.

Try administering a pre-quiz to assess prior knowledge. One quiz might involve putting the nine faiths in order of their number of adherents worldwide. The correct answer, as indicated on adherents.com, is:

1. Christianity: 2.1 billion

2. Islam: 1.5 billion

3. Hinduism: 900 million

4. Chinese traditional religion (includes Taoism): 394 million

5. Buddhism: 376 million

6. Sikhism: 23 million

7. Judaism: 14 million

8. Baha'i: 7 million

9. Shintoism: 4 million

Another quiz might involve matching a key concept or term with its corresponding religion. Here's an example (the term is followed by the answer in parentheses):

Torah (Judaism)

Muhammad (Islam)

Crucifixion (Christianity)

Kami (Shintoism)

Diwali (Hinduism)

Karma (Buddhism)

Amrit (Sikhism)

Chi (Taoism)

Naw-Ruz (Baha'i)

Define the terms monotheism, polytheism and nontheism. Students should remember these terms, as they will be used later to describe various faiths.

Have students identify particular faiths that are least familiar to them. What do they want to learn about them? Ask them to record answers in their journals or in the 'W" column of a KWL chart.

Discussion Points and Activities

Before you begin, remind students of any "ground rules" that will apply to discussions. Assure them that no one will have to share personal information or beliefs, and that discussion should explore each faith without positive or negative judgment.

Start by giving an overview of the distribution of religions worldwide. The site adherents.com rank-orders faiths in terms of the number of worldwide adherents for each. To put things in visual perspective, you may wish to present this screenshot of the site's world-religions pie chart:

How does the above global distribution of religions compare to that within the United States? To answer that question, try sharing the following screenshot from cia.gov:

Ask students: Do these pie charts show what you would have predicted? What was surprising? What was something new that you learned? How does the U.S. differ from the rest of the world? How is it similar?

Students may notice that Christianity is the largest faith both in the United States (79%) and worldwide (33%). And while the U.S. is more diverse than most countries in terms of the number of faiths it represents, in America the non-Christian faiths are present in much smaller percentages than they are elsewhere around the globe. For example, less than 1% of Americans are Muslims, compared to 21% worldwide. For more in-depth information on religions in America, see this Pew Forum report.

Next, present the information on each religion using the nine mini articles (links to these articles also appear in the "Religious Observances" table above):

For each religion, cover the following:

Origins of the faith (When was it founded? Was there an identifiable founder?) Find detailed information about the founding of various religions here.

Whether it is monotheistic, polytheistic or nontheistic

Where in the world most of the faith's adherents are located (the mini-articles have limited information on this; in addition, CIA.gov provides a breakdown by country, and Encyclopedia Britannica provides a breakdown by continent)

Major beliefs or emphases

Variations among followers of each religion (information on subgroups of each religion can be found here). You'll want to make the point that we need to be careful not to stereotype members of faith groups; religion is a public as well as a private affair.

Scriptures or holy texts/books

Key figures or individuals

Major values or rules for human behavior

Key holidays/holy days/religious observances

What is unique about the religion (relative to others in the list of nine)

What is similar about the religion (relative to others in the list of nine)

Ask students to take notes and use graphic organizers such as Venn diagrams or fact tables (see Example 1 and Example 2) to help them process the information.

To extend the lesson, try one of the following:

1. Invite a class speaker who is a member of a faith that may be less familiar to students. Have students prepare questions for the speaker ahead of time. If an in-person visit is not possible, use online tools such as Chatzy.com, Skype or Google+ Hangouts to hold a virtual meeting.

2. Individually or in groups, have students conduct further research and document their learning with a Web tool such as Diigo.com, a cloud-based platform that allows for collaborative research, highlighting/annotation, saving of images and more.

Wrap-Up/Assessment Options

Ask students to go back to their journals or class chart paper to determine whether their definition of religion needs revision. Reflect upon what changed in terms of students' conceptions of religion.

Have kids fill in the 'L" (what I learned) column of a KWL chart or make a concluding journal entry that reflects knowledge gained about world religions.

Administer a post-quiz that involves (1) rank-ordering religions by number of worldwide adherents or (2) matching concepts with the corresponding religion. (See Introductory Information for Students section above for quiz answers.)

Ask students to create world-religion trivia quizzes and administer them to each other, or facilitate a "Jeopardy!"-style class competition.

Invite each student to share a new word, new practice/belief or new holiday/religious observance with which s/he was previously unfamiliar. What was the most interesting or surprising thing learned?

Have students plan to share additional information about one of the 18 covered holidays (or additional ones of their choice) at an appropriate future time during the school year. Consult the BBC's interfaith calendar for ideas. Students should select holidays with which they are not currently familiar. Suggestions for student sharing include: a PowerPoint presentation, poster, photo essay, paper scrapbook, set of online bookmarks, or transcript of an interview with a faith leader or person of a particular faith that is different from one's own.

Challenge students to practice delivering two- to three-minute "nutshell reports" (brief explanations of each religion for an audience that knows nothing about the faith).

Article by Celine Provini, EducationWorld Editor
Education World®
Copyright © 2013 Education World

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Lesson Ideas: The World's Religions | Education World

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Looking to liven up grade 6-12 social studies instruction or add a multicultural element to your class? Want to celebrate diversity by discussing holidays around the world, and not just in December? Expand students' world views by helping them understand religions with which they might be less familiar.

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By: Andrew O'Hagan
The story of a Catholic priest in Scotland. Then he befriends some rebellious teenagers. This story looks at religion in a faithless town.

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Animated Map of Religion Spreading Around the World

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Animated Map of Religion Spreading Around the World

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This video shows an animated globe of where and when different religions spread throughout the world.

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Animated map shows how religion spread around the world

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Kids of Different Religions Describe God

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Kids of Different Religions Describe God

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This video goes has five children with different religious background and they each describe their personal views on God.

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Kids Of Different Religions Describe God

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This video goes over the five major world religions and their basic beliefs.

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The five major world religions - John Bellaimey

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This video goes over the Children's Museum in Indianapolis and part of the museum teaches children about religion.  This video also goes over the topic of religion taught in schools and how its been a controversial topic.

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This video explains to teachers how to go about teaching about religious diversity in the classroom.

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Why Religious Diversity Matters

As the population of the United States grows increasingly diverse, so does the level of cultural diversity in the country. With the increase in cultural diversity, we also see a rise in religious diversity, the coexistence of more than one religion in the same setting. Today, we will be looking at the role of religious diversity in one specific setting: the classroom.

Depending on the grade level you teach (or, hope to teach), the impacts of religious diversity will be different. For teachers of younger children, religious diversity may lead you to have conversations about why some students do not eat lunch during specific times of the school year. Perhaps you will explain the different types of celebration that will take place over winter break. For teachers of older students, students may engage in conversations that are more personalized to their beliefs and you may find yourself leading discussions on the role of religion in wars throughout history or how a person's beliefs guide their life. In this lesson, you will learn how religious diversity impacts the classroom.

Role of the Teacher

As a teacher, you may feel nervous about discussing religious diversity, but this does not mean you can omit it from the classroom. If you ignore religious diversity, students may think it is taboo or scary. The role of the classroom teacher is to educate about different religions without supporting one religion over another-you must stay neutral with your personal beliefs about religion.

There are four guidelines that teachers of all grade levels can use to structure conversations on religious diversity:

1. Present only facts about a religion.

2. Use primary sources. This not only gives a window to the beliefs associated with a religion, but it also opens the door to conversations about point of view and bias.

3. Regardless of the beliefs represented in your classroom, do not make value statements (positive or negative) about any religion.

4. As with all other conversations on diversity, ensure that students understand that a difference of religion is not bad. It is just something that makes people unique! Religious conversations should be built on respect-make sure this is established before broaching the subject.

Equipped with these tools, a teacher can effectively use religious diversity to promote learning and development for students with diverse backgrounds.

In every classroom, teaching about religious diversity not only prepares students for conversations in the real world, but also helps meet Common Core objectives. Let's talk about specific strategies to use in different grade-levels and how these strategies meet national objectives.

Application In Elementary School

In elementary school, students are learning about their own uniqueness and the uniqueness of their peers. Religion is just one way that students will be different and diverse. Having developmentally appropriate discussions and class readings will teach students about different religions around the world and in the classroom.

One way to do this is by listening to a song or poem about freedoms. After listening to the words, start a discussion on things people may want the freedom to do and why, in America, this is acceptable. Ask students to share their thoughts and opinions.

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religious diversity in classrooms - video & lesson transcript | study.com

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Religious Diversity in Classrooms - Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

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As the population of the United States grows increasingly diverse, so does the level of cultural diversity in the country. With the increase in cultural diversity, we also see a rise in religious diversity, the coexistence of more than one religion in the same setting.

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Religion, Culture, and Diversity – Background

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Religion, Culture, and Diversity – Background

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This lesson plans looks at the history of religions. Talks about the different beliefs and cultures that different religions create.
-elementary

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Diversity and pluralism are hallmarks of our society. The plethora of traditions and values that share our continent are bound both to conflict with, and to enrich, one other. Each new group of immigrants challenges the mainstream to accept its religion and culture, and is challenged to keep its identity while getting along and blending in.

In this lesson, students learn more about various religions, they share their own religious traditions, and they explore some of the tensions associated with religious and cultural differences. Resources include segments from RELIGION & ETHICS NEWSWEEKLY, Web sites, and interviews with family members and other adults. Art projects on themes of religion, spirituality, and diversity are a culminating activity.
Grade Level:

Grades 4-8
This lesson is intended for elementary grades but can easily be scaled to accommodate middle school students.
Time Allotment:
This lesson [unit] can carry over anywhere from a few days to several weeks, depending on the level of interest and commitment to the topic.
Subject Matter:
Science; social studies; English/ language arts; religion
Learning Objectives
Students will:

Recognize that religious differences are a source of controversy and conflict, as well as growth and change.

Recognize that newcomers who are different are not always welcome.

Learn about the beliefs and practices of a variety of religious groups.

Interview grandparents and/or other older adults about their religious and cultural traditions.

Reflect on their own religious and cultural traditions.

Appreciate the diversity of religious and cultural traditions in the U.S.

Identify everyday ways in which religion is infused into public life.

Standards
This lesson was prepared by: Kathleen M. Cochran, Ed.M.

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Religion, Culture, and Diversity - Background - Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

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Overview Diversity and pluralism are hallmarks of our society. The plethora of traditions and values that share our continent are bound both to conflict with, and to enrich, one other. Each new group of immigrants challenges the mainstream to accept ... More →

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The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Novel

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The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: A Novel

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By: Mohja Kahf
A young girl grows up in a devout Muslim family. She has to learn where her Muslim religions falls in with her American culture. Looks over many of her life experiences.

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By: Chaim Potok
A story about two fathers and two sons and how they feel the pressures of how to live their religion. The novel takes place in Brooklyn, New York.

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by: James Baldwin
The story of a fourteen year old boy as he finds his identity as the stepson of a preacher. The story deals with spiritual and moral struggles.

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This website goes over applications for elementary, middle school, and high school level. How to create a classroom of respect with many different religions.

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Teaching Tolerance and the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding teamed up to offer educators a free webinar series: Religious Diversity in the Classroom.

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One World, Many Religions : The Ways We Worship

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One World, Many Religions : The Ways We Worship

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By: Mary Pope Osborne
Covers the beliefs, histories, and practices of multiple religions. How these religions affected other things like the art and cultures of countries.

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This website goes over what teachers should go over about the history of religion in America in the classroom. It goes through how the religions in America changed after the beginning of the nation up until today.

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Religious Diversity in America, Divining America, TeacherServe®, National Humanities Center

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This translates, in turn, to the formation of the new nation. The founders adapted the ideas of Roger Williams, a Puritan dissident and founder of the Baptist tradition in America, along with the experience of religious diversity in the Middle Colonies to provide for freedom of religious expression and no state church, as encoded in the First Amendment to the Constitution.

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In this lesson plan the teacher has the students pick a different place around the world to learn about. They them make a list of facts about the basic religion and culture of that part of the world.

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Children Around The World | Free Lesson Plans | Teachers

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Get FREE lesson plans for Grades 3-5. Discovery Education has an engaging childhood culture lesson plan available for FREE with no sign up!

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This book explains the idea of what God is, not even in a religious context. It explains that some people believe that God is a person, some believe in a general higher power, and some believe that God exists within themselves.

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The World is Full of Spirits by Baby Professor

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The World is Full of Spirits by Baby Professor

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This book focuses on the spiritual beliefs of American Indians. They believed that everything had a spirit, and that certain things were sacred. They took care of the earth and animals with great care and respect.

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This is an incredibly informative website that lists all major religions, where students can look at each religion's beliefs, texts, customs, history, and other factors. it's a great unbiased and fact-based resource, especially when used for student and teacher research.

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Religion can be explained as a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.

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Guides to world religions and beliefs. Includes Atheism, Christianity, Islam, Paganism, Jainism, Zoroastrian and many more.

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How to Teach About World Religions in Schools - Time 

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How to Teach About World Religions in Schools - Time 

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This was an article highlighting different ways teachers can educate on religion and stay neutral. It's very informative and gave plenty of ideas on how teachers can remain unbiased and avoid conflict while teaching the subject.

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How to Teach About World Religions in Schools

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Ten tips for explaining today's most controversial subject

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This is why a growing number of teachers want more lessons on religion in school - Deseret News

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This is why a growing number of teachers want more lessons on religion in school - Deseret News

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A Utah-based news article discussing the importance of educating students on religion to inorder promote diversity and help eliminate fear, violence and prejudice.

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Laura Seitz, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY - Twenty years of teaching had taught Martha Ball to expect the unexpected, especially around seventh graders.

As she started a new job teaching social studies at Butler Middle School in the mid-1980s, she was prepared for whispers, passed notes and other acts of mild rebellion. What she got was the threat of a lawsuit and a cruel, taunting chant.

The class had begun with a syllabus explanation that included Utah Studies, or the unit in which she'd lecture on the Mormon migration west.

"I'd barely started when a student said, 'If you say that word Mormon in here, my dad will sue you,'" she recalled.

Before she could respond, another student jumped in. He encouraged the first student to leave if he didn't like the truth.

"Students started chanting, "Move out. Move out,'" Ball said. "I could see they were all hurting and angry."

Discussing religion often brings out the worst in people, including 12- and 13-year-olds. Faith is deeply personal and complex, and yet many public school teachers like Ball will stand at the front of classrooms this year as they have in the past, discussing the core tenets of Islam, Hindu scriptures and the religious background of "The Scarlet Letter."

"Any time we enrich the curriculum with religious studies, there's a potential for controversy," said Charles Haynes, vice president of the Newseum Institute and its Religious Freedom Center.

Jodi Ide teaches World Religions at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

For that reason, some school districts attempt to avoid the subject all together, sidestepping opportunities to discuss the religious motivations of America's pilgrims or religious diversity in the Middle East. However, a growing group of educators is calling for more lessons on religion, not fewer, presenting religious literacy as the best way to address faith-related violence around the world.

"It is so important for students to learn about religion and be taught the basic foundations of major religions," said Jodi Ide, who teaches world religions at Brighton High School. "Education has the power to eliminate stereotypes, bias and prejudice."

By teaching on America's minority faith groups or the history of religious freedom laws, teachers can help create a world without faith-based hate crimes or anti-Semitic marches, experts said. But first, they need training themselves to avoid the type of shouting match that Ball described.

"We clearly have a distance to go to prepare teachers to (teach about religion) in a richer way, to do it in a way that doesn't treat religion superficially and, instead, gives voice to people who are actually practicing today," Haynes said.

Why teach religion

Although religious affiliation is falling in the United States, religion remains a key driver of political and social events. The recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, American military occupation in Afghanistan and the threat of nuclear war with North Korea all relate to religious history and theology, prompting ongoing debates between people of faith in the public square.

"It's pretty difficult to see how you can understand anything about contemporary human affairs without understanding their religious dimensions," said Diane Moore, founder and director of Harvard Divinity School's Religious Literacy Project.

Teachers can't be expected to provide an exhaustive overview of the world's religions in the context of a history or social studies curriculum, but they can train students to reflect on breaking news through a religious lens, Moore noted.

"The question of how to understand the power of religion in human affairs is central for civic responsibility," she said.

When students learn how to approach potentially controversial, religion-related topics with patience and respect, they're better prepared for the real world, Ball said.

"Students need to learn to be responsible for their words and actions. When they can do that around their most deeply held beliefs - religion - they can learn to be civil and respectful in their home, their community and in society," she said.

In a perfect world, students would begin learning about major religious traditions in elementary school, reading through Buddhism's Four Noble Truths and the Ten Commandments just as they might learn to count in Spanish, experts said.

Then, as students advance into middle school and high school, teachers could build on this initial foundation by asking deeper questions, while also showcasing the internal diversity of individual faith groups.

"As kids get older, they can teach them more about the role religion plays in history, like during the spread of Islam or Christian crusades," said Linda K. Wertheimer, author of " Faith Ed: Teaching About Religion in an Age of Intolerance."

But, while interest in using religious studies to enhance public education has grown in recent years, the topic is often left off the curriculum in favor of less controversial topics that are more likely to appear on standardized tests, Haynes said.

"Conventional wisdom in much of our curriculum through most of recent history is that students can learn everything they need to know without learning anything about religion," he said.

Roadblocks to religion lessons

After her awkward attempt to prepare her class for Utah Studies, Ball turned to her principal for help. She expected some words of encouragement or tips for how to proceed.

"I told him what had happened and his words to me were something like, 'I don't want any lawsuits, do you understand?' That was very upsetting to me," Ball said.

The principal likely took the threat of a lawsuit seriously, since school administrators have long been trained to avoid risks. Each year, lawsuits pop up across the country over public school teachers mishandling lessons on religion and allegedly violating the First Amendment's prohibition against state sponsored religion.

As a result, many schools choose to avoid the topic altogether, while teacher education programs approach faith through the lens of potential legal action, said Kevin Burke, an associate professor in the University of Georgia college of education.

"To the degree that this sort of conversation happens in colleges of education, the limit of the conversation is what's legal and what's not," he said.

These discussions are valuable because confusion about what types of religion-related instruction are allowed in public schools is widespread. Only around 1 in 3 U.S. adults know that public schools can legally offer a comparative religions course, according to Pew Research Center.

The guidelines regulating what's possible when it comes to addressing religion in public schools grew out of the Supreme Court's 1963 ruling in School District of Abington Township, Pennsylvania v. Schempp. Justices said that ceremonial Bible readings and classroom devotionals violated the First Amendment.

Many people of faith were horrified by the decision, arguing that the justices were outlawing religion in all forms from public schools. In reality, the ruling recognized the value of studying the religious dimensions of historical events, literary works and other topics. More than 50 years later, the case is celebrated for its role in making religious studies a more prominent part of curricula across the country.

Haynes has been advocating for meaningful, legal engagement with religion in public school classrooms for around three decades, designing training programs for teachers and authoring national consensus statements outlining how to navigate religion-related conflicts. He said he's pleased with the progress that's been made, but also troubled by how rare it is for future teachers to study religion while in college.

"When they don't have a depth of understanding, they make mistakes," he said.

Haynes offered several examples of teachers stumbling into trouble by trying to keep things simple. One instructor prompted students to state that Muslims, Jews and Christians worship the same God, a conclusion that's true in some sense but also the source of centuries of theological debates.

Students attend Jodi Ide's World Religions class at Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights on Thursday, Aug. 24, 2017. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

"When you have a kid just fill in the blank, it wipes away all of these nuances and issues that are deeply divisive and emotional for people," Haynes said.

For years, efforts to improve religion-related teacher training have been bogged down by a lack of interest and legal misunderstandings. However, new curriculum guidelines from the National Council for the Social Studies may provide some much-needed momentum to ensure that future teachers start thinking about faith during their undergraduate education.

The guidelines describe the study of religion as a critical step toward "decreasing religious illiteracy and the bigotry and prejudice it fuels." They encourage schools to find more opportunities to address religion in social studies lessons, suggesting questions like "How did the Great Recession affect religious life in the United States and the world?"

"This is the document saying what's important for teachers to consider in the social studies curriculum. Adding religion as a core competency moves the discussion forward on why religion is part of a good education," Haynes said.

New tools for teachers

After Ball's disheartening conversation with her principal, she set out to improve her religious understanding on her own. She went to her school's library, but found few religion-related resources. The most promising was a Time Life series on World Religions. However, its copyright was in the 1950s.

Gradually, Ball was able to make connections with faith leaders in the Salt Lake City area and take advantage of faith-related teacher trainings taking place in Utah. The process took more time and energy than most teachers would be willing to give, so Ball and others have focused in recent years on developing shortcuts.

A variety of new tools seek to help teachers prepare lesson plans and answer tough questions from parents - two additional roadblocks to boosting religious studies, Wertheimer said.

"Many teachers are just trying to figure out where they can get great resources on Sikhism, Islam, Judaism and even Christianity to some extent or how to confront parental concerns that they're even teaching about religion in the first place," she said.

Haynes' organization, the Religious Freedom Center, publishes pamphlets explaining how to teach religion within the limits of the law. Faith-related lessons cannot be devotional in nature, meaning that teachers should be focused on boosting understanding, not spirituality.

The center also provides lesson plan suggestions, seeking to bring more depth to lessons on religious identity and religious freedom. Ide said she draws on this information for her world religions class.

"The center has excellent resources for students, teachers and parents," she said.

Curriculum suggestions and religion-related training are also available through Moore's Religious Literacy Project, which will soon launch a "For Educators" section on its website.

"That is going to be the entry-point for teachers whether they're teaching courses focused on religion or teaching about it in the context of other kinds of classes," said Lauren Kerby, the religious literacy and the professions research assistant for the organization.

Resources like these help teachers avoid conflict and focus on expanding religion-related offerings.

Seth Brady, a social studies teacher at Naperville Central High School in Illinois, said around 40 percent of the 3,000 students at his school voluntarily take his comparative religions course. He's drawn on the Religious Literacy Project, Religious Freedom Center and his own academic background to create an environment in which curiosity is more common than controversy.

"I think in 13 years I've had one meeting with a parent about something that occurred that they had a question about," he said. "(The situation) was quickly resolved."

Brady and a team of other teachers co-authored the new curriculum guidelines from the National Council for the Social Studies, and they've been pointing other educators to the growing number of religion-related resources available online.

"As opposed to 10 years ago, there are great resources out there that are inexpensive and easy to get ahold of," he said.

Ball is retired now, but she still meets with aspiring teachers to help calm their fears about teaching about faith. She's well aware of what can go wrong, and she's an expert on what can go right, too.

"I still get notes every now and then saying, 'Thank you. Religion was the most important thing we learned,'" Ball said.

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This is why a growing number of teachers want more lessons on religion in school

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Laura Seitz, Deseret News SALT LAKE CITY - Twenty years of teaching had taught Martha Ball to expect the unexpected, especially around seventh graders. As she started a new job teaching social studies at Butler Middle School in the mid-1980s, she was prepared for whispers, passed notes and other acts of mild rebellion.

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Public schools shouldn't preach. But they should teach kids about religion - Washington Post

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Public schools shouldn't preach. But they should teach kids about religion - Washington Post

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A news article that discusses the importance of teaching children the facts about religions and their beliefs, and discusses the difference between this and preaching to students.

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The day Jesus entered my fourth-grade classroom, my childhood forever changed.

It was 1974, and my family had just moved from western New York state to rural Ohio. I was the new kid, and all I wanted was to fit in. But one afternoon that first week, a woman hired by local churches walked into my public-school classroom and my regular teacher left. She stuck figures of Jesus Christ and his disciples on a flannel board, told us how Jesus could solve people's problems and, a little while later, asked us all to sing the hymn, "Jesus Loves Me."

Here's the thing: I'm Jewish.

I didn't know the song and I didn't believe in Jesus. I told my parents and they complained to the school, but the agreed-upon resolution was excusing me from this weekly religious instruction. My brothers and I were the only Jewish kids in the school system, and every week when it came time for religion class, my 11-year-old brother and I were, effectively, banished by our classroom teachers.

That was roughly 40 years ago, and if this sort of proselytizing were the norm today, I'd certainly understand why many parents remain skittish about outsourcing the teaching of basics about different religions to the public schools. But if anything, when disputes arise over teaching about religion as part of public school curriculum, educators wind up getting the message that they might be better off playing it safe and shying away from the subject, even at a moment when it's critical that children are equipped with an understanding of various religions and the role they play in today's world - particularly the religion that's so often misunderstood: Islam.

Take the example of Wellesley Middle School in suburban Boston. In the fall of 2010, a parent chaperone, concerned about a sixth-grade field trip to a local mosque, videotaped a handful of students who appeared to kneel and pray in a line of male worshippers. The kids were only copying what they saw, but critics said the kids were effectively learning to " pray to Allah."

The idea of children praying in a mosque on a school-sponsored trip raised fears that the program was forcing religion on unsuspecting children. And the school system rightly acknowledged that the boys shouldn't have wound up participating in the prayer - they should have only observed. But for more than a decade, Wellesley has been getting it right when it comes to teaching about religion, and the school's detractors have come primarily from outside of the district. Most Wellesley parents I interviewed around the time of the incident appreciated that their 11- and 12-year-olds spent a semester learning about Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Hinduism.

Every year at Minneha Core Knowledge Magnet Elementary School in Wichita, Kansas, first graders learn about Judaism, Christianity and Islam over the course of several weeks - a curriculum the school has stood by, in spite of a misunderstanding two years ago about a bulletin board that illustrated the Five Pillars of Islam.

On occasion, yes, schools get into public messes over where the line is drawn between church and state - like recent reports of a " mass baptism " taking place on campus prior to a Georgia high school's football practice.

But in my travels around the country reporting for my book, " Faith Ed.: Teaching About Religion in An Age of Intolerance," I didn't see teachers trying to preach Christianity - or any - faith. I saw educators trying to provide kids with facts about the histories and practices of world religions, including faiths about which few students knew anything.

And the takeaway isn't that there's a danger our schools will veer toward religious indoctrination. It's that schools should do more to give religion a firm place in the curriculum, beginning as early as the elementary grades. That way, kids will be prepared, as they grow, to evaluate what they see every night on cable TV based on real information, rather than a set of stereotypes.

They should know the difference between Shi'a and Sunni Islam - not as a perfunctory nod to diversity, but because they'll be able to better form opinions about the Middle East conflicts that dominate the news. They should know the difference between Sikhism and Hinduism, considering that those are the respective religions of the last two prime ministers of India - the world's largest democracy. They should have a historical perspective on the differences between Catholicism and Protestant denominations when the pope visits their country, as he's doing this month. It's problematic, as Texas State University's Joseph Laycock notes, to wait for college to teach religion as a subject, because "many Americans never have the opportunity to go to college."

There are parents and educators who consider first grade too early to teach about religion in school, but as the parent of a 7-year-old, I believe it's the ideal time to start increasing children's awareness about our pluralistic society. Consider that in a Pew survey a few years ago, just 45 percent of Americans could identify Friday as the start of the Jewish Sabbath. That's the sort of rudimentary knowledge that can, and should, be explained in elementary school.

No, we can't expect kids to grasp all the nuances of the major world religions and the controversies surrounding them, but if we're preparing kids to be thoughtful citizens of the world, they should know something about people in their community who may be different from themselves. My son has been attending religious school since kindergarten. He knows the major figures in Judaism as well as the holidays. But ask him what Easter is about - other than bunnies and colorful eggs - and he really has no idea. I'm happy that he knows his own religious heritage, but I also want him to know more about his peers' different traditions.

In my conversations with students about world religion courses, young people told me about their experiences being bullied because of their faiths. A 24-year-old Sikh man recalled the humiliation he felt at age 5 when fellow kindergartners made fun of his patka, his traditional religious head covering. A Muslim sixth-grader remembered a classmate's taunt from a few years before: "Do you have a bomb in your locker?" Muslims talk about being stigmatized every time a news story breaks about a terrorist who has a connection to Islam.

Unfortunately, there's no consensus about developing best practices for teaching about religion in public schools. At best, America's schools, which have long had a tumultuous relationship with religion, largely because of prayer-in-school battles, are in flux. The country has only one school system, Modesto, Calif., that requires a world religions course for graduation. Minneha, in Wichita, goes in a different direction, among roughly 1,200 private and public schools that utilize Core Knowledge, a well-known, but not widely adopted curriculum.

The First Amendment proscribes "establishment" of religion, but clearly leaves room for schools to teach about religion. And while 70 percent of Americans still identify as Christian and we still debate whether we're " a Christian nation," those who argue for the installation of religious values in public schools are on Constitutionally shaky ground - as are those who say instruction that explains religion has to be banned.

Educators and religion scholars of today generally agree that Supreme Court Justice Tom Clark did the most to elevate religion's place as an academic subject in the 1963 Abington v. Schempp case, banning teacher-led prayer, in which he wrote: "It might well be said that one's education is not complete without a study of comparative religion or the history of religion and its relationship to the advancement of civilization." Yet many middle and high school teachers spend only a few days discussing religion as the topic comes up in social studies. It's unusual to do much of anything at the elementary level.

Despite efforts over the last several decades, moves to develop courses and training for teaching religion have begun and often fizzled, even though most states now have standards that call for a religion component in social studies and geography.

We need to resurrect those efforts, because the time to become a more religiously literate people is overdue.

After 9/11, wrote John Seigenthaler, founder of the First Amendment Center, "It is no longer a question of whether schools should teach children about Islam. They must teach them - about other religions as well. It is a responsibility, a duty." Nationally, we need to renew dialogue about the best way to teach about religion, how to better train teachers and how early the lessons should begin. We need an understanding that it's not only okay to teach about religion in schools, but vital. Too often, knee-jerk reactions to lessons on religion come from adults who harbor misconceptions they otherwise might not have if they, themselves, had a broader base of knowledge about different religions.

Education can't eliminate ignorance, but it can reduce it. The same Muslim boy who was teased in elementary school described how peers stood up for him in a later incident and chided a substitute teacher for claiming that all Muslims were terrorists. The students had remembered the lesson from sixth grade that it was wrong to stereotype based on religion.

Education is essential if we hope to facilitate a broader conversation. We can't effectively debate whether Islam is a religion of peace - as its defenders say - or if it is inherently bellicose - as its critics suggest - until we first have a body politic that knows the basics.

Education might have prevented what happened to me as a kid. I returned to my alma mater in 2013 to find my school system teaching about religion as part of social studies and teens respectful of other faiths even though few personally knew a non-Christian. The difference? In the '70s and '80s, my peers and I lacked what all schools should have today: teachers who can guide students through a healthier discussion about religious differences and similarities.

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Public schools shouldn't preach. But they should teach kids about religion.

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The day Jesus entered my fourth-grade classroom, my childhood forever changed. It was 1974, and my family had just moved from western New York state to rural Ohio. I was the new kid, and all I wanted was to fit in.

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A website created by the United Religions Initiative that allows students to explore the major religious groups, their beliefs and culture, and the reasons why there is religion throughout various societies and cultures.

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Religion is all or some of the attributes described below. Religion is different for different people and cultures. Some religion is so much a part of the culture of a given people that it is not so much a formal religion, but simply the spiritual aspects of that culture or group - the spiritual traditions which help define it. This is especially true of the indigenous traditions of a geographical area.

Religion or a spiritual tradition is:

a way of explaining the mysteries of life

how the world was created

why it was created

why there is life and death

what happens when people die

why there is suffering

a way of explaining a supreme power or absolute power, whether impersonal or personal, nameable or not

a way of explaining who or what created the world and all the living beings

a way of describing a dimension beyond the physical world -- the spiritual world

a way of explaining how to lead a good life on Earth and in an afterlife
these codes of behavior are often written in sacred documents or passed down through oral tradition

a way of worshiping the creator(s) or spiritual beings who are believed to have power over the world and people's lives and/or a way of paying respects and drawing inspiration from spiritual leaders

worship often includes prayers of thanks, prayers of hopes, prayers of supplication

people often worship a god or gods worship often happens in sacred places and spaces

worship often includes ceremonies and rituals conducted by spiritual guides

worship often involves sacred objects and images A way of joining with others as a spiritual community

religions and other spiritual traditions often celebrate festivals or holy days and have special calendars that mark the important historical events in the evolution of the religion religions and spiritual traditions include both private and public worship and practice

some spiritual practices do not involve worshipping a god or gods but are introspective and draw on the practitioner's own ability to be responsible for his/her spiritual path

There is special information and activities contained within for teachers. Teachers, please visit our Activities section.
This section attempts to introduce young people to the wonder and diversity of the world's religions and spiritual traditions. We have tried to present simple, straight forward, accurate information about the world's five major religions and many other smaller religions and spiritual traditions. We recognize the complexity and challenges of this task. Please feel free to contact us with your suggestions.

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Religion is all or some of the attributes described below. Religion is different for different people and cultures. Some religion is so much a part of the culture of a given people that it is not so much a formal religion, but simply the spiritual aspects of that culture or group - the spiritual traditions which help define it.

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America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity by Robert Wuthnow

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America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity by Robert Wuthnow

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This is a novel written by a sociologist, which examines how the United States as a country views and handles individuals from different religions, especially those who practice a religion other than Christianity.

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r.: america and the challenges of religious diversity (paperback and ebook)

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America and the Challenges of Religious Diversity

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Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and adherents of other non-Western religions have become a significant presence in the United States in recent years. Yet many Americans continue to regard the United States as a Christian society. How are we adapting to the new diversity?

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Religious Diversity-What's the Problem? by Rita M. Gross

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Religious Diversity-What's the Problem? by Rita M. Gross

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A novel written by a Buddhist to help promote religious diversity and to encourage embracing religious differences and to not to see them as problems to be solved.

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"Let me dare say that no Christian theologian of religions is going to be able to carry on her/his work without dealing with this book. It's a conversation-starter and changer. With her penetrating critique of exclusive truth claims and of traditional Western understandings of otherness and identity, Gross will both disturb and enrich the ongoing discourse on how to understand and deal with religious diversity. I found it challenging, enlightening, and inspiring."
--Paul F. Knitter, Emeritus Paul Tillich Professor of Theology, World Religions and Culture, Union Theological Seminary

"Rita Gross personifies religious diversity. She grew up in a religiously exclusive Christian church, was disfellowshipped, converted to another religion, and then another. In the meantime, she became one of the world's leading religious scholars. Drawing on both personal experience and scholarly expertise, she has written the best book on religious diversity I have ever read."
--Terry C. Muck, Executive Director, Louisville Institute

"Today the 'growing tip' for every religion is its inevitable encounter with other religions. We can cling ever harder to conventional dogmas or we can open up to the new perspectives and possibilities that other traditions offer. But how does one actually embark on the challenging path of genuine dialogue and engagement? The fruit of Rita Gross's many years participating in interreligious dialogue, Religious Diversity--What's the Problem?, applies the psychological insights and spiritual wisdom of the Buddhist tradition to a task that is becoming increasingly necessary in our globalizing world."
--David R. Loy, author of Money Sex War Karma

"In this timely, engaging, and provocative work, Rita Gross takes up the issue of religious diversity in the modern world and--from her longtime studies and experience as a feminist, theologian, and Buddhist practitioner--offers us creative and insightful ways to live with, appreciate, and even flourish with it."
--Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me

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religious diversity--what's the problem?: buddhist advice for flourishing with religious diversity

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Religious Diversity--What's the Problem? [Rita Gross] is 20% off every day at WipfandStock.com. Once upon a time, on grounds of both religion and common sense, people assumed that the earth was flat and that the sun literally rose and set . . .

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This is an article by Teaching Tolerance, that focuses on how teachers can help prepare their students to become more aware and accepting of religious diversity before the go onto college and how teachers can present these ideas in a lawful and respectful way.

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Including religious diversity in academic content lessens the threat to individual belief systems and helps students be college and career ready.

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This is a High School level lesson plan that explored the conflict in India between Muslim and Hindus and explores why others could use religious beliefs for good or for violent causes. The lesson also explores possible resolutions students can come up with to help resolve the conflict between the two religious groups.

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In this lesson, students will have an opportunity to learn about the deep-rooted, historical conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India - particularly in the province of Gujarat. Using Religion & Ethics resources and a variety of other materials, including personal narratives of survivors and eyewitnesses, students will explore the violent nature of the animosity between the two groups. They will also consider larger issues: whether religious beliefs can ever legitimize violence; whether religious conflict is an inevitable human experience; and possible resolutions to situations of religious conflict.
Grade Level:
Grades 9-12
Time Allotment:
5-7 class periods

Note: The time needed for each learning activity is approximate. It will vary depending on the particular needs and skills of your students, as well as on course parameters and time constraints.
Subject Matter:
World History; Ethics; Culture and Society; Sociology; Religion.
Learning Objectives
Students will:

Conduct research on important background information regarding the Muslim-Hindu conflict in India.

Use analytical skills to explore and understand the ways in which India (and other nations) can resolve or address religious conflict.

Develop interviewing skills.

Work cooperatively in small groups.

Synthesize the information they gather during the unit and through interviews in a class presentation.

Understand the following vocabulary: secular, communalism/ communal violence, Gujarat, Ayodhya, Hindu nationalism, religious majority/ minority, mosque, temple.

Standards
This lesson was prepared by: Thandi Center

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Muslim-Hindu Conflict in India - Background - Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly

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Overview In this lesson, students will have an opportunity to learn about the deep-rooted, historical conflict between Muslims and Hindus in India - particularly in the province of Gujarat. Using Religion & Ethics resources and a variety of other materials, ... More →