This is a picture book for young elementary aged children. It depicts the ways different people around the world and throughout history start the day. It offers a wide diversity of beliefs and is a good way to start a conversation with young children about how not everyone has the same beliefs. 

This book has a general overview of the 7 major religions throughout the world. It also discusses how these religions have affected art, government, literature, education, etc. in different countries. This book provides a lot of targeted information as well as pictures to aid in understanding. This book is great for secondary students to get an understanding of major religions. 

In this book, the author speaks about how religion is not only a controversial topic in school in America, but all around the world. There are many countries that have conflicts regarding teaching religion in schools. He uses case examples to discuss how and why different countries are handling the controversy differently. This would be a great book for educators to help see the conversation in a more broad sense. 

This website is great for introducing religions to kids, particularly middle school aged kids. It has a lot of information about many different religions. On each page, you can learn about the beliefs of the religion, major holidays, symbols/imagery of that religion, etc. It is filled with information as an overview of each religion.

This TED talk is about religion from an abstract point of view. It talks about defining what a religion is, and really that it cannot be defined so easily. He also speaks about why we talk about religion and what makes us want to define it. This could be good for both educators and students, as it is another way of thinking about religion.

This lesson plan has the students working in groups where they each research a different religion. In their groups they also map the religion including major cities and how it has changed over time. It is a two day lesson plan designed for 6th graders.

Snyder, Laurel, and David Goldin.(2010) Baxter, the Pig Who Wanted to Be Kosher. Tricycle Press.

-In this book meant for Pre-K- 2nd grade and is intended to teach children in a funny way about a shabbat dinner and what it means to be Kosher.

Moore, D. L. (2019, February 20). Public School Students Need to Study Religion. Retrieved from https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2018/10/10/public-school-students-need-to-study-religion.html

This article is to explain the different conflicts with religion and people’s different outlooks on them because of different views and experiences. 

The Religion Teacher. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Religion-Teacher

-The religion teacher is a website that gives activities for teachers who want to share and teach religion in the classroom. It has resources like worksheets, projects, videos, lesson plans and so much more for students of all ages. 

Boritzer, E., & Marantz, R. (2016). What is God? Venice: Veronica Lane Books.

Compares  the beliefs and religious texts in Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism. This book focuses on spirituality for young children. Discusses religious practices. Appropriate for second to fifth grade analysis.

Defoe, D., & Wyeth, N. C. (2018). Robinson Crusoe. Orinda, CA: SeaWolf Press.

Fictional work folloing the adventures of Robinson Crusoe, an Englishman, who is deserted on an island. Written in 1719 the books follows Robinson’s thoughts as he tries to survive, make peace with himself and God, and attempts to return home.

Would serve as an excellent analysis for how the protagonist deals with generating his own beliefs about Christianity and his exposure to the radically different "savage" ideals of his friend Friday.

Pugliese, M. A., & Hwang, A. Y. (2017). Teaching interreligious encounters. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

This book introduces how to build lesson plans concerning inter-religious classroom environments.  The volume goes over five main points including: teaching inter-religious encounters; course design; practical ideas for textual analysis, practice, and application in real world situations. 

Reviews the five main world religions. Provides examples of beliefs, founders, differing break off groups, sacred buildings, sacred texts, etc. 

Religious Tradition: Definition & Examples. (2017, October 18). Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/religious-tradition-definition-examples.html.

Brief video overview of the main world religeons. Includes a written text available for discourse. This article is benificial for teachers and for secondary students.

Lesson plan for sixth- eight grade students that discusses religious tolerance. Designed to promote a long in depth study of tolerance. Plan is adjustable to 9-12 grades.

The main character, David, is a Christian and he gets invited to a Jewish Synagogue. He is nervous and a little confused at first but he soon realizes that there are a plethora of other religions that are cool to know and learn about. This book is specifically for Pre-K to 1st grade students but the message is a good one: it makes children aware early on that there are people that have different beliefs and different religions. And it’s a good way to introduce them to the idea that that’s okay. 

This book is meant to build on student’s understanding of Catholicism but it includes several other less common religions, such as Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Shintoism. It also aims to include a variety of other religions like Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Church of Christ, Scientist, etc. The book goes into the history of how all of these religions came to be. I think this is a really good and broad resource that can be utilized to expand the knowledge of those who know little about these other religions. It can also be a tool for inclusion and more respect towards students with less commonly followed religions. This book is most suitable for Juniors and Seniors in high school, but can also be administered throughout grades 9-12.

This article mainly focuses on different ways to approach teaching about religion. There are three main approaches to consider: the Historical approach, the Literacy approach and the Cultural Studies or Traditions- Based approach. They are all useful to know so educators can be sure to remain respectful as well as comfortable with sharing insights on other religions. This article aims to inform secondary level students like middle and high schoolers. However, it can be modified in a way to suit elementary school students as well. This is something for teachers to note! 

This article is a Q&A that includes several tips for teachers regarding the utilization or showing of their religion. Essentially, the freedom of speech/ the power to express oneself is allowed and if teachers want to talk about their religion to students, they are free to do so. However, certain cautions need to be exercised and considered in order for students not to interpret it the “wrong” way or to avoid sticky situations with children in elementary school. This article is for all teachers in all grade levels. 

This is a list of podcasts available for students and teachers in order to better understand different perspectives of other religions. They discuss a lot of topics regarding the history of religions, where they are at currently, what the belief systems are like, etc. It is an amazing resource to look into.