Lesson Plan to reflect on differences and similarities among various religions

Transcription

1 Lesson Plan to reflect on differences and similarities among various religions Materials required Quotations handout (one copy cut into individual quotations) Category signs (one each): Prayer and Worship; Good and Evil; The Golden Rule; Love and Compassion and Tolerance and Respect for All Believers. Description This activity asks students to reflect on similarities and differences among the various religions. Using excerpts of translated religious texts, students are asked to organize these quotations into broad themes. Objectives/Skills Students will review, compare, and contrast some aspects of the religions of the world, analyse sacred writings, and recognise the rich diversity of the religions as well as the fundamental values they have in common. Procedure Before class begins: 1. Print the quotations and cut individual quotations into strips. The quotations are grouped for convenience under headings; be sure to cut out the headings and mix up the quotations. Some quotations are given twice, in these cases the first quotation is from an accepted translation of the text, while the second quotation has been re-written so as to be easier to understand. You can choose whether to give the students the first, second or both quotations. 2. Post headings at various points around the classroom identifying each thematic category: Prayer and Worship, Good and Evil, The Golden Rule, Love and Compassion and Tolerance and Respect for All Believers. During Class: 3. Ask the students how many different religions they can name. Write these up on the board. Include any major religions that have been left out. The list should include Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism and the Baha i faith. Explain that members of these all these religions live in Scotland and are our neighbours. Below are the numbers of members of each religion in Scotland according to the 2001 Census, which may be considered useful. 1

2 Faith Communities Members Buddhist 6380 Christian Hindu 5564 Jewish 6448 Muslim Sikh 6572 Other N.B. If Protestants and Catholics, for example, are suggested as two different religions, explain that these all actually belong to Christianity. Furthermore, Christianity is not the only religion that contains lots of different groups. If the students are familiar with Islam you may wish to mention Sunni, Shi ite and Sufi Muslims. If the students are familiar with Judaism you may like to point out that there are Orthodox Jews and Reform Jews (among others). Hinduism especially is a very diverse faith, with many different beliefs and practices. 4. Introduce the idea of Sacred Scripture. Explain that most of the religions of the world began with people who had an especially close relationship with God or a deep understanding of God. They brought a message to other people, telling them how they should live their lives so that they too could experience God. These messages were written down and form sacred books. Ask the students if they can name any sacred books/ texts. [Judaism- Torah, Tanakh (Hebrew Bible); Christianity Bible Old and New Testaments, Islam The Qur ān; Hidusim - The Vedas; Sikhism Guru Granth Sahib.] 5. Point out the headings to students. Remind students that these categories are general characteristics that are addressed by most religions in the world. 6. Give a piece of paper with a quotation to a pair of students, explaining that they contain quotations from the sacred texts of the major religions. Have the 2

3 students read their quotation and identify which of the posted categories their quotation should be listed under. (Students may be more confident in analysis with the support of another class member.) While the quotations are grouped for convenience under these headings, other groupings may also be appropriate, and there are therefore no wrong answers. 7. Each pair of students should move to the station with which they associate their quotation. When all students have chosen a station, have students take turns reading their quotations aloud, explaining briefly why they felt this grouping was appropriate. 8. When all groups have read and posted the quotations, use the discussion questions below to reflect on similarities and differences noted by the students. o o Can you offer examples where various religions seem to hold similar views? Can you offer examples where the religions hold different views? What will hopefully become clear as a result of discussion and reflection is that while many of the beliefs and practices of the religions differ in important ways there are also many similarities. The strongest commonality between the religions may be found in the Golden Rule the fundamental moral guidance that we should treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated. Extension Ask students to summarise the Golden Rule in a single sentence. Ask them to write a short account on why the Golden Rule is important to them and to others. 3

4 Scriptural Quotes PRAYER Prayer lies at the core of worship in most religions. Broadly we find that the scriptures say that prayer should be done constantly, that it should be honest, that it should be a quiet and sincere conversation in one's own words and from the heart. Moreover, prayer should be accompanied by deeds; the prayer of the hypocrite is without effect. And among the best prayers are those for the welfare of others ahead of oneself. 1. Establish regular prayers at the two ends of the day and at the approaches of the night: for those things that are good remove those that are evil. This is a word of remembrance to those who remember. Islam. Qur an, Pray regularly at the two ends of the day and when the night comes: pray for those things that are good and pray to take away those things that are evil. Islam. Qur an 2. Rabbi Yohanan said, Would that man could pray all day, for a prayer never loses its value. Judaism. Jerusalem Talmud, Berakot, Rabbi Yohanan said, It would be a good thing if people could pray all day, for a prayer never loses its value. Judaism. Jerusalem Talmud, Berakot, The Lord is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. Judaism and Christianity. Psalm The Lord is near to all who pray to him, To all who pray to him in truth. Judaism and Christianity. Psalm Lord of creation! No one other than thee pervades all these that have come into being. May that be ours for which our prayers rise, 4

5 may we be masters of many treasures! Hinduism. Rig Veda Lord of creation! No one other than you Is present in all creatures Let our prayers be answered Let us understand many good things! Hinduism. Rig Veda Of all the prayers of the heart, the best prayer is the prayer to the Master to be given the grace of properly praising the Lord. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Maru Ashtpadi, M.5, p The best prayer is the prayer that asks to be able to praise the Lord properly. Sikhism. Adi Granth, Maru Ashtpadi, M.5, p He who prays for his fellowman, while he himself has the same need, will be answered first. Judaism. Talmud, Baba Kamma 92a 6. A prayer for somebody else will be answered before a prayer for yourself. Judaism. Talmud, Baba Kamma 92a 7. Sitting cross-legged, [in meditation] They should wish that all beings Have firm and strong roots of goodness Buddhism. Garland Sutra 11 GOOD AND EVIL How can we define what is good and what is evil? How can one tell whether a person is good or evil? The scriptures of the world's religions provide a variety of answers to these questions. Some passages define good and evil by their fruits. A good person or 5

6 a good deed bears good fruits; and an evil person or an evil deed produces evil fruits. From the fruits, the person's heart and sincerity can be known. Second are passages which define good and evil by purpose and intention, either by following the laws of a religion or by following our conscience. Defining good and evil by purpose or intention permits one to know good or evil even when the result is not visible. 8. a person here happens to be very gentle, very humble, and very quiet as long as unpleasant things do not touch him. It is only when unpleasant things happen to a person that it is known whether he is truly gentle, humble, and quiet. Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya, i , Kakacupama Sutta 8. A person will seem to be very gentle, very humble and very quiet as long as bad things don t happen to them. It is only when bad thing happen to a person that we can know whether they really are gentle, humble and quiet. Buddhism. Majjhima Nikaya, i , Kakacupama Sutta 9. Evil and good are not equal, even though the abundance of evil may amaze you; so heed God, you men of wits, so that you may prosper! Islam. Qur'an Evil and good are not equal. Even though the huge amount of evil in the world may amaze you, listen to God, so that you will do well! Islam. Qur'an No creature shall be harmed for one's own sake, one's own enjoyment. All depends upon the purpose; not even a blade of grass shall be cut without a worthy purpose. Hinduism. Kularnava Tantra You will not harm any creature just because you want to. Whatever you do will have a good reason, not even a blade of grass will be cut without a good reason. Hinduism. Kularnava Tantra You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles? So, every sound tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears evil fruit. A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 6

7 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will know them by their fruits. Christianity. Matthew You can tell if a person is good or bad in the same way you can tell if a tree is good or bad. Every good tree produces good fruit. But a bad tree will produce bad fruit. In the same way a good person will perform good actions but a bad person will perform bad actions. Christianity. Matthew THE GOLDEN RULE Treat others the way you would like to be treated. The Golden Rule or the ethic of reciprocity is found in the scriptures of all the major world religions. It is often regarded as the most concise and general principle of ethics. It is a condensation in one principle of all longer lists of ordinances such as the Ten Commandments. 12. You shall love your neighbour as yourself. Judaism and Christianity. Bible, Leviticus Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them. Christianity. Bible, Matthew Whatever way you would like people to treat you, treat people in that way. Christianity. Bible, Matthew Not one of you is a believer until he loves for his brother what he loves for himself. Islam. Forty Hadith of an-nawawi One should not behave towards others in a way which is disagreeable to oneself. This is the essence of morality. All other activities are due to selfish desire. Hinduism. Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva

8 15. You should not behave towards other people in a way you would not like yourself. This is the real meaning of morality (goodness). All other actions are done out of selfishness. Hinduism. Mahabharata, Anusasana Parva No one is my enemy, no one is a stranger and everyone is my friend. Sikhism. Guru Arjan Dev, Guru Granth Sahib LOVE AND COMPASSION 17. The Great Compassionate Heart is the essence of Buddhahood. Buddhism. Gandavyuha Sutra 17. The Great Compassionate Heart is the goal of the Buddhist. Buddhism. Gandavyuha Sutra 18. God is love. Christianity. John, To love is to know Me, My innermost nature, the truth that I am. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita, To love is to know Me [God] The truth of my deepest nature is love. Hinduism. Bhagavad Gita, Those who act kindly in this world will have kindness. Islam. Qur'an

9 21. What sort of religion can it be without compassion? You need to show compassion to all living beings. Compassion is the root of all religious faiths. Hinduism. Basavanna, Vacana All men are responsible for one another. Judaism. Talmud, Sanhedrin, 27b 23. We obtain salvation by loving our fellow man and God. Sikhism. Granth Japji Compassion-mercy and religion are the support of the entire world. Sikhism. Japji Sahib, Guru Granth Sahib TOLERANCE AND RESPECT FOR ALL BELIEVERS Believers are urged to treat everyone with equal respect, not to have a different standard of conduct for people of other faiths than for one's own community. 25. There is no compulsion in religion. Islam. Qur'an Religion can t be forced on anyone. Islam. Qur'an The Buddha says, "To be attached to a certain view and to look down upon others' views as inferior--this the wise men call a fetter." Buddhism. Sutta Nipata The Buddha said that it is wrong to look down on the views of others. Buddhism. Sutta Nipata 798 9

10 27. The person who says, "What I say and know is true; others are wrong" is ignorant. Hinduism. Srimad Bhagavatam Our rabbis have taught, "We support the poor of the heathen along with the poor of Israel, visit the sick of the heathen along with the sick of Israel, and bury the [dead] poor of the heathen along with the dead of Israel, in the interests of peace." Judaism. Talmud, Gittin 61a 28. Our rabbis have taught, "We support all poor people, Jews and non-jews. We visit all sick people Jews and non-jews, and we bury the [dead] of all people, Jews and non-jews, so that there is peace." Judaism. Talmud, Gittin 61a 29. Maintain good conduct among the Gentiles, so that in case they speak against you as wrongdoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Christianity. Bible, 1 Peter Be good towards those who are not Jews or Christians, so that they will see your good deeds and give glory to God. Christianity. Bible, 1 Peter Don t create enmity with anyone as God is within everyone. Sikhism. Guru Arjan Derji, Guru Granth Sahib Don t hate anyone as God is inside everyone. Sikhism. Guru Arjan Derji, Guru Granth Sahib