DOCUMENT RESUME ED 135 698 SO 009 808 AUTHOR Dixon, Dorothy Arnett TITLE World Religions for the Classroom. PUB DATE 75 NOTE 279p. AVAILABLE FROM Twenty-Third Publications, P.O. Box 180, West Mystic, Connecticut C6388 ($19.95 paperbound, 10-24 copies 20% discount, 25-,49 copies 25% discount, 50 or more copies 30% discount) EDRS PRICE HY-$0.83 Plus Postage. HC Not Available from EDRS. DESCRIPTORS Asian Studies; Bibliographies;.Christianity; *Global Approach; Instructional Materials; Islamic Culture; Judaism; Junior High Schools; Learning Activities; *Non Western Civilization; *Religion; *Religious Cultural Groups; *Religious Education; Resource Guides; Secondary Education; Teaching Guides; *Teaching Methods ABSTRACT This teaching and resource guide contains ideas appropriate for teaching junior and senior high school students about the following religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Individual sections discuss general approaches to teaching the religious philosophies and rituals, and exemplazy prcgrams are cited. Each of these sections, supplemented by resource pages outlining steps in religious ceremonies, explains how to construct religious objects such as a Jewish succah or a Buddhist prayer wheel, gives recipes for traditional holiday meals, and translates songs and prayers. In addition to bibliographies at the end of each section, a general biblicgraphy lists books on world religions, religion and public education, audiovisual materials, and curricula on world religions for public schools. (AV) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes every effort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless, items of marginal * * reproducibility aie often encountered and this affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makes available * * via the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS is not * responsible for the quality of the original document. Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO. DUCE!) EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN. ATING IT POINT; OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY -PERMISSION TO REPRODUCETHIS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAl. BY MICRO. FICHE ONLY HAS NW I/ BY TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OPERAT ING UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THENA TIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION FUR THER REPRODUCTION OUTSIDE THE ERIC SYSTEM REQUIRES PERMIS SION or THE COPYRIGHT OWNER " woild ictigions tor the closnoom by Dorothy Arnett Dixon, Ph.D. Published by Twenty-Third Pubhimtions West Mystic, Connecticut U.S.A. World Religions fortheClassroomis © copyrighted by Twenty-Third Publications,P.O.Box180, West Mystic, Connecticut 06388. No parts of this work,with the exception of the resource pages specifically intended jOr such purpose, should be copied for distribution without consent of the publisher. Under no circumstances should material (including resourcesections)becopied for purposes of saleand distribution. © Copyright 1975 by Twen.y-Third Publications. 3 This book is dedicated to Arthur Roy Dixon, Sr., my husband and sharerofinterestinworld religions. 4 World Religions 7 Acknowledgments This book, and the curriculum of which itis a part, is the product of many hands and many spirits. It has evolved over a period of years during which I have had the opportunity to .share thoughts -on world reiigions with students ranging in age from three to 80. Each time I have gone over these topics with others, I have gained fromthei-;.eactions, questions, and suggestions. No student has gone through this curriculum without adding something, even if the addition was only an injection of enthusiasm. Some student§ have come forth with stories from their own religious lives which in turn have become an integral part of the curriculum. To all, I am grateful. My earliest debt of gratitude is owed to two teachers who first taught the rudiments of this course at Webster College School in St. Louis County, Missouri, in the spring of 1968. Their names areMrs, Mary Ann Salsich and Mrs. Miriam Meligrito Granger. My next debt of gratitude is to Mr:David Hohman who, as a field work student from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, helped me go through some of these learning experiences with children in upper elementary grades during Saturday morning classes at St. John United Church of Christ in St. Charles, Missouri. The third 'time around with this course was with junior high students at that same church, in a summer program which was entirely voluntary for the conununity. Mrs. Jane Bishop and Miss Mary Wepprich were my co-teachers for that ex- perience which began with 21 students and ended with 31. Somehow, the program gained momentum as word got around that meaningful and interesting things were happening. Then came adult courses,, first at .New Life School in St. Charles County; then at Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, Missouri, at a Dialogue series which I co-taught with Dr. Allen 0. Miller, and for which we had as resource persons Mr. and M rs.Ne lku pap u the n Varghese John and Mrs.M ing Chen Liao Keller. Dr. Miller has been my teacher, advisor, and model for many years. Also,I have taught this course at Washington University Evening College and at the University of Missouri at St. LouiS, in a summer workshop for public school teachers for two consecutive summers. During a course on Curriculum and 5 1 Acknowledgments Methodsat Eden The-ological Sernin-ary thisyear, my students were quite helpful in making suggestions on both this book and its resource pages. I am also thankful to a number of persons who have read chapters or my manuscript to verify my accuracy. The three chapters on Eastern religions have been read and corrected by Dr. Peter Gowing, Professor of World Religions at Southeast Asia Graduate School, whose home is in Singapore. The chapter on Judaism has been read and corrected by Rabbi Bernard Lipnick and Rabbi Arnold Asher of St. Louis, Missouri. Judith Herschlag Muffs, Director of Religious Curriculum for the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith offered invaluable assistance through her thorough criticism and suggestions. The chapter on Christianity has been read and approved by Sister Mary Byles of the faculty of Maryville College of the Sacred Heart,St.Louis County, Missouri, and bythe Reverend Theodore G. Matkin, pastor of Marvin Park United Methodist Church, St. John; Missouri. The chapter on Islam has been read and corrected by Imam Dr. R.A. Khalifa of St. Louis, Missouri. I am grateful to each of these persons for reading, evaluating, and correcting my manuscript. I also wish to thank Mr. Prem Bahl of India for advice on the Glossary and the resource pagesand Ms. Barbara Corr for advice on Glossary pronunciation. I wish also.e.o acknowledge the cooperation above and beyond the call of duty of my publisher, Mr. Neil Kluepfel, who first encouraged me to prepare these materials for publication. As the project has progressed, he and his wife, Pat, have kept in constant communication with me, reading, evaluating, and suggesting ways of making the final product "come alive." To my husband and four children who relinquished time I might have spent for them with broom and mop, I also offer sincere thanks. My husband, Arthur Roy Dixon, Sr., accom- panied me in many travels when we visited churches, syna- gogues, Buddhist temples, Confucian temples, Shinto shrines, and many other places of worship. His warm and cordial manner helped us make friends with pastors, rabbis, and clergy of many faiths. My daughter, Dottie, began her introduction to world religions in one of my classes, but has since gone on to take courses at Northeast. Missouri State University, and has provided me with new resources for pictures and quotations. My son, Arthur III, not only carried projectors, tape recorders, wall hangings, statues, and maps to dozens of classrooms for me, but became so interested in the subject that I came to count on him as assistant teacher. And my twins, Becky and Beth, have been the evaluators of interest-level for learning World Religions projeCts. Now-iii-tbe-sixth grade, they often spend time working throughprojectsdesignedforthiscurriculumproducing symbols, ink-brush drawings, haiku poems, and statues for the "Durga Puga," not because they are asked to do it but because the materials are spread across my two desks and they latch on to every bit of available spare paper to engage in the learning experiences that they now consider fun. To my typist, Mrs. Judi Brigham, I owe thanks for far more than merely the copying of the manuscript. It has been both her interest in the subject matter and her diligent pursuit of manuscript perfection that have kept me "on my toes" In the final analysis, I accept full responsibility for all that is said in these chapters and in the accompanying packets. Yet as the work emerges full bloom, I realize how much a corporate effort it is, and how much it is an inspiration from Him Who, though addressed by many names and worshipped inmany ways and in many languages, remains, as the theologian Paul Tillich affirmed, the Ground of all Being. Dorothy A. Dixon 7 10 Preface Preface In a book entitled World Religions for the Classroom we need todefine our use of the term, "religion." Webster's New Twentieth Century Dictionary shows the derivation.of the word from the Latin, re (back) and ligare (to bind together). Thus in a basic definition of the word we consider itsmeaning in terms of relationships in which persons are bound with one another and with the Source,of all being. Religion, in its broadest sense, th(n becomes the way people relate themselves individually and corporately to the Ultimate or supreme meaning in their lives.