Religion and its influence on politics and policies
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TASK ONE
1). Please express your opinion by answering each of the following questions
related to how religious you are:
Table 1
Questions related to how
For the following questions answer
religious you are
2
1 for “yes” and 0 for “no”
1Do you believe in God?
) 2. Do you believe in life after
death?
B
a 3. Do you believe in hell?
s
4.Do you believe in heaven?
e
d 5. Do you get comfort and
from religion?
onstrength
your answers,
compare and contrast how religious you are with how religious
Jakob, Gulay, and Nathalie are based on their video transcripts on page 6. What
kind of similarities and differences do exist? What might possible explanations be
for such similarities and differences.
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TASK TWO
Please express your opinion by answering each of the following questions related
to the involvement of religion in politics and policies.
Table 2
Items related to the
For the following statements answer 1
involvement of religion in
if you agree and 5 if you disagree
politics and policies
1. It is better if there are more
people with strong religious
beliefs in public office.
2. Politicians who do not
believe in God are unfit for
public office
3. If a nurse were asked to
form a legal abortion, she
should be allowed to refuse on
religious grounds.
4. In my opinion some time
should be set aside for prayer,
meditation or contemplation in
all schools.
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TASK THREE
Please express your opinion by answering each of the following questions related
to the involvement of religion in politics.
Table 3
Items related to the
For the following statements answer
involvement of religion in
1 if you agree and 5 if you disagree
politics
1.Religious leaders should not
influence how people vote
2. Religious leaders should not
influence government.
TASK 4
1) Take your average score for Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3 and write them down
in
the table below. One might expect that those individuals with a high average score
for Table 1 would have a corresponding high average score for Table 2 and a low
average for Table 3 (or vice-versa). Compare your average scores. Are they as
suggested here? If yes, why do you think this is the case? If no, why do you think this
is the case?
Table 4:
Your average score
Table 1: Items related to how
religious you are
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Table 2: Items related to the
involvement of religion in
politics and policies
Table 3: Items related to the
involvement of religion in politics
2) On the board, calculate the average score of your class for each table, write it
on the table below and compare and contrast it with yours. Reflect on similarities
and/or differences.
Table 5
The average score of your class
Table 1: Items related to how
religious you are
Table 2: Items related to the
involvement of religion in
politics and policies
Table 3: Items related to the
involvement of religion in politics
TASK 5
1) Pick two random countries from the maps below. For each question fill in the
score band each country falls in and rewrite your scores from Table 1, Table 2, and Table
3 and compare and contrast two countries and your scores for each question
Table 6
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Items related to how
religious you are
Score Band
Score Band for
for
Country 2
Country 1
Name of the
Your score
Name of the
country:
country:
1. Do you believe in
God?
2. Do you believe in life
after death?
3. Do you believe in
hell?
4.Do you believe in
heaven?
5. Do you get comfort
and strength from
religion?
Table 7
Items related to the
Score Band
Score Band for
involvement of religion
for
Country 2
in politics and policies
Country 1
Name of the
Fatma Nevra Seggie & Havva Ayse Caner Bogazici University Istanbul/Turkey
Your score
Name of the
country:
5
country:
1. It is better if there
are more people with
strong religious beliefs
in public office.
2. Politicians who do
not believe in God are
unfit for public office
3. If a nurse were
asked to form a legal
abortion, she should be
allowed to refuse on
religious grounds.
4. In my opinion some
time should be set
aside for prayer,
meditation or
contemplation in all
schools.
Table 8
Items related to the
involvement of religion
Score Band
Score Band for
for
Country 2
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Your score
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in politics
Country 1
Name of the
Name of the
country:
country:
1.Religious leaders
should not influence
how people vote
2. Religious leaders
should not influence
government.
TASK 6
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1) Calculate the overall average score band of each country for each table and compare
and contrast it with your average score and/or your class average score. Share your
results with class and discuss the possible reasons behind similarities and differences
Table 9
The average
Average score
Average score band
score of your
band for
for Country 2
class and/or
Country 1
your average
score
Table 1: Items
related to how
religious you are
Table 2: Items
related to the
involvement of
religion in politics
and policies
Table 3: Items
related to the
involvement of
religion in politics
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TASK 7
An important explanation for the decreasing influence of religion in the lives of people can
be found in the modernisation theory. With modernisation a large number of fundamental
social changes is meant, which appears simultaneous in economically, technological,
political, socially and cultural areas. Prosperity increased and welfare states were built.
With the development of welfare states, the security for people increased as well. Where
in former days religion provided certainty to people, now the welfare states offer this
certainty and therefore the belief became, so to speak, superfluous. As a result, the role of
religion has been marginalised and, therefore, nowadays religion has none or little
influence on daily lives of people. (Dogan, 1995).
Do you agree with Dogan’s argument in terms of the relationship between modernization and
the role of religion in political area? How does this relationship manifest itself in your country?
Interviews about religion:
Jakub from Banská Bystrica.in Slovakia
I went to church last week. I don't go there often, but now and then I do. … I am a believer, I am a
christened protestant. I think that religion gives answers to almost all aspects of our lives, for
example some family problems, spiritual needs of course, as well as aspects of our society and some
of its problems. Religion also helps us in our casual, everyday life. It gives a certain manual of how to
live. Besides church I also talk to God, I pray, so that should be the way of communication. I am a
protestant and as for religion, I am not especially interested in some supernatural things, Divine, but I
am interested in things surrounding me, just as every human, so that's my relation with religion.
There are more forms of religion in the world, for example Islam, Hinduism or Christianity, but every
religion has something as its own and we can't say, that one religion is more important that the other
or that someone else's is less important than our own. I think we can't say that and I also think that it
is difficult to know how the world was created because all the religions explain it their own way. My
explanation is that it was perhaps created from one thing and all the things were probably made by
God, because nothing can just be created spontaneously.
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Gulay from Istanbul in Turkey
I am not kind of a person mostly going to the mosques apart from the funeral services. I may go just
at holy nights. I am not kind of a very religious person. It is true that I am a person having respect for
the boons provided by God, generally trying to do the things God wants us to do and obey the rules
given by God, fasting during the Ramadan month, going to the mosque at certain holy nights with my
family and praying. That is, I do some things that I have to do, but I am not a very religious person.
My family neither forces me much nor exercises power on me for that. I am a muslim with my own..
wish, will. … The mosque has nothing to do with the family and family problems. … {T}here is no
relationship between social problems and the mosque. … {People} meet their {religious} needs since
people can express themselves and their spiritual needs to the God generally in the mosques. … It
could be better if I pray to God on my own in a quiet room. Yes, I believe that there is just one true
religion. This is because certain religions had come out before the Islam and before our prophet
came. However, they could not spread even though they tried to spread. Just one religion which is of
the muslim world spread. No other religion came since this was known as the true religion. Therefore,
Islam is the only true religion.
Nathalie from Berlin in Germany
I´ve never attend worship, only when I was forced to in school or on trips. When I was 12 years old I
never were in church, not voluntarily. I´m not religious. I´m not religious, I do not believe in God. But if
someone could proof, that there is a god I would change my mind. The church gives people help in
case of ethical problems, especially because of the Ten Commandements. In the bible you could find
a lot of informative stories. These help people in need and help them to find back to themselves. As I
said, I´m not religious and there is nothing else I believe in. I believe in myself and that’s an important
thing for me. Holy and miraculous are adjectives. It´s sometimes fascinating in which religious people
believe. And sometimes I also believe in this. But for the most part I´ve a critical meaning to this. I
accept each kind of religion and I appreciate every person, whether they believe in something or not.
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Evaluation Questions (For Pupils)
The purpose of this activity is to enable you to form an idea about the place of religion in
modern society through understanding the differences between people’s levels of devotion to
religion and probable causes of it, examining the impacts of religion on politics and policies
based on your own personal opinion and views of the class as well as data relating to the
European countries. After examining your own personal opinion, view of the class and data
relating to two European Countries, please write the conclusion you have reached with regard
to the impacts of religion on politics and policies and the place of religion in modern society.
Do your personal data, data of the class and data obtained from maps relating to European
countries support the conclusion you have reached? If there is any data not supporting it, what
can be the probable causes of it?
Which aspects of this activity did you like? Please explain the reason of it.
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Which aspects of this activity did you dislike? Please explain the reason of it.
If any, please mention anything you want to mention with regard to this activity.
Teacher’s notes
General purpose of this activity is to examine people’s levels of devotion to religion and the
impact of religion on politics and policies. To this end, in the first place, students are asked to be
aware of their own levels of devotion to religion and understanding the relationship between
religion and human being from different perspectives through comparing their awareness with
views of others devoted to the religion in different levels. In the following step, they are asked
to compare the impact of religion on politics and policies based on their own personal opinions,
views of their class and data relating to two European countries they will choose, finding the
similarities and differences between them and in this way seeing the relationship between
them. Finally, they are expected to reach a conclusion about the impact of religion on society in
general and the impact of religion on politics specifically and preparing a thesis in this matter,
through synthesizing the information presented in the text relating to the place of religion on
modern society with their information.
This activity was prepared by taking 16-17 age group into consideration.
Activity is expected to last for 2 course hours.
This activity can be taught in the courses of geography, citizenship, English and religious culture.
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In this activity, students are expected to comprehend the concepts of religion, politics, place and
society and to reach generalizations through establishing relations between these concepts.
Guide to Lesson Tasks
Task one: Deepening understanding, describing differences (and recognizing
similarities):
Purpose of this task is to help students understand the relationship between religion and human
being from different perspectives through comparing their personal levels of devotion to
religion with views of others devoted to the religion in different levels. To this end, in the first
place, students are asked to fill in a questionnaire relating to religion and then understating
similarities and differences through comparing their opinions with views of people devoted to
the religion in different levels; and then think about probable causes of these differences. This
task will contribute students to understand the relationship between religion and human being
and comprehend that religion could have place in human life in different levels. In addition, this
task will contribute students to understand people devoted to the religion in different levels and
develop tolerance towards them.
This individual activity will help students understand their awareness about religion which is an
important part of their lives and develop meta-cognitive skills through starting to question
themselves.
In this activity, students are asked to answer the questions about their levels of devotion to the
religion as one referring to yes and zero referring to no.
Task two: Deepening understanding:
Purpose of this task is to help students get aware of their opinions about the impact of religion
on public sphere. To this end, students are asked to answer four questions relating to the impact
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of religion on public sphere according to a rating scale varying between one and five. One
indicates that the student agrees with the given opinion while five means he / or she totally
disagrees.
This task will contribute students to understand the relationship between religion and politics
and policies according to their viewpoints and develop an awareness in the matter of these
perceptions and opinions can impact the society.
This task will be conducted individually, too.
Teacher’s guiding the students in the matter of possible meanings of values between one and
five while students are filling up the questionnaire can be beneficial. For instance, one refers to
totally agreeing with this opinion, two refers to agreeing with this opinion generally, three
refers to indecisiveness, four refers to disagreeing and five refers to totally disagreeing, etc.
Task three: Deepening understanding
In a similar way to the task two, purpose of this task is to help students get aware of their
opinions about the impacts of religion on politics. To this end, students are asked to answer two
questions relating to the impact of religion on public sphere according to a rating scale varying
between one and five. One indicates that the student agrees with the given opinion while five
means he / or she totally disagrees.
Students’ getting aware of their own opinions about the impact of religion on politics will cause
them to question themselves and to think about how these opinions can impact the society.
This task will be conducted individually, too.
Task four: Describing differences (and recognizing similarities), deepening
understanding:
Purpose of this task is to help students see the relationship between their opinions about the
religion and their opinions about the impacts of religion on politics and policies, and compare it
with the situation in their classes. To this end, students are asked to compare the averages of
the answers they gave to the questions in Table 1, Table 2 and Table 3. In this way, students will
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get aware of their opinions about the religion and impacts of religion on politics and policies and
form opinions about probable causes of this relationship.
It is expected having high averages in Table 1 and 2 to have low average in Table 3. Students will
understand whether the situation is as expected or different by comparing their averages in
these three tables. If there is a different distribution from the expectations, students are
expected to think about probable causes of it. In this way, this table provides students with an
opportunity to evaluate whether or not there is a consistence between their opinions. Logical
consistence and self-evaluation on students’ own opinions will contribute them to develop
meta-cognitive skills and become a more critical citizen.
Afterwards, teachers are asked to find the averages of the entire class in these three fields and
compare the averages of students with average of the entire class. In this way, students will see
whether or not there is any similarity or difference between their opinions and the opinion of
the class. This will enable students to think about paying regard to the possibility that there
could be different opinions about the impacts of religion on politics.
The teacher may have to help their students during calculating arithmetic averages. It is
necessary to add up the answers given to all of the questions and divide them to the number of
questions during the calculation of arithmetic average. However, there is a point to be paid
attention at this point. Since answers are taken as 0-1 in Table 1, average will correspond to a
number between zero and one. In other two tables (Table 2 and Table 3), since values vary
between one and five, averages will come to be a number between one and five.
It is expected first part of this task to be performed by students individually, and second part of
it to be performed by the whole class together with the teacher.
Task Five: Relating the attitudes represented in the maps of the AoEV to their own,
describing differences (and recognizing similarities):
The purpose of this task is to help students understand similarities and differences by
comparing their opinions about devotion to religion and the impacts of religion on politics and
policies with data of two European countries. To this end, students are asked to find data
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belonging to two European countries they have chosen in the maps and write them together
with their own values in Table 6, Table 7 and Table 8.
In this way, students will associate their opinions with data of two European countries and see
the differences and similarities between them. As a result, they will develop the understanding
that there could be different opinions about relationship between religion and politics and
religion and policies. This perception will provide opportunity to think about their opinions
again and revise them if necessary. In addition, it will make contribution for them to understand
that they think similarly in some matters but think differently in some other matters.
This task will be conducted individually, too.
Task Six: Relating the attitudes represented in the maps of the AoEV to their own,
describing differences (and recognizing similarities):
The purpose of this task, which will be performed individually, is to help students understand
similarities and differences by comparing their personal opinions, opinions of the class and
opinions of two European countries they have chosen with regard to devotion to religion and
impacts of religion on politics and policies. To this end, students are asked to examine the
answers chosen two countries gave to the questions in the maps, find averages for each
dimension and write them in related places in Table 9 together with their averages and
averages of the class calculated previously. Examining personal, classroom and two countries'
data about views on religion not affecting politics and items about attachment to the religion,
and religion affecting politics and policies will enable students to think about probable causes of
similarities and differences by associating their opinions with opinions of the class and other
countries.
While students are evaluating possible differences between their opinions and opinions of the
class and opinions of two European countries they have chosen, the fact that this situation can
be impacted by different socio-cultural factors should be reminded to the students, and
therefore students should be made to think about these different impacts.
Task Seven: Developing critical perspectives, , describing differences (and recognizing
similarities), deepening understanding:
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Purpose of this task is to help students come to a critical conclusion about the place of religion
in the society and particularly in the political arena by examining the given scientific
information about the place of religion in modern society, combining and synthesizing it with
their own experiences in this matter and the conclusion they have formed at the end of the
activity. To this end, in the first place, students are questioned whether they agree with the
opinion of the author in the given excerpt. Then, they are expected to discuss the topic critically
and reach an argument by questioning the degree to which the idea argued by the author is
harmonious with data in their own countries. This argument will contribute students to develop
critical perspectives about the place of religion in the society and impacts of it on politics and
policy.
This task will also provide opportunity to think about similarities and differences between the
case in their countries and the opinions argued by the author and probable causes of it. In this
way, students are expected to develop an in-depth, critical understanding in the matter of the
place of religion in human life and impact of religion on political implementations.
When students state their arguments about the topic, teachers’ asking students for explaining
how they have reached this argument and based on which data they have developed their
arguments and giving proofs supporting their arguments will contribute students to develop
critical thinking skills and acquire meta-cognitive skills.
All in all, by means of this activity made up of seven tasks, students will try to understand the
social world they live in better by means of basic concepts such as religion, politics, place, policy
and modern society, they will form patterns based on data relating to this social world, and in
this way they will understand the society they live in better by acquiring critical perspectives.
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