Christian Ethics
30
World Religions
Unit Overview
Context:
Timeline: Approximately five weeks
Unit Abstract
Living Out One's Faith in a Secular World: World Religions (25 hours)
1) Demonstrate knowledge of religion and spirituality by:
a.
Analyzing the elements of a religion and spirituality, including wisdom, works, and worship
b.
Comparing and contrasting a religion/spirituality and a cult
2)
Respect various religions and spiritualities (Aboriginal Canadian Spirituality, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, etc) by
a.
Studying the wisdom, works, and worship or various religions and spiritualities
b.
Appreciating the truths that all religions and spiritualities can offer
Resources Used in This Unit
 The ABC’s of World Religions
 The Life and Death of People’s Temple – PBS documentary

Purpose /
Outcomes
Strategies and
Assessment
Learning Activities
Introduction to unit
Intro unit
Note making
Construct meaning
Introduce students to the purpose and teachings of religion
 Introductory Powerpoint Presentation
 I Still Haven’t Found … audio
 I Still Haven’t Found … lyrics
Note Key Info
Assess and Reflect
Placemat
"Science investigates; religion interprets. Science gives man knowledge,
which is power; religion gives man wisdom, which is control." Martin Luther
King, Jr.
 Have students complete a placemat activity for the above quote. Divide
students into groups of four. Give students two minutes to individually respond
to the quote in one quadrant of the placemat. Then have students read each of
the other other’s responses. Finally, have students come to an agreement and
write a statement about the quote in the middle oval of the placemat.
o Placemat Master


Share results with whole class
Large group discussion on the quote
Cults
MS - Show Scientology clip – stop at 0:46 seconds (before the Scientology logo comes
up) and ask them if what they’ve seen sounds pretty good and why. Then show the rest
of the clip.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBz5Xic_Y2s&list=PLFBB2F9B795C0BD96&inde
x=3&feature=plpp_video
Small/Large group
discussions
Difference between religion and cult
 Have each students write down their own definition of a cult
 Have each student write down their ideas that distinguish a cult from a religion
- What makes a cult different from an established legitimate religion? What are
some characteristics?
 Small group discussion on these two points
 Large group discussion. Can you reach a consensus?
 View a People’s Temple clip – first 2 minutes or up to 7:11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iQYoHiM-Uko&feature=related
 Discuss the clip as a large group
Comparison between a cult and a legitimate religion
 Characteristics of a Cult powerpoint (use some/all/modify/etc) and
accompanying student handout.
Wisdom, Works, and Worship
Define wisdom, works, and worship using notes/handout – Basic Elements of a
Religion – Reference Guide.
FRAME Organizer
Determine the works, worship, and wisdom of several main religions
 View various short videos (20 – 25 minutes each) and complete the note
making FRAME on the works, worship, and wisdom of each religion.
o Note-making FRAME
o Christianity
o Islam
o Judaism
o Buddhism
o Hinduism

**Alternate – use The ABC’s of World Religions booklets to establish the
wisdom, works, and worship of the major world religions.

Have students independently use the following site
http://www.canadaandtheworld.com/aboriginalspirituality.html (alternate site)
to complete the FRAME for Canadian Aboriginal Spirituality
Jigsaw Activity
FRAME Organizer
Determine the works, worship, and wisdom of several other religions
 Introduce students to www.religionfacts.com/big_religion_chart.htm
 Divide students in groups of four. Have the group select 4 other religions than
the ones already covered. Each student in the group will then independently
locate the information to complete the FRAME and spend some time on the
‘More Information’ Link to gain a better understanding of the particular
religion. The group of 4 will then reconvene and each member will share with
the others what they learned (everyone is to complete their own FRAME from
the information that is shared).
o Note-Making FRAME
Students will complete an inquiry on the following question:
Inquiry Activity
Does society’s perception of a particular religion (choose 2) reflect the
works, worship, and wisdom of that religion?
You will use resources to:
1. Locate facts on the works, worship, and wisdom of the particular religion
2. Demonstrate society’s perception of the religion based on news stories
(review three North American publications and one International
European/Middle East publication).
-
include both positive and negative perceptions of the works,
worship, and wisdom of that religion as portrayed in the news
article (each article will most likely not refer to all three)
3. Compare the facts to the perceptions
Use the following Research Frame to record your information
 Note-Taking Research FRAME
Use databases CDN Journals/ Newsmap / Infotrac / etc.
 Link to the BJM Resource Website for these sources
 Give students a crash course in using the databases by doing some
searches together in the classroom.