Lesson Plan

What are the potential benefits and negatives of contemporary and past religious belief?

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Lesson Plan

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Kelton Campos

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1. Question

   1. What are the potential benefits and negatives of contemporary and past religious belief?

 

1. Lesson Objectives 

   1. Students will understand the impact of competing, religion-based interpretations of subjects throughout world history.

   2. Students will breakdown the negative impacts of religious belief throughout history

   3. Students will breakdown positive impacts of contemporary religious belief

 

1. Identifying World Religions (Interactive Hook)

   1. Ask students to name any major world religions that come to mind (Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Confucianism, Buddhism,  Animism, Christianity, etc).

      1. Write the ones spoken onto the board

   2. Ask students why they mentioned these religions while transitioning into a slide with the symbols of the various religions

      1. Explain how each religion follows their own beliefs, founded and upheld by sturdy, devout, faithful individuals over time.

      2. Like-minded individuals share beliefs, is this a good practice especially when concerning religious belief?

   3. Hand out sticky notes and ask students to write one positive and negative impact of organized religious belief

 

1. The grouping of individuals

   1. People have, since the dawn of time, grouped together for various purposes

      1. Ancestral bonds of power, survival, and love

      2. Contemporary and past ideals of shared interest in certain subjects through language, communication

      3. What are the commonalities shared between all interest groups?

         1. Interest in the same subjects

         2. Potentially same attitudes and or physical attributes such as concerning race or age. 

         3. The preconceived notion of reward

            1. Beyond interest in a religious subject, such as in the worship of a deity, there is a preconceived sense of reward.

               1. “Our need to be there in the future, to be "rewarded," vitiates our acts and turns them into ego trips instead of experiences of loving and living. We need not only to affirm death not only as inevitable but also as a valid and joyous part of the natural process of which birth, living and death are equally important” (Havice).

2. Religious belief - Beneficial or Harmful

   1. Beyond the seemingly harmless practice of organized religious thought and desire of reward from a supernatural or orworldly plane of existence, religion has had a large influence on the lives of individuals throughout history

      1. Negative Impacts

      2. Religious impacts on government - lack of separation of church and state

      3. Massachusetts Bay Colony

         1. Right to vote, strict tolerance 

         2. “Radical religious views flourished, too, although public expressions of them were not tolerated. Roger Williams (c. 1603-1683), an articulate clergyman, was banished, in part because he advocated a complete break with the Church of England. He held other views that rankled colonial authorities as well, including his claim that the king had no right to issue a charter for the land on which the colony stood because he had not compensated the native inhabitants for it. Puritans saw such views as threats to the religious and political order. Even more threatening to them was Anne Hutchinson (1591-1643), who had a large following and had created a division within the Boston church. She openly questioned ministers' interpretations of scripture—which was unheard of, especially for a woman—and criticized the authorities for regulating so many kinds of behavior. Because Hutchinson said Christians were not bound by laws, she and her followers became known as Antinomians, or "antilaw." Convicted of heresy and excommunicated from the church, she was banished as well. Others who expressed religious views at odds with Puritan standards were imprisoned, tortured, and even executed” ("The Massachusetts Bay Colony.").

      4. Impacts of extremist views, such as concerning The Crusades

         1. “Between the late eleventh and late thirteenth centuries, the Middle East was subject to waves of invasion known as the Crusades. Thousands of western European Christians came to Palestine, Egypt, and Syria with the idea of placing these areas in Christian hands. The primary motivation was genuine piety; they believed that God willed them to do it. However, other motivations also inspired individuals, ranging from greed or desire for land, to simple adventure” (“Introduction to the Crusades”).

      5. Other opinions?

         1. Ask students for detrimental effects they have observed

         2. Manifest destiny

         3. Vikings

 

1. Impacts of religious belief in contemporary society and life 

   1. Positive Impacts

      1. Mental benefits

      2. “Religion gives people something to believe in, provides a sense of structure and typically offers a group of people to connect with over similar beliefs. These facets can have a large positive impact on mental health—research suggests that religiosity reduces suicide rates, alcoholism and drug use. Here are some of religion’s main mental health benefits” (Greenstein).

      3. Social Benefits

      4. “Initiates social connections with other members Creates a sense of belonging to a group Offers trustworthy and safe social engagement” (Greenstein).

      5. Benefits concerning education, the economy, health, crime, social mobility, family relationships. http://marripedia.org/_media/charity_and_volunteering.png

 

1. Assessing the negatives and positives of religious belief (Interactive)

   1. Read off the sticky notes of positives and negatives written by the audience

   2. Questions to ponder

      1. Is religion, fundamentally, positive?

         1. This may depend on the belief. Advocates and followers of Satanism are bound to be at odds with Christians.

         2. Is this unanswerable due to the relativity of good, evil, positive, negative

      2. Do extremist thoughts and actions soil the reputation of religion, making a certain animosity present between differing ideals?

         1. Terrorist attacks, religious wars

         2. “On Religion.”

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Bibliography

 

"Divine Right." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, edited by                       William A. Darity, Jr., 2nd ed., vol. 2, Macmillan Reference USA, 2008,                   pp. 421-422. Gale In Context: High School. Accessed 2 Feb. 2022.

 

“Effects of Religious Practice on Society.” Marripedia. Accessed 24 Jan. 2022. 

 

Greenstein, Luna. “The Mental Health Benefits of Religion & Spirituality.”                           NAMI, 21 Dec. 2016. Accessed 21 Jan. 2022.

 

Havice, Doris Webster. “A Religious Naturalist Looks at Death.” Religion                             Online. Accessed 28 Oct. 2021.

 

"Introduction to the Crusades (1096-1291)." Gale Encyclopedia of World                            History: War, Gale, 2009. Gale In Context: High School, Accessed 18                      Jan. 2022.

 

"The Massachusetts Bay Colony." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History:                                 Government and Politics, Gale, 2009. Gale In Context: High School.                     Accessed 21 Jan. 2022.

 

"Manifest Destiny." Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History: Government and                          Politics, Gale, 2009. Gale In Context: High School. Accessed 2 Feb. 2022.

 

Mark, Joshua J. “The Medieval Church.” World History Encyclopedia, World                  History Encyclopedia, 17 June 2019. Accessed 2 Feb. 2022. 

 

"Nicolaus Copernicus." Encyclopedia of World Biography Online, Gale, 1998.                Gale In Context: High School. Accessed 2 Feb. 2022.

 

“On Religion.” National Geographic Society, 9 July 2021. Accessed 8 Feb. 2022.