Teaching Techniques in Religion by Robert Baird

With reference to Peta Goldburg’s (2012) Transforming religious education: Implications from the Second Vatican Council, the following discussion will review and critique the important religious education approaches that has had an impact on the Catholic schooling system for the past fifty years, and also help shape the contemporary classroom we teach in today.

The thesis statement of this essay is, 'identify and critically evaluate research methodologies. ' This will be undertaken by analysis of a real incident which has been subject to theological reflection. Underlying each heading will be a four-part process which:

As Tillich clams “Being religious means asking passionately the question of the meaning of our existence and being willing to receive answers, even if the answers hurt”. The twentieth century philosopher and theologian, Paul Tillich argues that religion differentiates from the concept of what theologians and scientist have asserting as true. He says religion gives a key to “ultimate concern” which contributes to holy. However, Rudolph Otto, another German theologians and philosopher of his time, has a different statement about the religion and “God”. He sees religion as a rational essence. Yet both agree that religion is not dogma, on the other hand, is rational, their concept of understanding varies from each other.

Craig Martin is the Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at St. Thomas Aquinas College. He serves upon the North American Association for the Study of Religion, and is the author of five books that primarily deal with the complex relationship between society and religion and the “religious experience”.

Young employs a descriptive framework in his book The World’s Religions that is used to understand religion and the ways in which religion plays various roles in human life (Young 12). The framework was developed from the definition of religion he describes in his book. Young defines religion as being, “human transformation in response to perceived ultimacy” (4). This framework developed by Young was a tool of analysis he employed to compare religions through seven questions that formulate a basic understanding of a particular religion’s worldview. The seven questions that make up Young’s framework are as follows: what does it mean to be human, what is the basic human problem, what is the cause of the problem, what is the end or goal of transformation, what are the means of transformation, what is the nature of reality, and what

The first articles, for example, have already opened my eyes to the movement of Christianity’s popularity. It fractured the cornerstone of my stereotypical idea of what a Christian looks like. A Christian may be anybody and, sadly, I was surprised by this. This led me to wonder how much any religion may differ among its followers when the ethnicity and regions are changed. I had not even cared to contemplate the ideas already presented in class but enjoyed the experience of knowledge being thrust upon me. As with biblical heritage, in which, I have used my knowledge of the bible long after the class finished, I am enthusiastic to the idea of learning something that could be applied to my everyday life. This class may differ, though, as the concepts learned may be applied to other religions, whereas, studying the bible was only good for

I have been teaching formally now for fifteen years and have learned as much from my students as I have endeavored to teach them. With each teaching assignment I have tried to learn more about the subject matter, my teaching style and my students learning styles. Yet with all I have learned and have strived to teach, there is much more knowledge for me to acquire. Maria Harris in her book Teaching and Religious Imagination draws from Paul Ricoeur the conclusion that we can alter our existence by changing our imaginations. How does one change their imaginations? Better still, how does one know that they have imagination to start with? As an older adult, it takes more effort for me to harness my imagination to the extent I think necessary to engage students in the learning process. My objectives have always been to make the teaching and learning experience one of both excitement and challenge for the students. Some success has been garnered, while at other times, I have failed miserably. I have experienced a major transformation since coming to The Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union. I have already learned about and understand to some degree the different learning styles of persons in order to effectively teach and allow students to grasp the subject matter.

On occasion, authors approach cultural subjects as historians. However, Huston Smith limits the historical facts to stay focus on the values of the religions (Smith 10,12). Having an history filled book can cause readers to lose interests in his discussion. To keep the numbers down, Smith picks the religions that most people acknowledge and would share the most common themes in their life (11). He is passionate about his studies, and he wants the audience to find their own appreciation for religion. To accomplish this, Smith simply states that,”This is a book about values”(12). Some books describe a certain faith’s good and bad qualities and can sometimes put more emphasis on the bad if the

The purpose of the article is to persuade the readers that atheism can be considered as a source of morality and spirituality. Since the Nation Framework of Religious Education (RE) has approved to include atheism in the curriculum of primary and secondary school levels, Watson argues that “children and young people can learn from atheistic beliefs and values for their spiritual and moral development.” Watson begins her (article) with refuting religious objections of the Association of Christian Teachers (ACT) in introducing atheism to the curriculum of RE. One of the main objections of ACT was the threat atheism can impose on religion. On the other hand, Watson points out that the ACT would not feel threatened or worried, if they were confident

In summary, there are many benefits and drawback to the academic study of religion from the outsider’s point of view. Benefits can include factors such as gaining a new understanding of a religion or being able to gain an unbiased perspective. Drawbacks, however, include factors such as an ethnocentric point of view of an individual or simply missing minute details in a belief of religion. When everything has been said and done, I do believe that the outsider’s perspective on the study of religion is very important and something that should always be

The statement “philosophy of Christian education” contains much information to be unwrapped. The term philosophy literally means, in the Greek, “love of wisdom.” In this case, the study of philosophy involves a “critical

Thirty years ago, I would not have had one iota of interest in studying world religions in a secular institution. As a former student of a private Bible college and a member of a Christian semi-cult in the Bay Area, I did not view the study of world religions as an innocuous or trivial activity. Classes in my college that taught about other religions were called “apologetics.” In these classes, through a biased world view, our mentors taught us how to present people with logical and persuasive arguments that would win them over to the only “true” belief.

In this paper the topic of religious study will be presented. The goal is to get an understanding on the viewpoints or perspectives that many scholars, students, or educators have when it comes to the topic of either learning about religion or teaching about religion.

We need to pay close attention to the effects of secularism: confining the role of religion to the private domain of the individual and creating a dichotomy between "religious" and "worldly," between "private" and "public." It denies religion and its mediating institutions any public function and influence in shaping matters of public policy.

One of the avenues of influential learning is in school. The place where students spend half of their life. Going to school aids students in acquiring knowledge, establishing rapport and developing skills. When students attend school, they showcase not only their characters traits and attitudes, but they also carry with them their cultural differences and religious practices. (Green & Oldendorf, 2005). Looking at how diverse our society is, the question of teaching religions and their ideologies at a school-level rise. Whilst the state practices neutrality towards religion, there are still issues and challenges when it comes to accommodating religious diversity and its integration in the education system (Berger, 2013, p.104). Therefore, integrating religion in the education system can lead to