World Geography- Religions Component

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Several of us have World Geography planned for next year and at least some of us are planning a religions component.  So far I just have the Usborne book my middle schoolers are using along with BYL 7.  Are you planning on using anything else to study different religions, especially the major ones?  Suggestions from anyone are welcome.  :)

[Momto6inIN]

I'm one of the several ?

DD will be using a Handbook of World Religions as a spine.  I also found a few websites with information about tribal and Aboriginal religious beliefs that looked interesting. I will probably have her write a compare/contrast type paper about some of them.

[mama25angels]

Me too!  Our spine is going to be the Usborne book on world religions.  I'm also going to add, But Don't All Religions Lead to God, from the HOD, world geography package.  We'll do a comparison paper as well.

[travelgirlut]

I'm not adding anything other than just the Usborne one.  There's going to be enough going on between all her classes that I didn't want to add even more.  If I was going to give a world religions credit I would definitely add more.

[serendipitous journey]

Huston's "The World Religions" is a really wonderful book: I used it in my college intro. religious studies course, and it came up on my radar again b/c Ursa Minor (a new CM curriculum, secular with a STEM focus) uses it.  Don't let the "college" thing deter you; do spend a moment to read some of the sample, because I think you'll find it accessible.  The whole text might be too much, but it is easy to pull chapters. 

I've also sort of fallen in love with the opening of William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience."  Here's the Penguin version, here's Kindle for $0.99.  What I think is invaluable here, despite the somewhat-archaic prose, is that James gives a way of talking about religious experience that is neither dismissive nor uncritically accepting.  He lays the groundwork for rational, logical engagement of mystical/religious realities.  The beginning section of his book (which I've not finished) is one of the few things I've read that would make as much sense (I believe) to apologists like John Lennox as it would to agnostics/atheists like my DH.  ?   As a Christian in a house full of agnostics, it has been a great joy to find this resource, and I hope to use it for our studies.  If nothing else, perhaps the home educators in your group would be interested in reading the first, introductory materials as background for teaching. 

ETA: this isn't at the center of your topic, but relates and is a great listen while doing chores or maybe exercising: "Jonathan Haidt and TIm Keller on Pluralism."  I found this to give a strong framework for understanding how people of a particular faith can keep their faith claims to truth AND engage in civic life in a pluralistic society.  It also gives some sense of the reality that secular frameworks are also faiths (secular humanism, for instance) with claims about truth, about ethics, about what one's "ultimate concern" should be.

[LLucy]

I thought I would add to the growing list of possibilities a series of Great Courses lectures -- Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know.  I had my oldest watch these the summer after his senior year (not for credit but just for "adulting") but I am planning to include them for my youngest as part of a comparative cultures credit his senior year, along with resources for comparative government, etc.  

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

5 hours ago, LLucy said:

I thought I would add to the growing list of possibilities a series of Great Courses lectures -- Cultural Literacy for Religion: Everything the Well-Educated Person Should Know.  I had my oldest watch these the summer after his senior year (not for credit but just for "adulting") but I am planning to include them for my youngest as part of a comparative cultures credit his senior year, along with resources for comparative government, etc.  

 

Thanks for the recommendation.  We love Great Courses, so I should have thought to check if they had any lectures about religions.  Our library system has a copy, so we will most likely use this, and my middle schoolers will probably tag along.  Would this be appropriate for them?

[LLucy]

I checked with DS because I did not want to rely on my memory alone, but he was not much help.  He watched them 5 years ago.  He remembers information but does not really evaluate content the way a parent would. I do not remember anything inappropriate.  I think it more depends on individual temperament and interest. The website has reviews that might help more than I have been able to.

--LL