How are religions similar yet different? That's the question I held in the back of my mind to guide my observations and reflections throughout this enlightening experience. All week long, I was fascinated to discover how incredibly similar Sikhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism actually are. At its core, the purpose of every single one is to be a good person, show compassion, and leave this world a better place than how you found it. Going into this course, I already knew this to a certain extent, but this experience solidified my thinking. The key differences among the various religions merely lie in the religious practices and a few beliefs, but there is even some overlap of beliefs and behaviors, especially among the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. I hope that, one day, more people will actively look for the commonalities among us all rather than focusing on the differences because, if they do, they will quickly realize that the vast majority of human beings are far more alike than we are different. We all want the same things in life: happiness, a sense of security, belonging, and to love and be loved in return. Why, then, is it that we can't all just get along? Why can't we peacefully coexist even with our differences? My main goal in taking this course was to build my own cultural competency, particularly in the area of religious literacy. I definitely accomplished this task. This course was humbling because it quickly exposed everything that I did not know about each religion, which was A LOT. However, I can now confidently say that I know enough to be able to at least give a colleague, student, friend, or family member an overview of each faith's key beliefs and practices, which I consider a huge success for me as a non-religious person. Moving forward, I plan to continue to learn more about my students' faiths by asking questions, listening to their stories, and reading multicultural literature. However, now that I am a more religously literate person, I will simply be able to ask better questions. In the coming years, I'd really like to work together with other interested staff members to create and facilitate some PD sessions related to religious literacy. Just about every student panel commented on how their religion is their "way of life" and trickles into so many of the things they do on a daily basis. For this reason, it is crucial that teachers be familiar with their students' religious backgrounds in order to help students build more meaningful connections between their personal lives and the curriculum. In addition, as soon as there is mention of a D203 social studies curriculum team, you can bet I will find a way to get myself on that team so that we can bring more religious literacy content into elementary classrooms across the district. Since Unitarian Universalism is a highly inclusive faith that does not hold a defined set of beliefs and welcomes members of all backgrounds, quite fittingly, the unitarian church newsletter contained several quotes that beautifully summarize my final thoughts. "I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap." - Ani DiFranco "Peace is not unity in similarity but unity in diversity, in the comparison and conciliation of differences." - Mikhail Gorbachev "May I know that there is no wrong path. May I know that there are many paths, each one different. May I trust myself enough to know that I am held, I am loved, [and] I am accepted for doing the best I can." - Reverend Meg Riley Thanks for reading. And remember... #DiversityIsStrength. - Kate -
0 Comments
Our final assignment for this course was to attend a church service of our choosing over the weekend. Dupage Unitarian Universalist Church is tucked away a couple blocks from my home, and I literally run past it whenever I am looking to tack another mile onto one of my runs. It just so happens to also be my polling place for elections. Based on the little bit that I knew about Unitarian Universalism before attending a service, the unitarian church had always intrigued me because it welcomes people of all backgrounds & faiths (or lack thereof) and is focused on doing good rather than studying a sacred text, so this past weekend seemed like the perfect occasion to finally walk through those doors to do something other than vote. DuPage UU's highly inclusive, community-based mission and vision were evident during the service, through our interactions with members, and simply by looking at everything on display from signage to pamphlets. The service was led by the Men's Group and was comprised of a chalice lighting, opening words, 6 mini-homilies, an offertory, a few secular music selections, and closing words. Since we visited on Father's Day, the topic of the entire service was, appropriately, "relationships between parents and their adult children." For the mini-homilies, church members shared personal stories, building community by divulging intimate, inner dialogues filled with raw emotion. The service was a harmonious fusion of faiths. One congregation member mentioned mindfulness and made reference to Tibetan monks and Buddhist texts, while another member talked about the challenges of being raised by two devout Catholics as parents and not feeling like he is able to tell them he is a pagan. We learned by talking with one of the members that the pastor actually has the summers off, so the church members write and conduct the summer services themselves. Wow! Talk about a strong community that takes the lead and values a sense of belonging and diverse beliefs within the congregation! Thank you, Dupage Unitarian Universalist Church! Some of us may be back in the near future to visit your beloved, progressive community again. :)
About HinduismTo me, Hinduism seems to be the most open-minded and flexible religion of all of the ones we studied. The ultimate goal in Hinduism is to seek the truth and achieve moksha, or liberation from the cycle of rebirth and the end of suffering. Hinduism has no founder, doctrine, creed, or organizational hierarchy. The presenter from the Hindu American Foundation explained that there is no formal conversion in Hinduism, so he joked that if you want to call yourself a Hindu, you can call yourself a Hindu. Like other religions we learned about this past week, Hinduism is a very personal religion that means something different to each Hindu person, which demonstrates how internally diverse Hinduism is. A Hindu's sacred beliefs seem to be the most prominent part of the Hindu identity compared to behavior and belonging. In addition, Hinduism today is very different than Hinduism thousands of years ago, reminding us that religions are always evolving and changing. The majority of U.S. Hindus don't go to temple because it is such a personal religion. When I conducted a home visit a few years ago at one of my Hindu student's homes, his family commented on how they had an entire room of their condo that they used as their home shrine. I was surprised at the time to hear this because I think the condo was only 3 bedrooms, and there were 5 family members living in the home, which meant that all 3 children likely shared a bedroom. At the time, I didn't know anything about Hinduism, so I didn't feel comfortable asking more about their shrine. When I asked about this in class last week, the presenter said that home shrines all have different purposes and meanings to different people; he didn't give any type of solid answer (since there wasn't one) --- another reminder that Hinduism is VERY internally diverse. The Hindu prayer ritual infinitely varies from person to person, family to family, and region to region. It also depends on which type of God you're worshipping. Student & Parent PanelAs always, the panel was one of the best parts of learning about this religion. Every single student and the one mother were SO chill, accepting, and flexible. Two of the three students on the panel were actually Scott School graduates and had siblings/relatives that were currently or had previously attended Scott. The main points discussed on the panel were:
Hindu Temple VisitsThe two temples we visited were Sri Venkateswara Swami (Balaji) Temple in Aurora and BAPS Swaminarayan Temple in Bartlett. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the temples, but if you click on the link for each temple, you can see some interior pictures on their website. At the temple in Aurora, the most interesting thing we observed was a Hindu baby-naming ceremony on the baby's 28th day after birth. Other than all of the Naperville teachers that the parents welcomed to observe, the ceremony was a small, intimate gathering of the priest, baby, parents, and what appeared to possibly be the two grandmothers. Since the ritual was conducted in a language other than English, we weren't entirely sure what was happening. However, there were many different materials that they used as a part of the ceremony, including a gold plate, a gold vase, greenery, dried basmati rice, flowers, ground spices, water, and various fruits. Since I wanted to know more about Hindu baby-naming ceremonies, I searched online and came across this story and article about the ritual. The article specifically addresses the internal diversity within Hinduism when it comes to baby-naming ceremonies. I was thrilled when we pulled up to the second temple (BAPS Swaminarayan, pictured above) because it was one that I had driven by dozens of times, and I had always wondered what it looked like and what people do inside. I was blown away on all accounts. I had never seen such intricate, hand-carved wooden and marble carving like I witnessed inside. Hand carving wood is one thing (still impressive beyond belief), but the hand-carved marble and limestone were on a whole other level. In one of the interior spaces, everywhere you looked was marble and had ornate detail. All of the carving was done by craftsmen in India, and the 7,000+ tons of marble and limestone were then shipped to and assembled here in Bartlett. Inside the temple, we participated in several Hindu rituals, including arti, which is a form of prayer, and abhishek, which is a ceremony where you pour holy water over a murti (Hindu idol/symbol of God), make a wish, and chant holy mantras. It was so neat to experience the Hindu religion and culture firsthand, and many of us commented on how we found it hard to believe that we were still in the Chicagoland area! I highly recommend everyone visit the BAPS Swaminararyan Temple in Bartlett to experience its indescribable beauty and rich culture yourself.
This class was so humbling. I can't believe how little I knew about Judaism until we visited Congregation Beth Shalom, which is a Jewish synagogue in Naperville. Before entering the synagogue, we were invited to put on a yarmulke, or the Jewish head covering. Rabbi Bernie Newman said that it's easy to forget that God is always present, so the optional head covering serves as a reminder that something is above you (God) and watching over you. Rabbi Newman beautifully summarized the essence of Judaism. He explained that Judaism is more of a giant extended family than a religion, and Jews believe that "every Jewish person is responsible for every other Jewish person." Jews are expected to treat all other Jews like members of their own family. The strong sense of belonging was unmistakable in the Jewish tradition. In addition, for most Jews, what you do is more important that your beliefs, so there is a much greater emphasis on behaviors than beliefs. Jews are expected to behave in a moral and ethical way. They are also instructed not to wait for their faith to be strong before acting, showing compassion, and helping others. The rabbi explained that once you act in a moral and ethical way, your faith will follow, and if you're not doing good, you are distancing yourself from God. I didn't realize until this past week that Jews don't actively try to convert people to Judaism because they believe there are many paths to God and people have the right to follow their own path. We also had the opportunity to take part in a student and parent panel. A common thread amongst all responses was that being Jewish is (1) both a religion and an ethnicity, (2) a way of life, and (3) complicated since there is a continuum of acceptance and beliefs within the Jewish community. There was also a very strong message about community and belonging in nearly every response to the question "What does being Jewish mean to you?" One panel member referred to the Jewish community as her "tribe." When she said that, I instantly thought of the book Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging by Sebastian Junger. In Tribe, Junger articulates the point that humans instinctively seek belonging to groups that have common purpose and understanding, and when groups of people endure traumatic experiences together, they often look back fondly on the times that they all worked as a community to survive even though the experience was incredibly challenging at the time. Since the Jewish community has suffered and overcome such devastating violence, loss, and discrimination in the last century, the theory explains why Jewish people would consider themselves a solid tribal community. These kids were simply amazing, and the parents were clearly all extraordinary advocates for their children as well as the rest of their tribe. This panel made me want to convert to Judaism myself. :) Though I would certainly never claim to know a lot about any given religion, going into this course, one religion that I already had some background knowledge about was Islam. This was due to having many Muslim students and several Muslim friends & colleagues, reading books that have Muslim characters or that were written by Muslim authors, taking a previous course about Islam, and spending time abroad last summer studying in Java, a Muslim-dominant island in Indonesia. Given the current political climate of Islamophobia, I have also found myself frequently trying to spread truths to share all that I know about Islam and presenting it as the religion of peace that I know it to be. I hope to use this post to do more of the same. The 5 Pillars of Islam & A Personal StoryOur day began with a former Naperville District 203 student named Wali Khan. Wali is currently a trauma nurse at Cook County Hospital, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is someone that you want to have by your side when you are experiencing a medical emergency. Within minutes, it became glaringly apparent that Wali is an incredibly brilliant, insightful individual and a talented speaker. He spoke with us about how Islam was a dormant religion for him until college, which is when he began to finally explore his faith. He now considers Islam the moral compass by which he lives his life. He feels that being strong in his faith is what makes him effective at his rewarding but emotionally, physically, and mentally draining job as a trauma nurse. Wali continued by telling us about the 5 Pillars of Islam. The foundation of Islam is built upon these 5 pillars: shahada (conviction), salah (prayer), sawm (fasting), zakah (charity), and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca if you can). He reiterated the fact that there is no compulsion in religion, and the 1st pillar of conviction is between you and God ONLY. That means that the Islamic faith is completely misrepresented when radical Muslims try to force someone to accept Islam. Making someone else follow Islam against their will directly conflicts with the pillars, the foundation of Islam. Wali also discussed how he views prayer as a conversation with God, and he likes how his 5 prayers/day force him to stop, focus on being a good moral person, and break up the monotony of the day. It was evident how much his Islamic beliefs and religious practices are embedded into his daily life and the way that he approaches his important life's work. Read more about his work as a Muslim trauma nurse in Chicago by clicking here. Wali, thank you for donating your time and sharing your personal story with us this week. Student PanelMy favorite part of this course was the various student panels because all of the educators taking this course signed up to learn more about how religion influences our students' lives and what considerations we should make when we have students of different religious and cultural backgrounds in our classrooms. These D203 students wanted us to know the following things:
As a final note, the students shared that, culturally, there is not gender equality in Islam, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia. However, religiously and fundamentally, there is gender equality and female empowerment. In our course, we analyzed how "religions are embedded in cultures, not isolated from them." This is especially true in Islam. Culture and religion are so intertwined that it's hard to separate the two, but if we want to make any progress, culture and religion need to begin to be separated. Wednesday was an especially interesting day for me because we studied Christianity - the religion with which I have the most personal experiences (thought not necessarily all positive experiences) - and Buddhism - a religion that greatly intrigues me. As I mentioned in my first post, I was baptized and confirmed Catholic. However, I never actually identified with Catholicism for a number of reasons but especially because of my more liberal lines of thinking, which definitely don't align with the conservative nature of the Catholic Church. When acquaintances in college would ask me about my religious affiliation, my childhood friend and college roommate Sarah used to always joke: "Kate doesn't believe in a religion. She believes in the power of good." Wednesday was truly the first time that I had ever come across a faith that seemed to align with my beliefs and perspectives about life. Apparently, all that I needed to do was ride along on a bus with a bunch of teachers and wait to see where it would take us! ChristianityOur morning started with Eric Doolittle, North Central College Chaplain, speaking about Christianity. I didn't realize there are so many different branches of Christianity. He shared that there are currently 2,100 to 33,000 different denominations, which have formed as a result of theological and sometimes cultural differences -- evidence that religions are (1) internally diverse, (2) dynamic and changing, and (3) embedded in cultures, not isolated from them. Each denomination has unique beliefs, behaviors, and shared experiences. He also commented on the fact that Christians love to argue with one another about their beliefs and interpretations of the Bible, which gave me flashbacks of sitting around in college frequently listening to other Christians argue with Sarah, my very knowledgeable and progressive roommate who went to seminary and became a Presbyterian pastor. Though I never knew enough about Christianity to add in my own two cents during these discussions, it seemed to me that Sarah always made a strong case for her thinking in the debates. :) We spent some time this afternoon at St. Therese Chinese Catholic Church in Chinatown. The priest who spoke with us (I think his name was Father Christian) was stepping in for Father Li, the church's priest, because he was unavailable today. Father Christian was young and had recently become ordained. I appreciated his fresh perspective and found him more relatable than other priests I have met. He talked about the importance of meeting people where they are at with their faith and helping them move forward from there rather than imposing beliefs and behaviors on them. He also shared that St. Therese Church was originally an Italian church, and he pointed out the ways in which the Italian and Chinese cultures had merged in that particular space. It was neat to look around and notice the influence of both cultures, such as statues of Italian saints, Chinese dragons, and Chinese writing/characters. BuddhismWe visited two Buddhist temples in Chicago: Meditation Center of Chicago and SGI Buddhist Center. The two were wildly different in terms of their practices, or behaviors, which served as yet another reminder that religions are internally diverse. We met a monk named Gen Delsang Zamling at the Meditation Center. We learned that Gen = "Teacher" and Zamling (the name given to him by his teacher) = "Glorious Renounced One." It was fascinating to hear his story about being raised in Christianity, converting to Buddhism as an adult, and then being ordained as a monk at age 37. He began our time together with several minutes of meditation to focus the mind. During the meditation, I noticed that I had a hard time clearing my mind. You never realize how many little itches you have on your arms, neck, feet, etc. until you are specifically told to focus on your breathing and clear your mind of all distractions. The monk spoke with a calm, soothing voice, and it reminded me a lot of the voice that yoga instructions try to replicate. After the meditation, he gave us an overview of Buddhism. Here were his key teachings about Buddhism:
We also visited the SGI Buddhist Center. Though both Buddhist temples focused on the same beliefs, the ways they practiced (i.e. their behaviors) were completely different. At the Meditation Center, members primarily use meditation and individual & communal prayer, whereas SGI members engage in daily prayer and individual or group chanting of "Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo", which is Japanese for "I dedicate my life to cause and effect." At the SGI Center, we were able to observe four members do a group chant. As soon as they began to chant together, I felt like I was sitting in choir again, which is a very familiar experience for me. The sound took over the entire space and had a trance-like feeling. The Buddhist members told us that the same chant is repeated every time they chant. Though it's hard to learn the lengthy chant at first, members can lean on one another for support until they feel more secure, which spoke to the level of community and belonging within the very diverse group at SGI Buddhist Center. Based on everything I learned about the Buddhist faith on Wednesday, I think I could definitely get on board with Buddhism! My Essential Question Wow. We are only one day in, and I'm finding it hard to even know where to begin because I have already learned so much. All day long, I have been mulling over my essential question, which will guide my investigation into the religious communities we will be studying during this course. I have considered the following questions:
Building Background KnowledgeThe morning session began with an overview about religious literacy from the perspective of several religious literacy experts in the field. The presenters clarified the distinction between teaching/promoting religion versus teaching about religion. There is a BIG difference! One is illegal (can you guess which one?), while the other is critical for decreasing religious illiteracy and the prejudices it fuels in this world. For any skeptics that challenge this, research shows that exposure to difference does not change students' religious identities, and it has a positive impact on students' respect for religious liberty. That sounds like a win-win to me! By teaching about religion, educators (and parents!) are setting the stage to prepare future generations as global citizens that can function and prosper in a global society. Religious identity can be analyzed based on the 3B Framework --- how much an individual values belief, behavior, and experiences of belonging. For different people, different aspects of the framework are more central to their religious identity than others. For example, in many religions, what you do is more important than what you believe. There is also great diversity of religious identity within a single religious community. Want to learn more about religious literacy, why it belongs in schools, and how to teach about religious diversity? Follow @KateSoules, @Lindakwert, @RelFreedomCntr, and @PluralismProj. Sikhism & Visiting Palatine GurdwaraAs ignorant as it makes me look, I must admit that I knew virtually nothing about Sikhism until today. However, I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn more about it because the more I learned about Sikhism, the more I fell in love with the fundamental beliefs of the religion. At its core, Sikhism has to be one of the most inclusive religions in the world and is all about equality. Sikhs believe in equality for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, race, or social status. The religion was established to create an egalitarian society against the caste system. Sikhs also respect other religious traditions without trying to impose their beliefs and values upon others. I was texting with one of my Muslim friends this evening about what a wonderful experience I had today interacting with Sikhs at the Palatine Gurdwara. (A "gurdwara" is the place of worship for Sikhs). As evidence of how respectful Sikhs are of other religions, my friend commented, "[Sikhs] are pretty awesome! I think it's amazing how they really don't hate us, even though they get a lot of flak because people think they're Muslim. I feel like many other communities would resent us for it." The way that we were welcomed with open arms today was also evidence of what an inclusive religion Sikhism is. The welcoming feeling and incredible sense of community that I felt at the gurdwara today reminded me very much of my experiences in Indonesia last year when I was immersed in both Muslim-dominant and also Hindu-dominant communities. With the Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus that I have interacted with over the years, I have felt such sincere warmth, and the collectivist aspect of each religion has been very apparent. This is definitely one recurring similarity amongst many religions. One unique practice of Sikhism is the langar, or free kitchen, which is a simple meal that is prepared by volunteers and served to everyone after a Sikh worship service. It typically includes rice, flat bread, beans or lentils, and sometimes salad or other vegetables, and the meal is vegetarian in order to be inclusive. The main purpose of langar is equality. The food is all of the same quality, and since everyone sits on the floor together as equals, there is no discrimination. After the meal, each person cleans their own plate. Some other distinctions between Sikhism and other religions is that Sikhs have a unique code of conduct, which includes a vow to wear the Five K's, or Articles of Faith: unshorn hair (Kes), a comb (Kangha), a steel bracelet (Kara), a short sword (Kirpaan), and a type of undergarment/shorts (Kachha). Each of the Five K's has a special meaning. Final Monday MusingsI could go on and on to share more about what I learned about Sikhism and the meaning behind the Sikh beliefs and practices, but this post is getting quite lengthy, and I have only begun to scratch the surface with my own learning. However, if you take away one new thing from today's post, let it be that teaching about religion does have a place in U.S. public schools if we do it correctly. We need to teach about world religions from an academic perspective in an attempt to teach tolerance and encourage mutual understanding in this often unnecessarily divided world. We need to foster inclusive communities, encourage genuine curiosity, and ask questions to learn more about one another rather than shutting our doors, hearts, and minds out of fear of the unknown.
Growing up, my immediate family was basically a bunch of Chreasters. If you're not familiar with the term, "Chreasters" are those people that only show up for Catholic mass on two holidays every year: Christmas and Easter. Families at my church also volunteered on various Sundays throughout the year to set up and serve donuts, lemonade, and coffee after mass. Since my family was occasionally responsible for after-service refreshments, we technically weren't Chreasters because we would also attend mass the days we were serving the donuts. Needless to say, we weren't exactly "regulars" at church. However, my parents believed it was important to appease the grandparents by having all five of their children get baptized in the Catholic Church, complete their First Communion, attend weekly CCD classes, and then participate in the Catholic sacrament of Confirmation. What boggles my mind is how little I actually learned about Catholicism through the entire process because, to be perfectly honest, I never paid attend during CCD. Just now, I actually had to Google what CCD stands for, which is apparently "Confraternity of Christian Doctrine," because all that I could remember for the life of me was what all of the other kids in my CCD class called it, which was "Catholic Children's Dump." Yep, it was incredibly offensive and disrespectful.
Though I do not identify myself as a Catholic whatsoever, I have come a long way in terms of my religious literacy since then. When I was in undergrad at Augustana College, I was required to take a couple religion courses for my liberal arts gen eds, and I was dreading taking those courses because I thought they would bring me right back to CCD class. Shockingly, one of my favorite undergraduate courses was "Religion in America," which was basically a survey course about some of the most commonly practiced religions in the U.S. The reason I enjoyed the course so much was that it opened my eyes to the fact that, though there are distinct characteristics that differ amongst religions, most religions have more commonalities than differences. Since becoming a teacher, I have taught many students over the years that have diverse religious and cultural backgrounds. I have grown to love learning about each of their unique backgrounds by talking with students and colleagues of the same religious background; doing voluntary professional reading; and engaging in professional development related to religious literacy. Coincidentally, when this "Cultural & Religious Literacy Symposium" course first ran in Summer 2017, I had just begun a one-month international field experience in Indonesia through a fellowship called Teachers for Global Classrooms. Since Indonesia is a Muslim-dominant country, I was immersed in a culture that weaves religion into daily life in such a way that religion and culture cannot be separated. After spending three weeks learning about Indonesian culture and education in Java (a large Indonesian island), I traveled with a colleague to Bali (another island in Indonesia). What was so fascinating about traveling to both islands was comparing and contrasting Javanese and Balinese culture since most Balinese people practice Hinduism rather than Islam. My experiences in Indonesia were incredibly formative in building my religious literacy knowledge and skill set. My main goal in taking this course is to continue to build my own cultural competency, particularly in the area of religious literacy. I hope to use the knowledge and perspective I gain from this course to help my students build more meaningful connections between their personal lives/experiences and the curriculum. On a personal level, I plan to share my experiences from this course with family, friends, and acquaintances to help them expand their own religious literacy as well. The more that we seek to genuinely understand and accept one another, no matter our differences, the more peaceful this world will be. Please follow along with me on my journey next week as I learn as much as I can about Sikhism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, and Hinduism! |