Teaching elementary students about world religions is a great way to build empathy, reduce stereotypes, and foster global awareness. It also helps students who follow minority religions feel seen. Stories, crafts, and a focus on more concrete elements — like how people celebrate holydays — is an easy way to explore world religions in elementary […]
Lesson Plan
Cross Purposes: Using Jonathan Rauch’s Book with High-Schoolers
Guest Post: Jon Resendez For most of my 18-year teaching career, I have taught Religious Studies classes to high school juniors and seniors at a public high school in Irvine, CA. One of the many challenges in teaching a class like this is that students come into the course from all faith backgrounds, including non-belief. [...]
Why The Odyssey Is a Religious Literacy Story
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters Most audiences encounter The Odyssey as an adventure story. It is a tale of monsters, shipwrecks, warfare, temptation, endurance, and one man’s long struggle to return home. Odysseus confronts the Cyclops, resists the Sirens, descends into the underworld, and survives the anger of the sea. Those elements [...]
Breaking Cover: What Søren Kierkegaard and Becket Can Teach in Our Classrooms
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters When I first encountered Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), it wasn’t in a philosophy seminar but through a story. In one of his many theological texts, Pope Benedict XVI retold Kierkegaard’s famous parable of the clown warning that the theater was on fire. The audience laughed, thinking it was [...]
Call for Teacher Stories: Bringing Religious Literacy to the Classroom
Post: Tim Hall, Ph.D., Executive Director, Religion Matters Contribute Your Voice to a New Routledge Eye on Education Series Book for Educators Submission Deadline for Teacher Voices: Rolling, through February 1, 2026 Fill out the quick form here About the Project I'm writing a forthcoming book with the Routledge Eye on Education series, Bringing Religious [...]
