General Policy Guidelines for Teaching about Religion in Schools
- American Academy of Religion: Guidelines for Teaching about Religion in K-12 Schools
- American Academy of Religion: Religious Literacy Guidelines for College Graduates
- First Amendment Center: Finding Common Ground
- National Council for the Social Studies: Position Statement on the Study about Religions in the Social Studies Curriculum
- National Council for the Social Studies: Religious Studies Companion Document to the C3 Framework
- Society of Biblical Literature: Bible Electives in Schools A Guide
- Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Schools
Teaching about Buddhism
- Armstrong, Karen, Buddha
- Gethin, Rupert, The Foundation of Buddhism
- Keown, Damien, Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction
- Michie, David, Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness in a Hurried World
- Mitchell, Donald, Introducing the Buddhist Experience
- Tenzin, Chogel, The Life of the Buddha
- The Dalai Lama, An Introduction to Buddhism
- The Pluralism Project at Harvard University webpage, Introduction to Buddhism
- Yetunde, Pamela Ayo and Cheryl A. Giles, eds. Black and Buddhist: What Buddhism can Teach us about Race, Resilience, Transformation and Freedom
Teaching about Christianity
- “A History of Christianity,” Written by Diarmaid MacCulloch, 2009
- The Bible and its Influence: The Bible Literacy Project
- Religious Literacy Project: Christianity
- Crash Course: Christianity
- National Geographic: Christianity 101
- National Geographic: Protestant Reformation
- Owen Chadwick, A History of Christianity
- Linda Woodhead, Christianity: A Very Short Introduction
Teaching about Hinduism
- HAF Hinduism 101
- Learn about Hinduism and Karma/Have a Little Faith
- Introduction to Hinduism (Oprah’s Belief Series)
- Sarah Conover, Katha Sagar: An Ocean of Hindu Wisdom for Every Age
- Phil Goldberg, American Veda
- “Sanjay Superteam“ Directed by Sanjay Patel, 1995
- Religious Literacy Project: Hinduism
- Sabrina D. MisirHiralall, Confronting Orientalism: A Self-Study of Educating Through Hindu Dance
- Sabrina D. MisirHiralall, Hinduism through Dance: YouTube Channel
Teaching about Islam
- WHFUA – World History for Us All website
- Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs – Knowledge resources on five major world religions and religious issues in world today.
- Unity Productions Foundation – Documentary films and teaching resources on Islam.
- NEH/ALA Bridging Cultures Bookshelf – Support materials for learning about Muslim societies and religion over time.
- Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies
- Islamic Networks Group (ING) – Lessons for world religions/history
- Crash Course: Islam, Quran, and the Five Pillars
- National Geographic: Mecca
- Religious Literacy Project: Islam
- K-14 Education Outreach: Center for Contemporary Arab Studies Georgetown
Resources for Teaching about Ramadan
- “Fact Sheet on Ramadan” with reference to websites and children’s/teen activities that you can use in your teaching
- 21 Children’s Books about Ramadan and Eid – find read-aloud stories online!
- PBS Column: How teachers can support students during Ramadan
- We are Teachers: 9 Ways to Support Students During Ramadan
- Resources for teaching about Ramadan and Eid from Teaching Tolerance
- 5 Things Everyone Should Know About Ramadan (ABC News)
Teaching about Judaism
- George Robinson, Essential Judaism: A Complete Guide to Beliefs
- Raymond Scheindlin, A Short History of the Jewish People: From Legendary Times to Modern Statehood
- Doris Bergen, The Holocaust: A Concise History
- Rabbi Sacks on the Mutation of Antisemitism
- Religious Literacy Project: Judaism
- “Fiddler on the Roof,” Directed by Norman Jewison, 1971.
Teaching about Sikhism
- The Kaur Foundation
- Sikh Kid to Kid – Student-friendly site on Sikhism
- Eleanor Nesbit, Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction
Textbook Resources for the PK-5 Classroom
Textbook Resources for the 6-12 Classroom
- Karen Armstrong, A History of God: the 4000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- Jeffrey Brodd, World Religions: A Voyage of Discovery
- highly recommended as 9-12 classroom textbook
- Jeffrey Brodd, Primary Source Readings in World Religions
- highly recommended as 9-12 classroom textbook
- Christopher Dawson, Progress and Religion: An Historical Inquiry
- Christopher Dawson, Enquiries Into Religion and Culture
- James Fieser, Scriptures of the World’s Religions
- Richard Holloway, A Little History of Religion
- Amir Hussain, Roy C. Amore, and Willard Gurdon Oxtoby, A Concise Introduction to World Religions, 3rd Edition
- Philip Jenkins, Crucible of Faith: The Ancient Revolution That Made Our Modern Religious World
- Jacob Neusner, Religious Foundations of Western Civilization: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
- Philip Novak, The World’s Wisdom: Sacred Texts of the World’s Religions
- Huston Smith, The Illustrated World’s Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions
- Huston Smith, The World’s Religions
Key Texts on Teaching about Religion in the Classroom
Professional Development on Teaching about Religion in the Classroom
- Freedom Forum Institute: Religious Freedom Center – Free online professional development on teaching about religion in the classroom.
- Religion and Public Life .ORG – A clearinghouse of professional development on religious literacy, diversity, and freedom
- World Religions Through Their Scriptures @ EdX – Examines the function of religion in historical and contemporary societies through religious scripture traditions. (Free)
- Harvard Divinity School: Religion and Public Life – Offers a variety of professional development opportunities for educators including a summer institute.