Religion around the world Getting to know other people…

By the end of the lesson you will… Know… – …some of the basic views of the world’s major religions Understand… – …why religion matters to a lot of people Be able to… – …make decisions about your opinions on different viewpoints

But first… For many people, religion is a source of support and advice in times of difficulty. Who else might you go to for support? – Friends – Family – Tutor/teacher – Room 3 staff – Doctor – Counsellor

Life ‘sucks’ sometimes… Sometimes, things happen and you don’t know how to deal with them. Sometimes you don’t want to use your normal support network, for one reason or another. Don’t forget that there is now a box in the library (just to the right when you go through the main door) with a label on top that says ‘your questions, answered’. Some people also turn to religion when life ‘sucks’.

Thinking about religion… You all have an A3 sheet, which contains the basic views of four different religions on a range of subjects. You are going to look at what each religion believes, without knowing which religion is which.

1 – individual issues. Your sheet compares the views of four major religions on a range of issues. Under each statement in each box, write down what you (personally) think of the statement. For example, the first statement is: – I don’t think we’re linked together, but I do think it’s good to respect animals as they might bite us or something. All living things are linked together in the circle of life, and we should treat plants and animals with respect.

2 – Choosing from the issues Read down each column, to look at all of the views on each issue. Highlight the one statement you agree with most. At the bottom of the column, try to say why you think this. Repeat this for every column.

3 – Thinking about each religion In the last column, write down what you think about each religion (i.e. about all of the information in each row). For example, you might read about the religion in the first row and write something like: – I think this religion is quite fair because… – I think this is a ridiculous thing to think because… – I think this religion would be hard to follow because…

So which do you agree with the most? Number the religions (rows) from 1 to 4, starting at the top. In your books, or on the back of your sheet, write down which of the four sets of views you agree with the most. So which one did you pick? As a class, have a show of hands to demonstrate which religion was picked the most often.

So which was which? Number 1… – …was Buddhism – There were 376m Buddhists in the world in 2012 Number 2… – …was Christianity – There were 2.1b Christians in the world in 2012 Number 3… – …was Islam – There were 1.5b Muslims in the world in 2012 Number 4… – …was Hinduism – There were 1b Hindus in the world in 2012

Where are they? Everywhere! Most major religions exist in most countries. There are British Christians living in India, and Indian Hindus living in Britain. Most countries have a ‘majority’ religion, and most people are free to believe what they want to.

‘Majority’ religions around the world

And finally… If you had to give one simple rule that the whole world had to live by, what would it be, and why would it make the world a ‘better place’? Do you think it is fair (and makes sense) for absolutely everybody to live by the same rules?