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Let My Prayer Arise—Orthodox Lent Chant in English

The song/video "Let My Prayer Arise—Orthodox Lent Chant in English," performed by the parish choir of Saint Philip Antiochian Orthodox Church in the USA, is available on YouTube (5:10) with lyrics and photos of Orthodox worship. This is chanted at …

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Song/video "Deyenu, Coming Home"

The song/video “Deyenu, Coming Home,” by the Ein Prat Fountainheads, available on YouTube (2:54), is a fun song about Passover by a contemporary Jewish group and is appropriate for use on day 2.

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Interview Chart for Religious Beliefs

This chart allows students to see the comparison between the beliefs of five major religions and those of the Catholic Church.

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Religious Identity Descriptions

This handout provides the religious identities for five major world religions.

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The Comparative Study of Religions

An introduction to the comparative study of religions.

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Sample Lesson Planning Chart

A sample lesson plan.

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Teacher Evaluation: An Interreligious Interview

The following ratings identify your scores on a scale from 1 (poor) to 10 (excellent).

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Greek and Roman Gods Today

Next to the name of each god or goddess in the chart below, jot down any person, place, object, time, program, or product with which you associate the name. You may also note titles of songs or TV programs or …

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A Zoroastrian Symbol

The illustration on this handout is the Faravahar, a symbol of Zoroastrian faith. With the example of the Faravahar in mind, create, on a separate sheet of paper, a symbol that represents your own religious faith or personal understanding of …

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Koans: Food for Intuition

Read the following Zen koans two or three times. Choose one and answer or explain it.

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Who Is the Sage?

In each pair of situations below, one of the people described resembles the ideal of the Taoist sage, the person who lives in accord with Tao and practices the virtue wu-wei. Read each pair of situations and circle the letter …

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Chinese Calligraphy

Calligraphy is one of the cultural arts that was pursued in the process of becoming a chun-tzu. Try your hand at reproducing the Chinese characters below, drawing your versions in the space provided to the right of the characters. The …

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The Sikh Khalsa

The information on this handout provides further insight into the nature of the Sikh Khalsa.

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The Ten Gurus of Sikhism

This list of the ten Gurus of Sikhism briefly summarizes the key contributions of each Guru.

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Kuan-Yin

1. Look at the statue or picture at this station. 2. This image depicts the deity Kuan-yin. Write words that describe this image.

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Monks

1. Look at the picture at this station. 2. Write words that describe the actions that you see in the picture. 3. Write words that describe the relationships between people that you see in the picture.

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Objects Used in Tibetan Rituals

1. At this station are several objects. Some may look familiar. Gently pick up each object and examine it. SOME OF THE OBJECTS ARE FRAGILE. PLEASE HANDLE THEM CAREFULLY. 2. Write the following information about each object.

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The Fasting Siddhartha

1. Observe the statue or picture at this station. 2. Notice that it is probably different from almost any other image of the Buddha that you have seen. 3. Look closely and write down what you observe. How does this …

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Right Meditation

1. Here is a Buddha statue or picture. Sit quietly and stare at it. Meditate on it. Let it be a visual focus for your medi- tation. Learn from it. 2. Write any impressions, observations, or questions you have.

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Correlation to Curriculum Framework

Correlation to Curriculum Framework Course IV: Jesus Christ’s Mission Continues in the Church from The Church: Christ in the World Today.

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All is Not Difference

A brief video that touches on Christianity's relationship with Judaism.

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World Religions and the Catholic Church

An activity where students are asked to research several religious traditions, complete a comparison chart, and then reflect on their findings.

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The Two Pentecosts

A chart used to draw parallels between the feasts of Shavuot and Christian Pentecost.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (6 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (5 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (4 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (3 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (2 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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Mysteries of the Church: The Crusades

A documentary chronicling the events of the Crusades and their lasting impact.

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Mysteries of the Church: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

A cinematographically excellent documentary explaining in colloquial and relatable language the foundations, similarities and differences of Judaism, Islam and Christianity.

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Mysteries of the Church: Christian Denominations

A cinematographically excellent documentary explaining in colloquial and relatable language the history of the development of many Christian denominations.

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Gandhi - The Philosophy of Nonviolence

A description of Gandhi's understanding of the use of nonviolence.

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Biography of Prophet Muhammad (1 of 6)

A documentary portraying the life of Muhammad, the development of Islam, and common misunderstandings of the faith.

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The History of Islam Part - 16

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 15

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 14

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 13

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 12

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 11

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 10

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 9

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 8

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 7

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 6

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 5

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 4

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 3

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam Part - 2

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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The History of Islam - Part 1

A documentary portraying the exhaustive history, development and impact of Islam on global affairs, politics, technology and culture.

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Christian Unity and Ecumenical Dialogue

This article is from the Living in Christ Series. It is about the relationship between the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations, and uses Church documents and scripture to discuss this relationship.

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Catholicism and World Religions

This article is from the Living in Christ Series. It discusses the relationship between the Catholic Church and other world religions through various Church documents.

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Exploring the "Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions (Nostra Aetate, 1965)”

This activity is part of the Living in Christ Series. It helps students and teachers pick out key ideas and themes in the Second Vatican Council document, Nostra Aetate through questions and short answers.

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The Story of Noah and Other Flood Narratives

This article discusses the similarities and differences between the Biblical flood story and that of other ancient Middle Eastern traditions. It also compares the Biblical account between the Yahwist and Priestly sources.

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Papal Plea: Never Use Religion as a Reason for Conflict

VATICAN CITY, SEP 23, 2001 (VIS) - John Paul II traveled this morning from Astana’s apostolic nunciature to the Square of the Motherland, where at 10:30 a.m. he celebrated Mass with the ordinaries of Kazakhstan, guest bishops and priests working …

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Why Is the World the Way It Is?

Why is the world the way it is? Why is it full of wrong? Why are her eyes so big? Why is his neck so long? Why is she so dark? Why am I so light? Why is she called …

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The Enuma Elish: A Babylonian Creation Story

The Genesis story is not the only ancient creation story. In fact, almost every ancient culture had its own story of how the world came to exist. Each story reflected much about how the people of its culture viewed their …

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American and Catholic: Inviting Current Events into Religion Class

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, my students discussed Catholic social teaching on war and peace. One of my students said, "This is not the time to be Catholic; this is the time to be an American." He was …

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Wrestling with Diversity

How do we welcome non-Christians into our schools and our religion classrooms, and at the same time give witness to our own Christ-centered faith? How do we invite students to learn from and respect other faith traditions without sending the …

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Religious Diversity in Catholic Schools

Pluralism of religions is a reality in the United States. We see it in the newspaper, and we encounter it in our own classrooms. Through television, the Internet, and the changing religious landscape of our own country, our students encounter …

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Central Characteristics of Roman Catholicism

Catholicism is a remarkably rich religion, characterized by a complex tapestry of beliefs, practices, values, rituals, traditions, and more. When viewed "from the outside"--that is, by those who do not share its communal life--Catholicism is probably most frequently identified by …

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Hinduism: What Do You Know About the World's Oldest Religion?

Many Americans, who probably have little chance to meet any Hindus, have a vague notion that Hinduism has something to do with bearded swamis, sacred cows, and Mahatma Gandhi. Although most of the citizens of the world's largest democracy are …

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Evil Never Looked So Good

Do you think you're a victim? Do you avoid making judgments because you'll hurt someone's feelings? Do you feel betrayed by your wrinkles or your balding dome? Be careful. You might be cuddling up to heresy, which just had a …

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Six Ways to be Truly Catholic

I always thought that I would have made a great archbishop in Salzburg during the time of Mozart. But instead I'm the archbishop of Milwaukee in the time of rock 'n' roll. That's the way life turns out. We live …

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The Quincentenary

As we are all aware, 1992 marks the quincentenary of Christopher Columbus's landing in the West Indies–thus, the "discovery" of America. For religious educators, this anniversary offers an opportunity to examine the injustices done to Native Americans by the colonizers …

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Curriculum Offerings of Theology Departments

For a couple of years, Saint Mary’s Press sponsored a listserv discussion group online. Discussions on a variety of topics were pursued via e-mail. In this section of the web site, I summarize some of the highlights from these old …

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