Six Degrees of Separation: A Curriculum on World Religion

By Alexis Donkin

In a world becoming smaller and smaller, one encounters different world views and religions on a regular basis. But what is the difference between a Sikh and a Muslim? What is the difference between a Hindu and a Buddhist?

As a cosmopolitan world where the majority of people claim religious identities, education is the key to understanding the differences and similarities between faith traditions. SIX DEGREES is a curriculum for adults that communities can use to increase their understanding of major world religions and foster interfaith dialogue. Learn about holidays, revelation, religious focus, and origins. Discuss and unpack current events related to world religions and give context to the actions of religious sects. Find the commonalities between religions, and the places where all people can focus in order to create a better world through understanding and conversation.

SIX DEGREES gives communities the tools they need to extend hands in true friendship and understanding to those of different faith traditions.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Alexis Donkin
• Release date: Feb 29, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310948541

Alexis Donkin

Alexis Donkin is passionate, purposeful, and prolific. If Margaret Atwood and C.S. Lewis had a lovechild, it would be her. Alexis currently lives in Southern California with her family and real-life familiar. She has lived many places and studied many things. Between writing, speaking, and chasing her kid, she paints, sings, and dances. Sometimes she does it all at once. Be sure to connect with her and sign up for her newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/btmIPD

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Six Degrees of Separation

A Curriculum on World Religion

By: Alexis Donkin

Copyright 2016, Alexis Donkin

All rights reserved.

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Introduction

In the first few years of life we have already begun to construct and perceive the world. This first process of understanding the world is known as primary socialization. This is what each person receives from his or her parents. Part of this socialization is learning familial roles, family culture, as well as parents' morals and values. For the majority of families across the world, morals and values are learned through religious teachings. As religious learning begins at a young age in the home, and then continues in a secondary socialization process through religious communities and schools, it is a deep and far reaching perspective. It colors even basic understandings about the world. Even in the case of a convert, where a primary socialization is reversed, the convert becomes so attached to the new socialization, the new religion, he or she adopts it completely which affects perspectives even more strongly (Berger).

Even those who do not profess a faith tradition are touched by the realities created by so many faith perspectives. Morals, values, and life understandings become adopted as cultural rather than religious, though the beginnings of many value sets can be found in a given geography’s dominant religion. God can be on money, as well as in pledges and oaths to the state. In a court of law, a witness may swear with his or her hand on a sacred text. Whole judicial systems may be based on ideas laid out in scripture.

Though socializations, both primary and secondary, as well as their far reaching effects may be very obvious to anyone living in a given society, the socialization of others in another society remains foreign and misunderstood. In a world with the majority of people having religious identities and deep religious socialization, people persistently misunderstand other world religions, and therefore misunderstand others. This is the simplest explanation for why policymakers and foreign dignitaries make mistakes when encountering people of differing faiths. It is one of the main factors why misinformation and disinformation on the internet and other media are accepted uncritically. By accepting this type of media as true, it continues to create misunderstandings about religious traditions and those cultures influenced by them (Maalouf).

One of the ways in which we can combat these misunderstandings about others and their faith traditions is by being proactive in educating ourselves about other traditions. In an effort to raise awareness for my community and yours, I have chosen to develop this curriculum to help us understand one another and ourselves through our faiths.

Purpose and Reason

The goal of this course is to raise awareness of other faith traditions and ultimately stimulate constructive interfaith relationships through dialogue between adults in an accessible community setting. It is for this reason that similarities within difference are stressed throughout the course. This is achieved by the use of similar headings and topic areas as well as pointed discussion questions. These sessions are not meant to constitute a comprehensive or academic course. Indeed, it would be impossible to do honor to any one of these faiths during the expected session time allotted, or even by discussing a single faith over ten or twelve weeks. It should be noted that even for those individuals with scholarly training, and life long learning related to their tradition, much remains elusive. That said, the project attempted by this course remains worthwhile as a springboard for the understanding of other faith traditions as they have such a strong impact in our world. People worldwide participate in religious groups, go to houses of worship on a regular basis, and claim affinity with religions. People across the world live in cultures and are ruled by governments that are profoundly impacted by religious traditions.

Despite obstacles to a comprehensive survey or understanding of religious traditions, it is more important than ever to attempt the impossible. There are several reasons for this. First, it is imperative that people globally attempt to engage one another’s faith tradition because we are coming into contact with one another with greater frequency. Our world is becoming increasingly smaller through the process of globalization. We humans are more interconnected than ever before. Webcams, cell phones, 747s, satellites, television, and chat applications help us cross boundaries as large as continents and oceans with very little delay (Cox, 22). Because of this interconnectedness, people gain instantaneous access to information about everything from politics and pastimes, to geography and ritual through all manner of sources such as personal blogs, chat rooms, and chain emails (which may or may not be accurate). It is easy for governments, terrorist groups, Fortune 500 companies, extremist organizations, and even individuals to manipulate how that information is presented, and thus what is believable. The average person surrounded by new highly effective communications technology is subjected to a barrage of information about religious groups acting in all manner of ways. These high profile news clips do not necessarily represent the majority stance. Unfortunately the loudest voices are those that dominate the discourse.

While the world is full of people who embrace the exchange of cultural preferences and ideas, there are also significant trends towards the local and traditional. Many scholars and journalists have argued the lines of conflict between various groups are ethnically and or religiously based (Cox, 21).

Yet even these lines are blurred, and continue to blur. Many of the identities in question cross national, regional, and other long instituted borders. Few identities however, have the mass affiliation of major world religious identities. Here I refer specifically to those covered in this course: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. These faiths have adherents all over the world, many of whom are connected through a variety of religious and cultural associations, as well as service organizations and therefore have a significant impact on the direction of world events (Smart, 124).

This is true even for religions that do not actively seek converts, such as Judaism, Hindusim, and Sikhism. Such religions are based along ethnic and cultural lines. The word ‘diaspora’ originally referred to the scattering of the Jewish people, is now also applicable