Religious Worlds of New York: Teaching the Everyday Life of American Religious Diversity

FAIN: ES-261677-18

Interfaith Center of New York (New York, NY 10115-0081)
Henry Goldschmidt (Project Director: February 2018 to March 2021)

A three-week institute for 25 school teachers on religious diversity in New York City.

This three week institute will offer K-12 teachers an advanced introduction to the religious diversity of the United States, through a rigorous engagement with both religious studies scholarship and the religious life of New York City. Participants will explore six major religious traditions. They will discuss the constitutional and pedagogic issues surrounding the study of religion in public and private schools. They will meet with diverse religious leaders, visit local houses of worship, and conduct field research to trace the presence of religion in a New York neighborhood. In addition to these community-based pedagogies, they will also explore a range of classroom strategies for teaching about religious life, including the use of literature, film, and the arts. The institute will thus give participants the pedagogic tools they need to teach their students about the everyday lives of their fellow Americans from diverse faith traditions.

Associated Products

Summer Scholars Curriculum Development Projects (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Summer Scholars Curriculum Development Projects
Author: 23 of our summer scholars
Abstract: Curriculum development projects created by summer scholars, available to download by their peers from the institute website
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://religiousworldsnyc.org/resource-page/lesson-plans-curriculum-units-and-community-based-programs
Audience: K - 12

I teach global religions to teenagers. Here’s how NYC schools should approach its new curriculum on hate crimes. (Article)
Title: I teach global religions to teenagers. Here’s how NYC schools should approach its new curriculum on hate crimes.
Author: Jody Madell
Abstract: I teach global religions to teenagers. Here’s how NYC schools should approach its new curriculum on hate crimes.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://chalkbeat.org/posts/ny/2020/02/20/i-teach-global-religions-to-teenagers-heres-how-nyc-schools-should-approach-its-new-curriculum-on-hate-crimes/
Access Model: open access online magazine
Format: Magazine
Periodical Title: ChalkBeat New York

Being There: What Do Students Learn by Visiting Houses of Worship? (Article)
Title: Being There: What Do Students Learn by Visiting Houses of Worship?
Author: Henry Goldschmidt
Abstract: Discussion of place-based K-12 religious diversity eduction.
Year: 2018
Primary URL: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19393881
Access Model: subscription
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: CrossCurrents (Vol. 68, No. 3, Pp. 394-411)

Teaching Lived Religion through Literature: Classroom Strategies for Community-Based Learning (Book Section)
Title: Teaching Lived Religion through Literature: Classroom Strategies for Community-Based Learning
Author: Henry Goldschmidt
Editor: Charles Haynes
Abstract: Discussion of strategies to teach about lived religion through literature, with a focus on James Baldwin's classic novel "Go Tell it on the Mountain."
Year: 2019
Primary URL: https://members.socialstudies.org/Scripts/4Disapi.dll/store/teaching-about-religion-in-the-social-studies-classroom/2372/
Access Model: subscription / purchase
Publisher: National Council for the Social Studies
Book Title: Teaching about Religion in the Social Studies Classroom (NCSS Bulletin #117)

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