Key points of the religious dimension of intercultural education

• Religion must be understood as a social, cultural and political phenomenon in modern secular societies.

• Religion is not confined solely to the private sphere, away from the public arena: moral and religious convictions underlie motivation and the nature of social action.

• It is important that states safeguard citizens’ freedom of religion and conscience.

• Manifestations of religious diversity in schools include visible symbols and requirements and invisible convictions and values.

• Intercultural education should ensure an understanding of the different world views found in pluralist societies.

• Intercultural education needs to develop personal autonomy, a critical spirit, openness to diversity, and a feeling of belonging to the community as a whole, as well as nurture a sense of trust, uniting citizens beyond their moral and religious differences, in order to play a full part in democracy.

• The aims of the religious dimension of intercultural education are to promote: tolerance (awareness of various life options and respect for others); reciprocity: a readiness to acknowledge or grant others the same things one would like to see recognized or granted fro oneself, and not to offend others on matters on which one would not wish to be offended oneself; civic-mindedness: ability to stand back with capacity for reflection and moderation in the public expression of identity, with mutual respect and sharing with others.

2. Read again the above-given key points of the religious dimension of intercultural education and say whether you agree with all of them. Which of the enlisted, in your opinion, is/are of paramount importance? Why?

Reading 2

1. Read the below-given texts to answer the following questions:

Why have old non-Christian beliefs been recently revived?

Why is Islam in such a healthy state, compared to other religions?

Why are many younger people drifting away from Judaism?

Why is it difficult to describe and define Hinduism?

What is the difference between Sikhism and Hinduism?

World’s Religious Diversity

The New Age

Many religions, including Christianity, are declining in popularity. Yet, in a recent government survey, only 10 per cent of the population claim to be atheist: that is, not believing in God; and only 13 per cent called themselves agnostics, who think that it is impossible to know the truth. Many people looking for an alternative to traditional, official religions have moved towards something called New Age. The term comes from astrology – we are passing from the previous age of Pisces, which has lasted 2,000 years since the birth of Christ, into the age of Aquarius. Astrology is very popular with New Age people, as is fortune telling by all sorts of means: tarot cards, tealeaves, I Ching and palm reading. Old non-Christian beliefs have been revived: magic, the occult, and the powers of witches.

Islam

The great majority of Muslims in Great Britain are Pakistani or Bangladeshi; although they read the holy book, the Quran, in its original Arabic, they speak mainly Urdu and Bengali. Young Muslims, like all young people, tend to rebel against the beliefs of their parents. But Islam seems to be surviving much more successfully than Christianity. Mosques in London and other big cities are full on Fridays. Many schools and colleges have a special room for Muslims to pray. New all-Muslim schools are being set up.

Why is Islam in such a healthy state, compared to other religions? There are probably two main reasons. One is that it is natural for an immigrant group to hang on to its religion; it is an important way of maintaining its identity. The other reason is that Islam all over the world has been very strong and dynamic in recent years.

There was a difficult moment for Muslims in Britain when a small number of them supported fatwa against the British writer Salman Rushdie. (This was the death sentence issued by the Iranian government on the grounds that Rushdie had insulted Islam in his 1988 book The Satanic Verses.) The press, which tends to be anti-Islamic, took advantage of this to create a picture of Muslim assassins waiting for a chance to kill the author. More than a million ordinary, peaceful Muslims suffered the effects of this negative image.

Judaism

The Jewish community has been in Britain for much longer than the Hindus or Sikhs. In fact, some Jews came here with the Norman invasion in1066; but 200 years later their property was confiscated and they were expelled from the country. (Britain has not always deserved its reputation for racial and religious tolerance.) When they were expelled from Spain in the 15^th century, Jews once again came to live in this country, and have been here ever since. Many more came from Russia and Eastern Europe 100 years ago, and then from Central Europe in the 1930s.

For Jews, who had no homeland for so many centuries, religion has been an essential way of expressing their sense of community and their identity. Without their religion, would they be Jews at all? Today, you can still see orthodox Jews, who wear special clothes, observe the Sabath (Saturday) strictly, and follow the kosher rules about food (such as not eating pork). But as among Christians, many younger people are drifting away from religion. They do not attend the synagogue regularly, they eat forbidden foods, and marry non-Jews.

Their elders are worried; they say that Judaism used to be threatened by persecution but now it is threatened by indifference.

Hinduism

The names Hindu and India are just two forms of the same word, but Hindu was first used by outsiders to mean any religion in India which was not Islam, Sikhism or Buddhism.

This is perhaps why it is difficult to describe and define Hinduism. It is over 8,500 years old and has no single founder. There are a number of gods, like Vishnu, Rama and Shiva; but each individual Hindu only prays to one of these gods; and they think of themselves as monotheists.

Hindu culture has rather a good image among the British as a whole. The music is lovely, the pictures of gods are strange and pretty, and the character of religious Hindus seems very gentle and attractive. Although he struggled against British imperialism, the Indian leader Gandhi has been admired, even revered, by the British people for his non-violence and spirituality. In reality, not all Hindus deserve this positive image; Hindu extremists in India have been as violent as Islamic extremists.

Sikhism

The Sikhs come from the Punjab in the north-east of India, and they speak Punjabi. The more traditional men are easily recognizable, as they wear turbans and have beards. The religion is monotheistic, and similar in some ways to Hinduism. But it is centered around the teachings of gurus, who lived between the 15^th and the 18^th centuries. The greatest of these was the first, Guru Nanek, and it is his portrait that you see in Sikh shops and houses. There are about 400,000 Sikhs in the UK. The London suburb of Southall, near Heathrow airport, is a very interesting place to visit – full of Punjabi shops and restaurants, and with an important Gurdwara (a Sikh temple).

2. Orally summarize the information about world religions. Recollect any other religion you know and get ready to speak briefly on it. Your speech may be outlined according to the following:

- history of the religion;

- main guidelines and principles;

- areas/territories of worship;

- modern tendencies within the religion.

If necessary, use graphs, schemes, tables or any other aids.

Language work

1. Make up a list of key words and combinations (10 in number) of the texts.

2. Explain the meaning of the following word combinations:

process of secularization, an irreversible feature of a society, to be exempt from religion, collective memory, practicing members, new religious or spiritual groups have sprung up, sporadic or endemic conflicts, to nurture a personal spirituality, take part in ritual practices, stances taken vis-à-vis political and moral issues, multifaceted context of the religious dimension, irreconcilable.

3. Fill in the necessary prepositions:

Regardless ____ the way, to be limited ____ the private sphere, identify themselves ___ specific religious labels, subscribe ___ religious doctrines, to decline ___ popularity, to pass ____ the age of Aquarius, to rebel ____ the beliefs of the parents, all-Muslim schools are set ____, to be centered ____ the teachings of gurus.

Speaking

1. Read the text to obtain information about the “religious landscape” of the USA.