seeking practitioners of various religions

[allli.livejournal.com]

Hi,

I am a high school Humanities teacher at a small charter school in Dorchester. My class is currently studying world religions. I'm looking for practitioners who wouldn't mind sharing their faith in an academic, personal, and respectful way with my students.

Ideally, someone would come in who considers themselves a practitioner of one of the top 6 world religions (Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Judaism, ranked by # of adherents- and yes, I know atheism would be #2) and speak to my class for 15-20 minutes about their beliefs and how they practice. The students are seniors and are curious and respectful. I'm sure they'd love to ask questions. Probably 30 minutes would be the maximum.

I am not looking to create a "panel" of speakers coming in all at one time. Just a few visitors coming in at some point between 9 and 5 on a week day, some time during the next two weeks.

My bias here is towards members of the religions with the largest number of adherents, as quoted in the CIA World Factbook and other sites. No offense is meant to other faiths.

Thanks for any and all help. Comment here if you or someone you know may be able to come in!

Comments

[miraclaire.livejournal.com]

I wish I could do this. It sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, I work 8:30-4:30, so getting to Dorchester by 5 probably wouldn't work. If you were having atheists come in, my dad would possibly do it since he gets home earlier from work (and lives in Dorchester, which is where I grew up). Anyway, I mostly just wanted to say good luck with your project!

[hakamadare.livejournal.com]

i'd be happy to be your Jew (or one of them); again, the challenge would be scheduling, as i work 9-5 in Cambridge. let me check my calendar...

-steve

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

You mention atheism (or, to make the top 6 list, it would perhaps be "non-religious"), but don't explain why you do not wish to include an atheist.

I'm not sure what the point of your class is, but if you're trying to discuss the role of religion in society and how it affects how adherents lead their lives, it seems to me that it is an omission.

It would be very important to hear from an Atheist about how they approach morality, community, life purpose etc., without a religious framework. I'm not sure what topic you could discuss which would be complete without their representation.

Can't say I'm volunteering though - I have more than enough on my plate at the moment...

[daft.livejournal.com]

This. Especially since you're including Buddhism, which isn't necessarily theistic.

[ron_newman]

I think Japanese Shinto ranks higher than Judaism in number of adherents.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

No, I think you're confusing that with Chinese traditional religion, Ron. Shinto has only 4-5 million adherents.

[ron_newman]

I was working under the apparent misimpression that most Japanese were adherents of Shinto.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

You know, this opens an interesting question about what it means to be an "adherent".

Although many public ceremonies in Japan have a formal Shinto element (just as most public ceremonies in the US have a formal Christian element, like a benediction), only 4-5 million Japanese identify themselves as active practitioners of Shinto.

On the other hand, more than 100 million Japanese identify themselves as Shinto in surveys that don't talk about current practice habits, so it's certainly much larger than Judaism based on that definition.

I guess a bigger question is "What is an adherent?" If it's about self-identification, then the proportions are going to be much different than if it's about current practice.

If the original poster really is going by the CIA Yearbook, then I'm pretty sure that Shinto should be included in the top five, because unless the Yearbook has changed a lot, its religious demographics are based on self-identification, not practice.

And Chinese traditional religion would certainly be the fourth largest religion based on either self-identification or practice. Unless you lump all African traditional religions into one group, which I don't think would be appropriate, but which is sometimes done in these taxonomies.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

OP, are you coming up with an after-the-fact explanation for why you chose the religions that just "seemed right" to you? Because I think you might be better off saying "Well, these are several religions that have a major presence in the US" rather than trying to explain why you chose, say, Sikhism over Chinese traditional religion or Shinto.

[douxquemiel.livejournal.com]

I'd love to be able to help; unfortunately I don't really fall into any of the major faith communities. If you need a Unitarian Universalist, I'd be happy to come in, but somehow I'd feel like I'd be more likely to just confuse them more. :D

Also, for the record, your list of faiths is pretty decent; it's hard to get a "comprehensive" distribution of world religions, but this is an excellent start. Best of luck.

I'm a Quellist

[nvidia99999.livejournal.com]

Do you need one?

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I cannot say strongly enough how important I think it would be for you to include a representative from a humanist/atheist/secularist group or organization. Freedom of religion also needs to include freedom from religion.

Let me draw your attention to the American Humanist Association's curriculum project (http://www.americanhumanist.org/KHEC/curriculumframework.php). The Massachusetts chapter of the AHA (http://masshumanists.org/) is very active: if Tom Ferrick, the founder and the longtime humanist chaplain at Harvard, is available, he might be the ideal person to talk with your students about the significance of the secular/atheist/humanist world view. (I also think that his status as a retired Harvard chaplain might smooth his path with your principal/head of school and/or angry parents.)

Note: I am myself a fairly committed Episcopalian, so this is not my battle to fight, but as a Christian I think it's very important for the range of religious and non-religious viewpoints to be represented fairly.

[wandelrust.livejournal.com]

I don't think it's necessary to include an areligious viewpoint in what sounds like a comparative religion study. He specifically requested people to talk about their beliefs and practices, not their worldview.

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

... and yet he/she teaches Humanities, not religion, and mentions trying to cover the 6 most popular faiths.

It entirely depends what he/she is trying to cover. It could be only religious ceremonies, in which case you're right, but it might be more. Atheism or agnosticism has consequence to beliefs and practices in just the same way that religion does.

[wandelrust.livejournal.com]

I'm going off of what he said. The religious beliefs and practices of an atheist usually amount to "I don't believe in any gods, so I don't do anything about it," which isn't particularly enriching. I also happen to believe that a lack of religion isn't actually a religion in and of itself, but that's another argument.

If it was a wider discussion of the role of religion on society and shaping morals and ethics, I would absolutely agree the non-religious viewpoint should be included. Further, I hope it was covered in the larger scope of the class he's teaching, but that's not what he asked for in a guest speaker.

[icecreamempress.livejournal.com]

I'm going off of what he said. The religious beliefs and practices of an atheist usually amount to "I don't believe in any gods, so I don't do anything about it," which isn't particularly enriching.

AND THIS IS WHY PEOPLE NEED EDUCATION ABOUT WHAT SECULARISM, HUMANISM, AND ATHEISM REALLY ARE.

Geez Louise, thanks for proving my point. Yeah, a humanist CHAPLAIN couldn't provide any useful insight into a discussion of world religion, no sirree.

[doogly.livejournal.com]

So, one thing that's tricky about atheism is there is no orthodoxy, since it is just a lack of a belief. I could not imagine anyone being a chaplain of my brand of atheism, so clearly something different is happening over there. Which is fine. I know claims to any kind of authority are difficult for many religions as well, but at least there you can reference some communities and traditions and locate what sort of perspective you are giving.

There might still be value in having someone talk or answer questions at the level of pure anecdote, because the kiddies in the class might not otherwise have access to a 'lived' perspective. They might be curious about how an individual deals with things like death and loss that religious people cope with religiously, so that could be helpful. But it's not like I feel like I am answering "no" to the important god-question, I am saying it is an unimportant and flawed concept. I don't get fired up over not believing in things. (I may from time to time get fired up over the separation of church and state, but that's more of a political issue.)

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

Where's Robert Ingersoll when you need him, huh?

[jimmyfergus.livejournal.com]

I do see your point, and you may be right (though you did insert the "religious" before "beliefs" that the original question did not have, but that's splitting hairs).

There's a lot to being an atheist - an entire belief system of how the world works based only on reason has to be explored. Morality is a question founded only on conscience rather than dogma... I'd say it's a very rich subject, rather than the null subject you imply. It is, as you imply, a topic which starts by discussing what it isn't, but that leads to interesting discussions on what remains, which is a lot.

... and yes, I agree that atheism is not a religion - by definition. I'd say it is a religious group though. Atheism is, however, a faith. Agnosticism isn't, and is the only purely reason-based position for someone who doesn't believe in gods. You cannot prove a negative; to assert that you believe that no gods exist is unprovable, therefore it is a statement of faith.

[wandelrust.livejournal.com]

I did oversimplify, perhaps somewhat snarkily, and I apologize (to both of you). I agree wholeheartedly that atheism/secularism/humanism are (or can be) very deep topics that spark a lot of discussion and introspection, but I think it's a different discussion than the beliefs and practices of the world's most popular religions, which is what it seemed like the poster is looking for.

One can also make the point that it's the conversation he should be having with his students, but again, that's another argument.

[diatomacearth.livejournal.com]

Well, atheism and agnosticism are actually beliefs. Humanism and Rationalism are well-developed belief systems in their own right, not merely negative space around "There is no God." They have a historically complex relationship to organized religion, and they have been enormously influential in American culture since before the American States were United. There's plenty of precedent for including some stripe of freethinker along with representatives of organized religion, when you're doing a survey on major belief systems.

[wandelrust.livejournal.com]

Atheism can be a belief system, and in a strict definition defines a belief, but there are plenty of atheists who simply believe "there is no god, and thus it has no impact on my life" and leave it at that. In a similar way to there being Christians who say "Jesus is Lord and I am saved by him" but don't go to church or otherwise do anything relating to their belief, I suppose.

I wouldn't classify agnosticism as a belief, but rather a lack of one. I suppose you could call it a belief that proof of the presence or lack thereof of higher powers is impossible, but I think that unfairly limits it.

And while atheism, humanism, rationalism, secularism, and more that I'm surely forgetting are all potential belief systems and philosophies, I maintain that none of them are religions, which is what the OP was looking for people to discuss.

[ron_newman]

But there are actual organized congregations of Humanistic Jews. There's also the Ethical Culture Society which explicitly calls itself a "religious movement", meets on Sunday mornings, and in many ways acts like a church.

Any consideration of the Unitarian/Universalist movement further muddles this issue.

[ron_newman]

There's also some overlap between UUism and atheism, if only because some atheists still want a welcoming place to go on Sunday mornings.

Also in this category is the Ethical Society of Boston.

[ron_newman]

I am myself a fairly committed Episcopalian

If so, this person would greatly appreciate anything you have to say. Thanks.

[anyee.livejournal.com]

I'm an interesting case: conservative Jewish convert from Catholicism. I can compare and contrast so hardcore! Scheduling could work if I had a bit of a heads up. There is a way to message me, I think.

[allli.livejournal.com]

thanks for all the many replies and opinions.

i've messaged those who volunteered to possible come in.

[hissilliness.livejournal.com]

What, no Pastafarians have come forward yet? Somerville disappoints me.

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

Are you aware of the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center? They're in Cambridge, and they may be able to help. I am not affiliated with them in any way (I only know about them from walking by their building on Mass Ave), but they say they embrace humanistic Buddhism and provide educational opportunities.
http://www.ibps.org/boston/GBBCC/eng//other/aboutus.htm