Education – United Religions Initiative North America

EducationThat Opens Doors To Peace

Resources related to interfaith education are grouped here by section.

Comparative Religions

Internet Sacred Text Archive – “the largest freely available archive of online books about religion, mythology, folklore and the esoteric on the Internet. The site is dedicated to religious tolerance and scholarship, and has the largest readership of any similar site on the web.” Truly an amazing site with a huge body of freely available public domain religious texts.
Honouring Diverse Beliefs in Our Communities: A Conversational Toolkit – 20 minute low key, lovely video “From Atheism to Zoroastrianism, people draw on different belief systems to guide the ways they think and act. How can we respond to this important element of diversity in our communities? What are the risks involved? What do we stand to gain? Join families, faith communities, and others as they explore these important questions and learn together. You may realize that you have more to offer to this conversation than you think! A himar Productions Ltd. documentary – Partners DIVERSEcity Community Resources Society & Surrey Neighbouring Faiths Program. This project has been made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.”
University of California Television 10th Anniversary Religion retrospective a) Religion Today b) Understanding Religion c) Religion and Science d) Religion and Politics e) Religion and Conflict f) Buddhism g) Christianity h)Islam i) Judaism
Tony Blair Faith Foundation Universities Programme – “The Universities programme engages the worldwide higher education sector in developing a deeper understanding of the interrelationship between faith and globalization.”
The Faith Club by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver and Priscilla Warner. Three women a Muslim a Jew and a Christian in search of understanding.
Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence, 3rd Edition (Comparative Studies in Religion and Society, Vol. 13) by Mark Juergensmeyer – “This dark, enthralling book not only documents the global rise of religious terrorism but seeks to understand the “odd attraction of religion and violence.” Juergensmeyer bases his study on scholarly sources, media accounts and personal interviews with convicted terrorists. He exercises caution with the term “terrorist,” preferring to emphasize the large religious community of supporters who make violent acts possible rather than the relatively small number who carry them out….”
Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, introduction by Wayne Proudfoot
History of God and Battle for God by Karen Armstrong. The development of the Abrahamic religions with their message of compassion and yet their hardline trends as well.

Children’s Education

Resource library for teachers from the World Religions of New York Summer Institute: “Teaching Religious Diversity”
A Teacher’s Guide to Religions in Public Schools
Guidelines for students, teachers and administration on “Respecting Religious Diversity” in public schools
Golden Rule Curriculum and Golden Rule Art Exercises and Lesson Plan from Scarboro Missions
My Little Book of Light by Shiban Akbar – “This delightful book teaches young children about the basic beliefs of islam in an engaging and colorful manner. Recommended for ages 6 and over. Illustrated in full color.”
The Adventures of Zulqarnain by Shiban Akbar – “This story is based on Quran’s description of Zulqarnain. Who was he and what were his accomplishments? These details are explained in this beautifully written book.”
And So You Were Born is a book, iTunes app and guide for parents, authored by Mona Parsa, a URI in North America individual affiliate (soon to be). It is a first of it’s kind interactive app for young children, offering a glimpse of different faith traditions as well as their own.
Make a Difference 101: Community Service, A Practical Step-by-step Guide for Kids by Sande Hart empowers youth to be contributing citizens. Sande Hart is on the URI in North America Leadership Council.
EDC/HRE Volume I: Educating for democracy – Background materials on democratic citizenship and human rights education for teachers (2011). The objective of this manual is to support teachers and practitioners in Education for Democratic Citizenship and Human Rights Education (EDC/HRE). This is a European book recommended by one of the European URI CCs.

Countering Islamophobia and Xenophobia

Diversity training seminars from the Islamic Networks Group
Resources for teaching students about Islamophobia, so they hear it from you and know how to address it
Muslims in America Divided on Improving Image 10 Years After 9/11 – Aug 2011 Huffington Post article about effectiveness of efforts to educate Americans about Islam.
Three videos from 2000 Dialogues with lesson plans – free for social studies teachers as of August 9, 2011: 1) On a Wing and a Prayer, 2) Talking through Walls, 3) Allah Made me Funn
Crescent and Dove – “a groundbreaking book edited by Qamar-ul Huda, is a ‘must read’ for policymakers, scholars, and students of international affairs in a world that too often fails to distinguish between the acts of a tiny minority of extremists and the religion of Islam.” –John Esposito, Georgetown University
Muslims and Jews in America: Commonalities, Contentions and Complexities by Reza Aslan and Abraham’s Vision co-director Aaron Hahn Tapper. An exploration of contemporary Jewish-Muslim relations in the United States and the distinct and often creative ways in which these two communities interact with one another in the American context. Each of the book’s sixteen essays discusses a different episode from the recent twentieth and current twenty-first century American milieu that links these two groups together.
Roots of the Islamophobia Network in America published by Center for American Progress.
The Islamic Shariah and the USA, Dec 29, 2011 thoughtful talk by Dr Ishaq Zahid with audio. Sent to the URI network by Laurie Rovin of Charlotte, SC URI. This article about qisas will be helpful in understanding one of Dr Zahid’s remarks.
The Islamic Shariah – an Overview – another good talk by Dr Zahid with audio.

Indigenous Rights and Climate Change

Sacred Tree – Reflections On Native American Spirituality, by Phil Lane et al. – “This is a wonderful little gem. It isn’t a high brow spiritual document meant to appeal to the brain- it’s a little book that focuses on values, ethics and respect with thoughtful anecdotes. Great book for the adolescent as well as the adult- wisdom and grace are ageless.”
How to Boil a Frog – film – you can arrange a showing in your community. “… an eco-comedy that shows the consequences of overshoot: too many people using up too little planet. An everyman dad gives us the scoop on the imminent end of the world as we know it, and five surprising ways we can save civilization.”
Video Project – this well established company will be providing How to Boil a Frog to educational institutions. “Our mission at the Video Project is to provide the very best in educational media and documentary programming on critical global and social issues, science and health to colleges, schools, libraries, businesses, religious groups, government agencies and non-governmental organizations worldwide.”

Nonviolence and Peacebuilding

A resource page from Nonviolence International — good list for nonviolence in action.
A list of manuals and training guides from International Fellowship of Reconciliation, with an emphasis on Women in Peacemaking.
Creating a Culture of Peace – CCP provides 3 day nonviolence workshops. “The innovative design of CCP provides a holistic and practical foundation in spiritually-grounded active nonviolence.”
The Compassionate Listening Project “teaches powerful skills for peacemaking in our families, communities, on the job, and in social change work locally and globally.”
The National Peace Academy “offers value-laden information, instruction, inspiration, and practical tools to building peace. The programs it offers and the quality of its staff are unparalleled. It is an organization which has earned my utmost respect. — NPA Alumni”
The Metta Center for Nonviolence – with a library of 33 videos and many more resources
An Introduction to Nonviolent Communication online videos with Marshall Rosenberg. One of several videos providing a valuable tool for use both within URI and in our communication with those new to peacebuilding.

Global Shift

Better World Forum 2012 audio — including sessions with Dot Maver & Monica Willard, Deborah Moldow, hosted by Rick Ufik of We the World.