COMPARING AND CONTRASTING FOUR MAJOR RELIGIONS OF SOUTH ASIA Beth Moulder Purpose: This lesson will increase an understanding of the culture of the people of South Asia and their religious practices. Objectives: The students will be able to: 1. group cultural characteristics that through the study of their religion. 2. compare and contrast Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. 3. organize information about the followers each religion in graph form. 4. relate the practices of each religion studied to the culture of South Asia. Standards: 2,4,6,10 Skills: 2,3,4 Materials: Research materials Paper for chart Outline map of South Asia Large chart paper Procedures: C) 1. Ask the students to compile a list of cultural characteristics that they associate with South Asia. 2. Students will draw a circle around those characteristics that they think could be associated with religion. 3. Students will answer the questionnaire through research on Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity. 4. The information will be transferred to large chart paper. 5. Students will graph information on the percentages of each religion in this region. They may use pie or bar graphs to illustrate the data. 6. Students will revise the original cultural characteristics list that they made and relate it to what they learned about the various religions. 7. Students will write a composition describing the four religions and relating them to the cultures of South Asia. '.".....'. (), 109
Activity One: Questionnaire on the Religions of South Asia 1. Locate the percentage of each religion of the following countries in the W orid Almanac: Republic of the Philippines Republic of India Republic of Indonesia Islamic. Republic of Pakistan Kingdom of Thailand Russian Federation Democratic Rep. of Sri Lanka Republic of Korea (South) 2. Create four graphs for the % of the following religions in the above countries: Buddhism Islam* Christianity** Hinduism *Shi'a and Sunnis are followers of Islam **Russian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Protestant are all Christian 3. Which country has the highest % of Buddhists? 4. Which country has the highest % of Muslims? 5. Which country has the highest % of Christians? 6. Which country has the highest % of Hindus? 7. Name at least two other religions or systems of belief found in Asia: 8. Briefly describe one of the systems of belief found in Asian countries: 9. Why does Russia have a large population of "non-religious" citizens? 10. Do you think that the number of "non-religious" people in Russia will change in the future? Why orwhynot? 11. Why does the Philippines have such a large % of Christians? (Hint: look into their history) 12. China is officially atheist and religious activities are almost nonexistent in North Korea. Why? 110
Activity 2: Creating Charts and Graphs Create a graph using the information below. You may use a pie, bar, or any other graph to organize and display your data. The figures shown below are estimated. Source: World Regions. Macmillan, McGraw-Hill Publishing Company, 1993 Afghanistan Sunni Muslim 74% Shia Muslim 25% Bangladesh Sunni Muslim 83% Hindu 16% Bhutan Buddhist 75% Hindu 16% India Hindu 83% Sunni Muslim 11 % Christian 3% Sikh 2% Buddhist 7% Nepal Hindu 90%, Hindu 15% Sri Lanka Buddhist 69% Sunni Muslim 7% Christian 8% 111
Activity 3: Similarities and Differences Chart Directions: 1) Locate the information during class time. 2) Fill in the charts. (information does not have to be in complete sentences) If information is considered "unknown," please specify. 3) List sources - Bibliography. Use at least three different sources. List your references on a separate sheet of paper. Use the correct form for a Bibliography. (Remember that your book can also be used as a resource.) 4) Be prepared to take a test over this information. How old is each religion or system of belief? Who began the religion or system of belief? Does the religion or system of belief believe in one great spirit or personal god? What is the name or names of the gods? 112
Name and describe at least two rituals of each religion or system of belief. How do you think these rituals affect the daily lives of the people of Asia? 113
Does the religion or system of belief have a holy book of scriptures? Name it. Do the followers of the religion or system of belief believe in life after death? What is the "afterlife" called? Activity 4 Color the map provided by creating a key using the data on % religions. Evaluation: Successful completion of the activities and later performance on test. 114
115
116 o