Religious Symbols from Around the World: Investigating the Religions of the World

Help your students explore the symbols of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Paganism and Humanism. You will find 68 printable pages to help your students learn about the most popular religious symbols of the world. Students use a phone, tablet or laptop to search online about each symbol and its history, what this image symbolizes, interesting facts about this symbol and its religion, and wise words or quotes from its worshippers. Students are encouraged to consider why people find peace and happiness in a particular religion, and to think about how we know that a specific religion is right for us. Students compare and contrast the different symbols within one faith and across different faiths. Why do Christians use the cross, the fish (ichthus), praying hands, and NOTW? Why do Muslims use a crescent and a star? Why do Buddhists use a wheel? Why do Taoists use the yin and yang? Why do Pagans use a pentacle? why do Humanists use the Happy Human?

Help your students learn more about the religions of the world, while encouraging respect and appreciation for the diversity of spiritual quests across the planet. Note: this workbook does not present one religious experience as better than or worse than another. All questions require investigation and thought, and student responses are based on where their research leads them. It is good for students to learn that some religions focus on human experiences while others focus on the divine, and that some religions affirm only one divine being while others adopt many or none, and that some religious expressions focus on inward development while others focus on the outward performance of kind acts. As a teacher, your duty is to open the eyes of your students to the world and its diversity so that they can make an informed choice. Don't be afraid to explore. Remind students that their choice is always THEIRS, and that your duty is to expose them to what other cultures do and say and think.