Global terms: Religion and Worldviews

Buddhism in daily life: teaching about Buddhist teenagers in Britain today

Dr Kevin O'Grady | 05 December, 2019

One member of the September 9 REChat on research raised the issue of ‘official’ versions of religions contrasting with how they are lived by individuals in Britain today. Research on religion gives up-to-date detail on the latter. I’ll look at one example of this and draw out some classroom applications. The research looked at the importance of home shrines. [i] It was a survey of 417 Buddhist teenagers of different traditions. The main findings were:
  • 70% of British Buddhist teenagers had a shrine in their homes.
  • Having a home shrine corresponded with heightened religiosity.
  • Those with a shrine at home were significantly more likely to have a daily religious practice (22%) than those without a shrine (7%). Those with a shrine were also significantly more likely to bow to their parents (66%) than those without shrines (36%). Those with a shrine were significantly less likely to attend a temple on a weekly basis (41%) than those without (74%).
  • Home shrines were significantly linked with Buddhist religiosity in female, heritage Buddhists in their late teens.
  • For female, heritage Buddhists in particular, the shrine helped remind them about the Buddha and Buddhist clergy as symbols of their religion. This included feeling that life has a sense of purpose, considering oneself a ‘proper’ Buddhist, and thinking that Buddhist monks do a good job.
  • For male, convert, and early teen Buddhists particularly, the presence of the shrine had more to do with identity than religiosity.
How can these data be used in teaching? Within a topic on Buddhism, you could plan a lesson on home shrines, perhaps following a more traditional one on places of worship. In the first part of the lesson, pupils could use e.g. https://www.thedhammalife.com/how-to-set-up-buddhist-altar-or-shrine-at-home/ to research what is involved in setting up a home shrine and why the different objects (and their placings) are important to Buddhists. Next, as a bridge, different pupils could feed back their findings to the class. In the second part of the lesson, groups or pairs of pupils could be given sets of the research findings, cut into individual strips, and asked to arrange these in order of interest or significance. They may wish to ask about vocabulary such as ‘heritage’, ‘convert’, or ‘religiosity’, developing religious literacy. They should note their reasons and any further questions they want to raise. The plenary would involve different pupils giving their findings and questions to the class, with the teacher also contributing questions for discussion: e.g. why might female and heritage Buddhists relate to home shrines more ‘religiously’? Why might male and convert Buddhists relate to home shrines more in terms of personal identity? Future lessons on gender in different religions might interleave back to this lesson. [i] We have reported it at Does it matter whether Buddhists have home shrines?

About

Dr Kevin O'Grady is Lead Consultant for Research at Culham St Gabriel's Trust.

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What does it mean to be a Muslim young woman in Britain today, and how should we teach about this?

Dr Kevin O'Grady | 03 December, 2019

The September 9 REChat on research saw teachers asking for research on various aspects of RE practice. In this blog I’ll focus on three of those: research on how religion is lived in practice, statistics on religion and research on how to be effective as a classroom teacher. Researchers at the University of Warwick studied British Muslim female 13-15-year-olds. [i] They found them to have distinctive values and attitudes to religion. Here are the findings:
  • Religious identity is important to young Muslim women in Britain: 84% agreed that this is so, and 88% said that being Muslim was the most important factor in their identity.
  • Further, they tend to be surrounded by family and friends who think religion to be important.
  • Nearly three quarters regarded themselves as a religious person (71%) but only one quarter regarded themselves as a spiritual person (26%).
  • At least three in every five often talked about religion with their mother (66%) and slightly less frequently with their father (49%).
  • Studying religion at school had helped 90% to understand people from other religions and 81% to understand people from different racial backgrounds. 78% found learning about different religions in school interesting, and 68% found studying religion at school had shaped their views about religion.
  • 89% believed in God, 94% believed in heaven, and 89% believed in hell.
  • The majority supported the views that we must respect all religions (94%) and that all religious groups in Britain should have equal rights (90%).
  • 82% agreed that having people from different religious backgrounds made their school an interesting place.
One REChat participant talked about how statistical snapshots sum up lessons well and provoke discussion on religion. Pupils could be asked whether they find the statistics surprising, or how to interpret them. You could use the statistics to help pupils to think in detail about Islam in contemporary Britain and develop a nuanced, evidence-informed perspective. Let’s say you gave the second half of a 60-minute lesson to this. The first half might be on any aspect of Islam. The second could be a group discussion activity followed by a plenary. In the group discussion activity, pupils would be given the statistical summary with all percentages and figures left out, and asked to estimate them, noting reasons (15 minutes). In the plenary, some pupils would state their estimates and reasons, others being invited to counter-suggest and comment; the complete set would then be displayed, for pupil reaction and teacher questions, e.g. how would you explain the fact that Muslim young women are slightly more likely to discuss religion with their mothers than fathers, or that 11% do not believe in God? And: what, overall, have you learned from this activity? What further questions would you ask (do you think that the statistics leave anything out)? Research on classroom interaction tells us that pupils gain more knowledge of religion when they are able to ask and answer questions about which they are curious or unsure.[ii] Making use of pupils’ natural curiosity is certainly one way to teach effectively and enjoyably. [i] We have reported the research more fully at What does it mean to be a Muslim young woman in Britain today? [ii] You can find this research at Knowledge development of tweens in RE – the importance of school class and communication

About

Dr Kevin O'Grady is Lead Consultant for Research at Culham St Gabriel's Trust.

See all posts by Dr Kevin O'Grady

A reflection – the birth of Hussain ibn Ali

Zameer Hussain | 11 April, 2019

Shia Muslims have a big emphasis on celebrating the birthdays of their revered personalities, in particular the Ahl-ul-Bayt (the family of Prophet Muhammad). Such occasions are seen as days of blessings and happiness. It is common for Shia Muslims to dress well, go to the mosque and celebrate the birth of such personalities, through poetry and taking lessons from their lives. One of the 10 obligatory acts, or branches of religion (Furu ad-Deen), that Shia Muslims practice is Tawalla. This is to show association, love and devotion towards the Ahl-ul-Bayt. Celebrating their birthdays and mourning deaths is an expression of Tawalla.

However, the birth of Hussain ibn Ali has a slightly different feel. Imam Hussain is the 3rd Imam according to Shia Muslims and is the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. He is most famous for the Day of Ashura where he was brutally yet heroically martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD. This is arguably the most important day for Shia Muslims in the year, particularly for their identity.

Reconciling the happy occasion of the birth of Imam Hussain with his impending tragedy is a challenge. When a baby is born, it is one of the happiest moments in one’s life. However, according to reports, when Imam Hussain was born, there was sadness too. Gabriel descended to Prophet Muhammad to congratulate him on the birth of his grandson. This was then followed by consolation as they informed the Messenger of how Hussain’s life would end, which caused the whole family to weep.

For Shia Muslims today, his birth will always have an undercurrent of grief as we know what was to become. On the birthdays of the Ahl-ul-Bayt, we do not feel sad at all and it is a reason to smile. On the birthday of Imam Hussain, we are still very happy that such a monumental figure in the history of humankind was born. However, a tear in the eye cannot be stopped because we know in 5 months’ time when the month of Muharram arrives, we will be crying in grief over his tragic death. Shia Muslims do not shy away from showing emotion in expression of their beliefs and sometimes these emotions can conflict.

The birthday of Imam Hussain is a paradoxical day as my face smiles but my heart aches.

This is why the great grandson of Prophet Muhammad, Imam Jafar Sadiq, the 6th Shia Imam (of the Twelver Shia branch), says:
“Never has a mother been so reluctant to give birth than the birth of Hussain.”

About

Zameer has been involved in Religious Education and interfaith work since 2013. This has included leading RE departments and supporting teachers nationally with subject knowledge.

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A reflection – something off my chest

Zameer Hussain | 01 November, 2018

One of the most common things we are asked as Shia Muslims is “do you beat yourselves?”
I would like to answer this from my own perspective.

All human beings express themselves in different ways that are symbolic. The same applies to expressing grief – it symbolises something close to us. It is a personal choice that allows you to externally show your internal feelings. Shia Muslims strike their chests in a rhythm to poetry, in order to create a cathartic atmosphere that juggles grief, pride, relief, pain and several other contradictory emotions.

When I strike my chest, I am reminding myself that the holy chest of Imam Hussain [1] was trampled upon by the hooves of horses. I am reaffirming my loyalty to him and telling the world that my chest is worthless compared to Imam Hussain’s chest that was filled with Divine treasures. This chest torn to pieces, after all, was the chest of God’s final Messenger. When I remove my shirt to do this, I am reminding myself that the holy shirt of Imam Hussain was torn to pieces. I am saying that my body should have been violated, not Imam Hussain’s.

Muslims believe that when we are judged by God on the Day of Resurrection, our body parts anthropomorphise and bear witness for us.[2]
The tongue will testify to our lies we uttered.
The ears will testify to the vain talk we listened to.
The legs will testify to the immoral gatherings we walked to.
However, I am relying on my hands to testify that they struck my chest in grief for the beautiful son of Zahra.[3]
I want my chest to tell its Creator that a fraction of the pain of Imam Hussain was felt by it through my hands.
This way, maybe my body that I have used to disobey my Lord will salvage itself.

When we strike our chests, we are not harming ourselves. This is an unjust accusation that lacks emotional intelligence. We are creating poetic art through emotional and religious expression in its purest form. In fact, there is a paradox at play: striking my chest heals the pain and anguish I feel for Imam Hussain’s tragedy. I am healing when I do this. Ironically, when I strike my chest, it seems to hurt those who hate me more than it actually hurts me.

When someone cries, we know they are sad about something.
When someone wears black, we know they are probably mourning.
But when I strike my chest, the world knows I am expressing my love for Imam Hussain.

I will never be ashamed of beating my chest for him. It is my identity as his mourner. I am proud of my identity. It is an honour to offer this to the Messenger and Zahra as a show of love towards their beloved.

As the poet says:
“Had they any love for the Messenger’s house,
They would have joined us in striking our chests.”

1. Hussain Ibn Ali was the grandson of the Prophet, and was martyred in the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE. He is the 3rd Imam for Shia Muslims
2. “That Day, We will seal over their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their feet will testify about what they used to earn.” (Quran 36:65)
3. A name of Fatima, daughter of Prophet Muhammad.

About

Zameer has been involved in Religious Education and interfaith work since 2013. This has included leading RE departments and supporting teachers nationally with subject knowledge.

See all posts by Zameer Hussain