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Religion as a Resource: Teaching Hands on Religion at a Public University
Proposal abstract :
As University of Michigan faculty, we are struggling with the problem of how to teach about religion as a vital and vitalizing human resource without skating too close to the line of "teaching religion." As a public university, the University of Michigan is both legally and philosophically committed to the principles outlined in Abington v. Schempp (1963). We emphatically want to avoid proselytizing for any particular religion and we do not want to promote religion in general as a social movement. Yet when it comes to finding this fine line in the rough and tumble of a vibrant classroom, best practices aren’t always self-evident and pedagogical techniques do not always land with students in the way that we expect. We propose to run a pedagogy workshop to help us think through these issues on a theoretical level and learn from each other practically as we experiment with different techniques in our classrooms.
Learning Abstract :
We would like to plan an academic year (nine month) workshop for 2025-2026 with in-person
meetings one morning a month and other channels for exchange between meetings. These fullmorning
workshops would include a dozen or more dedicated faculty and a small rotating selection
of three undergraduate and graduate students for each workshop who would join us for topics of
particular interest to them. The first part of the morning would be devoted to exploring pedagogical
literature on the topic in question. The second part would allow faculty to showcase pedagogical
techniques related to the workshop's monthly topic, which they have been exploring in the
classroom so they can offer an account of what worked and what didn't, and then receive feedback
from the other faculty–with an emphasis on exploring possible solutions to any challenges and
As University of Michigan faculty, we are struggling with the problem of how to teach about religion as a vital and vitalizing human resource without skating too close to the line of "teaching religion." As a public university, the University of Michigan is both legally and philosophically committed to the principles outlined in Abington v. Schempp (1963). We emphatically want to avoid proselytizing for any particular religion and we do not want to promote religion in general as a social movement. Yet when it comes to finding this fine line in the rough and tumble of a vibrant classroom, best practices aren’t always self-evident and pedagogical techniques do not always land with students in the way that we expect. We propose to run a pedagogy workshop to help us think through these issues on a theoretical level and learn from each other practically as we experiment with different techniques in our classrooms.
Learning Abstract :
We would like to plan an academic year (nine month) workshop for 2025-2026 with in-person
meetings one morning a month and other channels for exchange between meetings. These fullmorning
workshops would include a dozen or more dedicated faculty and a small rotating selection
of three undergraduate and graduate students for each workshop who would join us for topics of
particular interest to them. The first part of the morning would be devoted to exploring pedagogical
literature on the topic in question. The second part would allow faculty to showcase pedagogical
techniques related to the workshop's monthly topic, which they have been exploring in the
classroom so they can offer an account of what worked and what didn't, and then receive feedback
from the other faculty–with an emphasis on exploring possible solutions to any challenges and