Religious Worlds of New York: Teaching the Everyday Life of American Religious Diversity

The Religious Worlds of New York summer institute helps K-12 teachers teach creatively and effectively about religious diversity, with an emphasis on everyday faith community life. Participants work with leading scholars of religion, meet with diverse religious leaders, visit local houses of worship, explore the religious life of New York City, and develop their own curriculum projects. This combination of classroom and community-based education introduces teachers to American religious diversity, helps them distinguish between academic and devotional approaches to the study of religion, and gives them the pedagogic tools they need to teach about contemporary lived religion.