Viewing religion through a cultural lens
Prospect High School social studies teacher John Camardella is wading into the intellectual unknown, all for the benefit of his students. The Illinois native and veteran educator recently threw out the playbook and completely redesigned the curriculum of the world religions elective he has taught to high school seniors for the past 15 years. The impetus? A “life-changing” method of teaching religious studies he learned from Harvard Divinity School’s Religious Literacy Project (RLP). Camardella, whose own parents are an ex-nun and ex-monk, is betting his career on the new teaching method. Most high school religious courses teach a traditions-based model, with a unit on each of the major faiths’ “DERMS”: doctrines, ethics, rituals, myths, and symbols. Camardella had been using this method for years when the National Council for the Social Studies tapped him to help workshop a set of guidelines for teaching religion in public schools. Through the workshop, Camardella found himself face-to-face...