The rites, festivals, practices and places of worship of France's monotheist religions

Context

This activity comes at the conclusion of history course on "the legacies of Antiquity" for a 1st year secondary class, or it can be used with a 2nd year secondary class in a sequence of lessons on the early days of Islam and the western Christian church or in a civics education on "the rejection of discrimination".

Depending on level of education and objectives, some or all of the lesson will be given (in the 1st-year class, for instance, work may be limited to Judaism and Christianity; in the 2nd, Islam will be compared with Christianity; while civics education will encompass all three religions).

Some but not all of the documents will be used for another activity on the "festivals and calendars of the monotheist religions".

Objectives

• to explain the continuation among 21st-century believers of faiths and practices dating from Antiquity and the Middle Ages, and studied by pupils during history lessons; linking heritage, history and contemporary society;
• to develop tolerance through knowledge and an understanding of the interrelationships between the rites, festivals and places of worship of the religions present in France; to open minds to religious diversity.

Teaching strategies

• Traditional teaching in the classroom in the form of dialogue-based teaching and explanations of photographs and documents.
• Working methods: analysis, comparison, study of connections between documents.

Themes

• Three examples of festivals: one Christian, one Jewish, one Muslim;
• Three places of worship: the church, the synagogue, the mosque;
• Three ceremonies: Sunday mass, the Sabbath, Friday prayers.

Target group/group size

• 1st-year secondary class or 2nd-year secondary class of 25 pupils

Description Of The Activity

• Preparation time needed: 3 hours; lesson preparation is fairly rapid; more time is needed to collect or produce the documents.
• Teaching time needed: 1_ hours

Instructions (conduct of the activity)

Teaching material used

• slides from "La documentation photographique, Le fait religieux en France", No. 8033:
  • Passover meal in a Sephardic family, Paris region, 198
  • breaking the fast with a family meal, Paris region, 2001
  • Friday prayers in Evry mosque, 1999
  • prayers in a synagogue
• personal slides:
  • Christmas meal in a French family
  • Sunday mass in Evry cathedral
• a document describing the three monotheist religions and the meanings of their festivals is also handed out to pupils (see appendix).

Phase 1: explain the purpose of the activity to the pupils (getting to know the different faiths through their everyday activities, the premises they use and their family festivals);

Phase 2: show pictures on the same theme: Christmas meal, Ramadan meal, Passover meal;

• ask pupils to describe the pictures;
• give the necessary explanations and information;
• get pupils to find out about the origins of these festivals from the appended document;

Phase 3: same exercise with reference to places of worship

• study the activities of believers, priests, imams, rabbis;
• description of premises, their functions, their meaning.

A written outline is gradually recorded, in the form of a full or partial comparative table:

Teaching material and equipment used

• Classroom overhead projector;
• Photocopies of documents.

Appraisal and Evaluation

Activity considered "successful" for having aroused pupils' interest and conveyed to them some items of basic knowledge about religions. It certainly made possible better knowledge of "others".

Suggestions for Transfer

Bearing in mind that our history syllabuses are essentially intended to give pupils keys to understanding the present-day world, this study, offering the opportunity to observe the most prominent enduring and changing features of "rites, practices and places of worship" in today's world, is justified:

• in 2nd-year classes - Islam: introduction or conclusion;
• in 5th-year classes - guided studies offering an introduction to, or more detailed knowledge of, the "birth and dissemination of Christianity" or "the Mediterranean, the point where civilisations meet";
• in civics lessons (the rejection of discrimination);
• in 5th-year civics, legal and social education, where pupils would be asked to look for documents comparable to those used here. They would be divided into groups researching different themes.

Contact Details

Sylvie Aymard, teacher at the Bernard-Palissy secondary school, Saint-Léonard-de-Noblat, 87400; aymard.sylvie@wanadoo.fr