Students often learn the importance of respecting people of different religions, and of respecting religious beliefs that are different from their own. But what about people who do not hold religious beliefs at all? Too often the right not to believe is excluded from lessons about tolerance.
Yet atheists and others who do not believe in God experience discrimination because of their nonbelief. In this lesson, students learn about episodes of anti-atheist discrimination; and they develop ways to educate others about respecting nonreligious, as well as religious, diversity.
Professional Development
You can read more about discrimination against atheists:
- Believers should remember “soul liberty” respect rights of nonbelievers: Inside the First Amendment
- Religious Discrimination in the Military
- Help! Our Flyers Keep Getting Torn Down!
- Discrimination Against Atheists: The Facts
Essential Questions
- What is atheism?
- What kinds of discrimination have atheists experienced?
- How can students promote respect for diverse religious believers and non- believers?
Materials
- Fact Sheet
- Groups Who Are Sometimes Treated Unfairly
- Beliefs Under Attack, a CNN news story
- The Right of Unbelief
- The Rights of Atheists
Glossary
atheist |āthē ist|
(noun) someone who does not believe in
God or a universal spirit
agnostic |agˈnästik|
(noun) someone who says that knowledge of
God’s existence is unknown or unknowable
secular
humanist |sekyələrˌ(h)yoōməˈnist|
(noun) someone who does not believe in
God, but who has a belief system characterized by reason, ethics, and justice
deist |dēˈist|
(noun) someone who believes that the
world was created and set in motion by a supernatural agent which then does not
take an active role or moral interest in humanity
free
thinker |frē ˈthing
kər|
(noun) someone who believes in the right
to freedom of thought, and strives to build opinions on the basis of facts and
logical principles, while rejecting dogma, religion, scripture, tradition, or experience
EARLY GRADES (3-5)
Objectives
Activities meet the following objectives:
- learn what atheism is
- learn that atheists have been the targets of discrimination
- respond constructively to people who have been targets of discrimination
Activities
1. (Note: read out loud points from the Fact Sheet.) Listen to this information about a group of people who are sometimes treated unfairly by others who don’t agree with what they think. What are some groups you have learned about who are treated unfairly because of who they are or what they think? (Note: Fill these in on a chart that looks like the one on Groups Who Are Sometimes Treated Unfairly.)
2. Now use the chart to think about patterns on your list. The chart includes some categories by which groups define themselves. For example, if you said that sometimes Muslims are treated unfairly, you can put a check in the column labeled “Religion,” because Muslims are a group defined by their religion. Read your list and see what characteristics define the different groups you have identified.
3. Now think back to the people your teacher read about—the ones who were treated unfairly. Those people are atheists. (Note: Write atheist where students can see the word.) An atheist is someone who doesn’t believe in God or a universal spirit. On your chart you noted that sometimes people are mistreated because of their religion. In this case, people are mistreated because they aren’t part of a religion. Add atheists to your list.
4. Trying to understand other people can help us respect them. One way to understand others better is to imagine what it would be like to be them. Choose a partner. Have one person take the role of someone who is afraid to tell people what she believes or doesn’t believe. For example, you might pretend to be an atheist. Tell your partner why you’re scared and how you feel about being mistreated because of what you think.
5. Have the other person listen closely. The listener will respond to what he has heard. Remember that your partner has shared something that makes her nervous. You want to respond in a way that is kind. To help you decide what to say, think about what you would want someone to say to you if you told him something about yourself that you thought she might not like.
6. When the class comes together again, different pairs can share what they have discovered in their role-play.
MIDDLE GRADES (6-8)
Objectives
Activities meet the following objectives:
- define atheism
- recognize that atheists have been the targets of discrimination
- understand that respecting nonbelievers is as important as respecting people of different religious faiths
- teach others about what they have learned
Activities
1. Choose a partner. Take turns reading aloud the facts on the Fact Sheet. With your partner, discuss how you feel about what members of this group have experienced. How do you think it might feel to belong to the group and not want others to know you are a member?
2. With your partner, formulate a response to what you have learned. Prepare your response as if you are talking to a member of the group. Tell that person what you have learned and how you feel about it. Tell him or her what you would like to do about what you have learned and why. Have pairs volunteer to present their responses to the class.
3. Before you find out what group you have been learning about, think about groups you know who experience discrimination because of who they are or what they think. Name the group and your teacher will put it on the chart. (Note: Fill these in on a chart that looks like the one on Groups Who Are Sometimes Treated Unfairly.)
4. Use the chart to think about patterns in the groups you listed. The chart includes some categories by which groups define themselves. For example, if you said that sometimes Muslims are treated unfairly, you can put a check in the column labeled “Religion,” because Muslims are a group defined by their religion. Read down your list and see what characteristics define the different groups you have identified.
5. Now watch this news report. It identifies the group you have learned about, and presents stories of people who have experienced the kind of discrimination you have just learned about. (Note: If you don’t have access to the report, students can read The Right of Unbelief instead.) As a class, discuss: What is the definition of atheism? Are you surprised to find out the identity of the group? Why or why not? Have you heard about anti-atheist discrimination before?
6. Sometimes when people think about religious tolerance, they don’t think about respecting those who are not religious. How can you make others aware of being tolerant to nonreligious people? Working with your partner, create a tool that can educate others about the importance of respecting non-religious as well as religious diversity. Some of the things you can do:
- make a public service announcement
- create a Web site
- make a poster
- compile an annotated bibliography of Internet resources on the subject
- write a letter to students, parents, and local media outlets
7. Present your educational tool.
HIGH SCHOOL (9-12)
Objectives
Activities meet the following objectives:
- define atheism
- recognize that atheists have been the targets of discrimination
- read and discuss documents that protect the freedom of religious and nonreligious thought
- understand that respecting nonbelievers is as important as respecting people of different religious faiths
- learn about atheism and the rights of atheists
- teach others about what they have learned
- expand vocabulary by studying word roots
Social Studies
1. Choose a partner. Take turns reading aloud the facts on the Fact Sheet. With your partner, discuss how you feel about what members of this group have experienced.
2. With your partner, formulate a response to what you have learned. Prepare your response as if you are talking to a member of the group. Tell that person what you have learned and how you feel about it. Tell him or her what you would like to do about what you have learned and why. Have pairs volunteer to present their responses to the class.
3. Now watch this news report. It identifies the group you have learned about, and presents the experiences of people who have experienced the kind of discrimination you have just learned about. (Note: If you don’t have access to the report, students can read The Right of Unbelief instead.) As a class, discuss: What is the definition of atheism? Are you surprised to find out the identity of the group? Why or why not? Have you heard about anti-atheist discrimination before?
4. Learn more about the rights of nonbelievers. The class should be divided in half. The first half should be assigned to read the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. The other half of the class should read the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, General Comment No. 22. If you have read the First Amendment, complete the top half of The Rights of Atheists. If you have read the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), follow the instructions on the bottom half of The Rights of Atheists.
5. Find someone in class who completed the half of the handout that you did not complete. Have each person take a turn explaining to the other person what she has learned about atheists’ rights in the document he has read. Then fill in the part of the handout your partner has taught you about.
6. If you haven’t already done so, read what an atheist has to say about himself in The Right of Unbelief. Write down three important things you’ve discovered by reading this article. Share them with a partner. Then switch partners and share what you’ve learned with your new partner. Switch partners once more and share your ideas and opinions.
7. Now use what you’ve learned to teach others about respecting religious diversity and the right not to be part of a religion or believe in God. Use the resources you’ve studied (the news clip, the Constitution, the UN documents, the article) as well as other sources you may discover. Working alone or with a partner, create a tool that can educate others about the importance of respecting atheism as well as religious diversity. Some of the things you can do:
- make a public service announcement
- create a Web site
- make a poster
- compile an annotated bibliography of Internet resources on the subject
- write a letter to students, parents, and local media outlets
8. Present your educational tool.
Language Arts and Reading/ELL
1. One way to expand your vocabulary is to look at the roots of words. In this lesson, you have been learning about atheism. Look up atheism in a dictionary. Read the definition. But don’t stop there. Read about the origin of the word. In what language did it originate? What do the two parts of the word mean: a and theos? Based on the word roots, what can you infer that theism means?
2. As a class, think of other words that have theo- as a root. (theology, theocracy) What do they mean?
3. If time permits, do the same exploration with the words deist and agnostic.
4. Write a one-paragraph summary defining the word roots you have learned and giving examples of how they have expanded your vocabulary.
POLITICAL CARTOON
Political cartoons present an opinion about a topic or a person in the news. To help you think about this cartoon, start by listening to the song “Imagine.” Then look at the images in this cartoon and read the words. How does the woman in the cartoon feel when she hears “Imagine” on the radio? How does she respond to the first three lines of the song? Then how does her response change when the subject is religion? Given what you’ve learned in this lesson, why do you think she responds differently? What comment is the cartoonist making?
Reprinted with permission. Teachers may purchase individual cartoons for other lesson plans at PoliticalCartoons.com.
Activities and embedded assessments address the following standards (McREL 4th edition)
Behavioral Studies
Standard 2. Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and different ways that groups function
Standard 4. Understands conflict, cooperation, and interdependence among individuals, groups, and institutions
Civics
Standard 11. Understands the role of diversity in American life and the importance of shared values, political beliefs, and civic beliefs in an increasingly diverse American society
United States History
Standard 31. Understands economic, social, and cultural developments in the contemporary United States
Language Arts
Standard 4. Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Standard 7. Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Standard 9. Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media
Life Skills
Standard 4. Displays effective interpersonal communication skills
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