Personal Religious Identity

The human person is a mix of the social, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical. Hover over each picture to see definitions of these.

Emotional welbeing is being aware of and accepting of your feelings. It also involves being positive, optimistic and enthusiastic about your life and being able to realize your limitations and cope effectively with stress. Emotionally well people tend to have satisfying relationships with others.

Physical wellbeing is about having good aerobic fitness and strength. It involves being aware of good food and nutrition and the negative impact of tobacco, drugs and excessive alcohol.

Intellectual wellbeing encourages creative, stimulating mental activities. The intellectually well person readily uses cultural activities to expand knowledge and share it with others. These people feel challenged, yet not overwhelmed.

Social wellness encourages us to contribute to our human and physical environment and to the common welfare of our communities. It is about co-existing with others and the natural world around us, and the pursuit of harmony in the family.

Spiritual Wellbeing involves feelings of purposefulness and meaningfulness, and an appreciation of life and nature. It is about finding your purpose in life.

The Star Activity

Copy an paste the star image above into a word document 5 times on the same page.
Recolour each to represent how you feel about each of the five aspects of the human person. Use the format picture tools to size the elements to demonstrate their relative significance in your life. Write at least 100 words to explain what you have done.

ASPECTS OF IDENTITY

aspectsofidentity.pdf
File Size:	62 kb
File Type:	pdf

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Download this file and the insert circle shapes with full transparency to complete the survey. Example below. Paste it in your journal

BLOGGING

Use an existing class blog or set one up to answer the questions following the survey.

JOHN, HILARY, SANDRA and BILL

John

...has a totally negative attitude toward religion.

... hates R.E. classes.

... never goes to a religious service or church if he can help it.

... fights with parents and anyone else who is interested about religion.

Hilary

... sees religion as unimportant and boring.

... has a who-cares or so-what attitude to R.E. classes.

... misses religious services and going to church if she can get away with it without a family fight.

... seldom prays unless in trouble.

Sandra

... does what is expected of her religiously.

... attends religious services regularly because her parents do.

... wants to get good marks for R.E. so she works hard.

... believes what she has been taught about faith and religion.

Bill

... has made his own decision to be a person of faith.

... attends religious ceremonies and prayer service regularly because he wants to.

... prays often in his own way, in his own words.

... wants to be even more informed about his religion and to be a better believer.

What is your position of the continuum in terms of your attitude to religion?

What is your position on the line? Explain.
Have you always been in that position?
Do you imagine that you will always be like that?
Consider each student individually. What kinds of experiences may have shaped his/her attitudes towards religion?
How should the Religious Education teacher approach each of these people?
Some families have all four kinds of people in the one family. How could this be'?
Can you name people who are like each of these four people?
Which of these four is most attractive to you?

YOUNG PEOPLE'S ATTITUDES

young_peoples_attitueds_article.docx
File Size:	471 kb
File Type:	docx

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Download the file above and use the highlighter tool in Word to highlight the things that you agree with in the article.

MY PRIORITIES IN LIFE

We all have competing priorities in life and at different stages in life different things may be higher or lower on the list of priorities.

All are of some importance. We just choose the balance and any given time. What are your priorities in life. Use this categorising activity to help you list your priorities in order.

A - MOST IMPORTANT
B - QUITE IMPORTANT
C - SOMEWHAT IMPORTANT
D - LEAST IMPORTANT

You get to use each letter 4 times only

1.   SERVICE (helping others)

2.   RECOGNITION (being accepted by others)

3.   GOOD MORAL LIFE (responsible living toward others)

4.   GOOD CAREER (sense of purpose, a good job)

5.   PLEASURE (excitement, satisfaction, fan)

6.   INTEGRITY (being true to my deeply held values)

7.   INDEPENDENCE (personal freedom, making my own choices)

8.   MONEY (plenty of money for all the things I want)

9.   SUCCESS (getting near the top of my chosen field)

10. RELIGION (religious belief, faith, a relationship with God)

11. FRIENDSHIP (warmth, love caring)

12. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE (attractiveness)

13. PERSONAL GROWTH (developing my talents fully)

14. LAW AND ORDER (respect for authority, firm government)

15. MARRIAGE (finding the right life partner)

16. FAMILY HAPPINESS (caring among; family members)

You can download a copy of the survey here

my_priorities_in_life.docx
File Size:	91 kb
File Type:	docx

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Now use the numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4 next to each letter.

A1 is the top of the whole list

D4 is the bottom of the list

What is your hypothesis?

Which priority will most people have in their top 4?
What will be last D4 most often?

Conduct a class survey of the highest priorities and the lowest.