The History of Religion

What is religion?
"A set of beliefs, values, and practices based on the teachings of a spiritual leader."

What are beliefs?


Explain the following terms


Animism: The earliest kind of religion that was developed while humans were living as hunter-gatherers. It is the belief that humans/animals have spirits.


Polytheism: Belief in many gods. The first human civilisations followed different types of polytheism.


Pantheism: The belief that everything is part of one god. Hinduism is more Pantheism than Polytheism.


Monotheism: Belief in only one God.  This was what the Jews started following and is in the Old testament.


Agnosticism: Uncertainty about God or Gods. Some Greek thinkers were moving away from religion and developing ideas in science and philosophy.


Atheism:Belief in no Gods.

Refugees

Australia’s Refugee Dilemma!

Imagine if....

The following is an example of an imaginary scenario that can be used to encourage students to think about what it means to be a refugee.

Imagine that your mother or father arrives home from work one day and tells you that the police are about to arrive to arrest the whole family, because of your family’s religious beliefs.  You are told to pack a small backpack and be ready in 2 minutes. A family friend drives you overland to Darwin where you climb aboard a yacht. Your parents hand over thousands of dollars in cash. Six weeks later the yacht leaves you on a Japanese beach.  Police arrive and take you to a detention centre which is prison and home to refugees like yourself from various parts of the world, all speaking different languages. Only a few other people speak English.  The guards, canteen staff, doctor etc. all speak Japanese.  Your parents tell you that they are applying for refugee status in Japan, which means you will be allowed to live in the country, go to school there and eventually get a job. 

1. What would you pack in your backpack?

Basic survival things such as food and water then a book to read and special things like lockets or bracelets.

2. What would you miss most if you had to leave your home, your school, Australia?

I would miss my friends, family, relatives, my house, my books, school, my pets, my life and all the things I loved too to do for fun.

3.      What would be some of the problems of living in a detention centre in a foreign country?

If you lived in a detention centre in another country you wouldn’t know their language, way of life, their laws or expectations of people.

4.      What would be the biggest challenges for you if you and your family were accepted as refugees?

It would be difficult to learn the countries customs and language as well as be accepted by other people. We would find it difficult to adapt to the life of this country and we would miss our old home.

5.      Why is this ‘imagine’ story a very unlikely one?

 It is very unlikely this would occur in Australia because Australia is a diverse and      multicultural country and accepts people regardless of their religion, nationality and differences. Australia’s laws and beliefs insure that this would never happen.

The Nobel Peace Prize

The founder of the prizes

In the 1890s, Swedish Alfred Nobel donated his large fortune to the Nobel Prizes. He dedicated the award to;

 “the person who shall have done the most or best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

Example: The united nations and its secretary general Kofi Annan were chosen for their work for a better organised and more peaceful world.

The first peace prize

Henry dunant, founder of the red cross, shared the first Nobel Peace Prize in 1901 with Frédéric Passy, a leading international pacifist of the time.

In addition to humanitarian efforts and peace movements, the Nobel Peace prize, has been awarded for work in a wide range of fields including advocacy of human rights, mediation of international conflicts, and arms control.

Number of prizes

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to 120 Laureates-97 times to individuals and 23 times to organisations.


The gender allocation

Of the 97 individuals awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 12 are women.

Organisations can win the award

The work of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been honoured the most-three times, other organisations that have won the award include Amnesty International and International Panel on Climate Change.

Village Space Presentation-Climate Change (Issue:Kiribati)

Kirabati is a country which is being affected by the worldwide issue of Global Warning.

What was the issue about?

The island of Kirabati is slowly drowning along with many other islands.

What is causing the issue?

The Green house gases that are being emitted when fossil fuels are used are causing the earth to become warmer. This is resulting in the melting of the ice in Antarctica and the Arctic Circle, causing sea levels to rise and submerge small islands. Kirabati is one of the islands in which the sea is submerging more and more each year.

Who is affected?

Due to this issue the people of Kirabati are losing their homes. Many of these people are becoming refugees in other countries so they can escape their island before all of it disappears.

Kirabati isn't the only island experiencing this issue. Their many pacific nations being affected by this issue.

What can be done?

To stop Global Warming people can:

• Use solar energy/solar panels
• Hydro-powered energy can be used
• Wind Turbines can be used
• Educate people about the issue, so that they know how to help
• Reduce the amount of fossil fuels used
• Don't use electricity unnecessarily

The United Nations Articles

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was a declaration adopted by The United Nations in 1948. It was intended to promote the human rights of people by getting countries to sign the document. It contains 30 articles about the basic human rights we deserve.
Here are 10 articles of the United Declaration of Human Rights.

• Article 2: Everyone is entitled to the rights stated in the declaration regardless of age or race.
• Article 4: No one shall be held in slavery and all slave trade will be prohibited.
• Article 6: Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law equally.
• Article 8: Everyone has the right to remedy by competent tribunal.
• Article 10: Everyone is entitled to a fair public hearing when convicted.
• Article 12: Everyone has the right to freedom from interference with privacy, family, home and correspondence.
• Article14: Everyone has the right to aslylum in other countries from persecution.
• Article 16: Everyone has to right to marry without limitations to age, race, nationality or religion.
• Article 18: Everyone has to right to freedom of thought and opinion
• Article 20: Everone has the right to peaceful assembly

To view the document click here.

United Nations-The Declaration of Human Rights

What are Human Rights?

Human rights are the rights and freedoms that we all have.

• Some human rights are based on our physical needs.
• The right to life. To food. To shelter

• Other Human rights protect us
• The right to be free from torture, cruel treatment and abuse.

• Human rights are also there ro ensure we develop to our fullest potential
• The right to education. To work. To participate in your community

Everybody has human rights. It doesn't matter who you are, where you come from, what language you speak or what religion you belong to. You have a duty to respect yours.
Nobody can take your rights away.

Why do human rights matter to me?

Human rights matter to us all.
In the UK,

• One child in 3 is poor
• One child in four is physically abused
• One child in 7 does not have a proper home

It is vital that all young people know their rights

Where do Human rights come from?


Human rights are based on the values of

• Dignity (Respect)
• Justice (fairness/legal system)
• Respect (for others)
• Equality

Human rights were officially recognised as values by the world when the United Nations was set up.

What is the United Nations?

• The United Nations (UN) is an international organisation that was established in 1945, the year the second World War ended.
• Its founders hoped it would be able to prevent catastrophes like the Holocaust from happening in the future.
• So promoting human rights became an aim of the UN, along with maintaining international peace and reducing poverty

The Universal declaration of Human Rights

The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is the most famous human rights agreement in the world. It contains 30 human rights.

Who wrote the UDHR?

The people who wrote the UDHR came from: Australia, Chile, China, France, Lebanon, the former Soviet Union, the UK and the US.

The Power of One Movie

The Power of One is a movie based on the book of the same name by Bryce Courtenay. It follows the story of a boy named P.K. and the movie follows his life from a young boy of seven to the an adult male of the age of eighteen.

Where it was set?

The movie was filmed in 3 different locations, England, Zimbabwe and the Warner Bros. Studio in the USA.

When was it set?

The novel was based in 1989 and the movie was made in 1992.

Main themes

Racism, Discrimination, Leadership, Opression, Power, Self-Realisation, Apathy

Main characters

Peekay, Doc, Geel Piet, Maria, Sgt. Botha,

Most interesting scene/character
The most interesting scene for me was when Maria was killed by the guards but Peekay was blamed for her death by her father. The guard who killed her was present at the funeral but Maria's father chose to take his anger out on Peekay instead. The most interesting character was Geel Piet who decides to use the concert as an opportunity to escape and then dies because of his choice.

The film made me feel/taught me

This film made me quite sad because of the harsh treatment Peekay received as well as the loss of so many that he loved. It taught me to appreciate what I have and when times get tough, to think positive and make the most of it.