DNA

Leave space for your title.

Stick in your Big Picture for our new unit.

Make up a sentence using each of the key

words...

How do people express their religious beliefs?

Learning intentions:

•To describe and explain different ways religious believers express their faith.

• You are going to create a poster on a way people express their beliefs.

On your poster, you can only have 15 words in total, but you can include:

Pictures

Symbols

Letters

Numbers

1. Community worship2. Religious clothes and

symbols3. Pilgrimage4. Helping others5. Private worship6. Missionary work

Draw this table into your bookReligious expression

and what it isWhy do religious believers do it?

Examples

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Missionary work

• Some religious believers think that they have a duty to go out and preach the message about their religion in order to convert them. This is because they believe theirs is the way and that they have a duty to lead others along that path to God.

• They might do this by:

• Knocking on doors

• Giving out leaflets

• Preaching in the street

• Inviting friends to events at their church, like Alpha

Private Worship

• Not all believers choose to express their faith in a public way. For some, religion is a deeply personal matter between them and God. They may express their faith through prayer, listening to religious songs, reading the scriptures or meditating in a quiet place on their own. This helps them to understand and learn key teachings, and to understand God and their religion better.

Helping others

• Some religious believers choose to express their beliefs by taking action to help others. This could be in a very small way by doing something to help their neighbour or on a larger scale by supporting the work of a religious charity. A believer might give money or take a hands-on approach by working with those in need.

• Most religions discuss the ideas of helping others in their holy books.

• Examples of helping others:• Supporting a charity (religious and non-religious) every

month• Giving meals to those in need• Helping in a soup kitchen for the homeless

Pilgrimage

• For some people, having a religious faith is part of their journey through life. The more they learn about their religion, the more they grow in faith. To help their spiritual education, some people go on a journey to sacred places associated with their religion. It might be a place where an event in that religion actually happened, or a place that helps worshippers draw closer to God. All pilgrimages play a vital role in the believer’s spiritual growth.

• Often, the place they visit has a special meaning attached to it, or believers have to perform an action or ritual whilst there. Some pilgrimages are part of a religious believer’s duties, others are not.

Examples of pilgrimages:• Hajj to Makkah for Muslims• Lourdes (France) for Catholics• Jerusalem for Muslims and Christians, as it a holy city for both.

Religious clothes and symbols

• Some religious believers like to wear a symbol of their religion –their religion is as much a part of their identity as the clothes they wear. They may wear a necklace with a symbol tucked out of sight under their shirt, so they have a private sense that God is always with them.

• Others are very visible. This might be a religious symbol displayed openly around their neck, or special clothing that marks them out as a follower of a certain religion. Not only does this help them to keep their religion at the forefront of their life, but it is also a public declaration of who they are and what they believe in.

Examples of religious clothing include:• The Hijab• A cross• A WWJD band

Community worship

• Having a religious belief draws many believers together to worship God as a group. Their religion may tell them this is what God requires and they benefit from joining a community of fellow believers.

• Going to a special place of worship can help people to focus on worship. Joining with others who share the same beliefs is not only a powerful spiritual experience, but people can learn more about their religion from their leaders or other worshippers.

• Different forms of community worship are:• Praying together – especially for Muslims on a Friday at noon• Singing• Studying scriptures in small groups• Going to religious events, i.e. religious festivals

Exam practice

• Explain how having a religious faith might lead some people to express their faith through action. (4 marks) (Ao2)

Now highlight in different colours:1. Where your point is

2. Where your evidence is3. Where your explanation is

Exam practice

• Explain how having a religious faith might lead some people to express their faith through action. (4 marks) (Ao2)

Point: To begin with, a religious believer might...

Point: Similarly/On the other hand, a religious believer might...

Evidence: One way that theycould this is...

Evidence: They could this by...

Explanation: This would help them to express their faith, because...

Explanation: This would help them to express their faith, because...

Now highlight in different colours:1. Where your point is

2. Where your evidence is3. Where your explanation is

Plenary – bingo!

Community identity sacred WWJD

pilgrimage expression Jerusalem

private prayer worship

charity scriptures hijab

missionary work soup kitchen Hajj

convert necklace