URI Kids: What is the United Religions Initiative?

Objective: 

To help students learn about the United Religions Initiative both for the purpose of providing students with an innovative model for doing global good and/or for the purpose of exploring involvement in the organization

Materials: 

The background information titled Learning More about the URI: background Information and Charter (found on the website and in the hard copy manual.) The leader should read this information carefully and determine how to present the information (or parts of the information) to the particular group of students they are working with. The ideas will need to be simplified and/or interpreted for students below high school age.

The Lesson:

This depends on the age group, but here are some basic suggestions:

• Use the Preamble. Ask students to take turns reading the preamble a line at a time. Pause after each and ask for an interpretation as to the meaning or intention.
• When you finish reading the preamble ask students what statements were particularly meaningful and important to them.
• Use the Purpose statement. Have students copy it down phrase by phrase. After each phrase, unpack the meaning. When you have finished taking apart the purpose phrase by phrase ask students to read it out loud together in unison. Then ask them what they think of the purpose. Does it seem important to them? Why?
• Use the Principles. Again use the line-by-line reading format, each read by a different student. This time rather than discuss each principle one-by-one, ask students to each select on principle they think is important and ask them to explain why to the group.
• If you are working with an older group interested in possibly joining in the efforts of the URI, use the guiding questions and activities described at the end of the document Learning More about the URI.
• Use the diagram of the organizational plan for the URI to discuss the organizational plan itself. Have students discuss why such a model was chosen.

Follow-up/Assessment:

Have students write a reflection in their learning logs or as a stand-alone on what they think of the United Religions Initiative and what they think the challenges of such an organization would be. Have students share their thoughts with the group.