Tips for Teaching

Getting Students Out of the Classroom and into the Pew

Abstract

For one assignment, students in my Religion and Politics course attend a religious service of their choosing and write about the experience, comparing their time in the church (or synagogue or mosque) with the scholarly literature on the impact of churches on politics and the presence of politics within houses of worship. This experience represents a wonderful learning opportunity, particularly for Millennials, many of whom are religiously unaffiliated. Their reflective essays also form the basis for a dynamic, rich class discussion.