The Upper School students taking the "What is Religion?" semester-long course enjoyed an eye-opening field trip! During this semester, the girls have been studying the five major religions of the world: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The course addresses these religions as living traditions observed by a majority of the world’s population, with consideration given both to the enduring appeal of religious devotion in modern contexts and to recent and contemporary issues of religious conflict affecting our global society.
Although the course is primarily discussion-based with an emphasis on class participation, student presentations, and personal-response writing assignments, the girls also watch films, listen to podcasts, and venture on field trips to local museums and places of worship as supplements to the course reading materials.
Although the course is primarily discussion-based with an emphasis on class participation, student presentations, and personal-response writing assignments, the girls also watch films, listen to podcasts, and venture on field trips to local museums and places of worship as supplements to the course reading materials.
On last week's field trip, the girls visited the Washington National Cathedral and The Islamic Center of Washington.
Regarding the field trip, one Upper School student wrote:
Regarding the field trip, one Upper School student wrote:
I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to compare the National Cathedral and the Islamic Mosque. The architectural grandeur of the National Cathedral is unparalleled. The high ceilings, monumental towers, and sheer area of the National Cathedral works to make visitors feel in awe of almighty God. It seems like a less personal/less intimate relationship compared to the Mosque. This type of relationship is also illustrated by the fact that the Cathedral was made for group worship rather than individual worship. Rows and rows of pews face toward the east end of the Cathedral, the focal point. The seating at the focal point is both segregated and slightly elevated from the rest of the seats and also looks more grand. I thought that this was an interesting manifestation of the church hierarchy. Visual depictions of the Bible fill the entire Cathedral: on tapestries, in sculptures, and in the stained glass windows. All of these visuals are indicative of the history of Christianity.
