i. BLO – Ethical Reasoning

Students will engage in a reflection that will ask them to reflect deeply about their connections to interfaith. Through active participation and discussions, students will be able to draw upon their personal experiences and make broad level connections to the baccalaureate goals.

A person’s religious and non-religious identity is deeply personal and private. To truly know someone and engage across these lines of religious/non-religious difference requires navigating deep and private waters. We ask you to explore this aspect of your identity, and I encourage you to use this reflection as a safe and open medium to reflect. This exercise will not be shared with anyone but the instructor.

Directions:

Choose one of the following people to research:

Henry David Thoreau

Mahatma Gandhi

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Malcolm X

Thich Nhat Hanh

Rabbi Abraham Heschel

Vincent Harding

Stanley Levinson

A. Phillip Randolph

Yuri Kuchiyama

Then, answer the following questions briefly about the person you chose to research:

How this person is connected to the Civil Rights Movement

What their religious or non-religious affiliation is

How their ideas were shaped by other traditions/people or how their ideas influenced others from different traditions

Then, what is your religious or non-religious identity like atheist, agnostic, non-religious, secular, humanist, and none (“none” are the fastest growing demographic in the US for young adults between the ages of 18-25). You can choose any of these categories, multiple categories, or a category that is not listed. Now, take some time to write out aspects of that identity that are incredibly meaningful to you, for example:

Ideas

Values

Practices

Beliefs

Finally, reflect and write on these two questions.

a. What kinds of feelings or thoughts did this reflection bring up for you?

b. What’s different in talking about religious/non-religious identity versus other identities?