Click to toggle navigation menu.
Contact Us Subscribe Email

Lost your password?
Register
Forget Password? Reset Don’t have an account? Sign Up
Donate
Unit  Sustaining Community
Lesson Name  Bracketing Beliefs in Learning about Religions
Grade Band 

Middle School (6-8)

High School (9-12)
Required Materials

  • SEL Skills Bracketing as a Classroom Tool
Standards / Competencies 

SEL Core Competencies: 

  • Self-Awareness: identifying emotions, experiencing self-efficacy, linking feelings, values and thoughts, demonstrating honesty and integrity 

  • Self-Management: managing one’s emotions, exhibiting self-discipline 

  • Social Awareness: taking others’ perspectives, recognizing strengths in others, demonstrating empathy and compassion, identifying diverse social norms, showing concern for the feelings of others 

  • Relationship Skills: communicating effectively, developing positive relationships, showing leadership in groups, resolving conflicts constructively, seeking or offering support when needed 

ELA Standards: Listening and Speaking 

Social Studies Theme: Individual Development and Identity 
Recommended Time  15 mins 
Essential Question  What diversity of beliefs does this religious tradition
exhibit?
Learning Objectives 

  • Describe and analyze examples of how religions are internally diverse at both macro levels (sects and divisions within traditions) and micro levels (differences within specific religious communities.)

  • Describe and analyze examples of how religions evolve and change over time in response to differing social, historical, and political contexts.

  • Describe and analyze examples of how religions are embedded in all aspects of culture and cannot only be isolated to the “private” sphere.
Core Instruction 

When introducing religious traditions, it is a best practice to use “bracketing” as a classroom tool. Bracketing is a method used in the classroom to teach about different religions. It involves having students temporarily set aside their personal beliefs and attitudes to create a safe and respectful space for learning about and understanding different religious traditions. This practice is valuable because it allows students to be attentive to the diversity of religions and their importance while also promoting cultural and global competence. By bracketing beliefs, students can approach the study of religions with objectivity and respect, leading to a more informed worldview. The method is adapted from Edmund Husserl’s concept of “local epoché” in his text Phenomenology, 1906.

In a learning journal, ask students to respond to the following question: “How does ‘bracketing’ help you to better understand this religious tradition? How can ‘bracketing’ be beneficial in understanding other religious traditions?”

Lesson prepared by Tim Hall, Ph.D., Vance County Schools, K-12
Social Studies Instructional Coordinator