Reflections Magazine Issue #50 - Spring 1999 | страница 10

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Understanding Religious Beliefs cont.
discuss religion without alienating anyone
or feeling alienated, she says, especially if
they wish to acknowledge the religious
heritage of the United States.
Weeks and others are in the final stages
of proposing a religion concentration for
teacher education students at Siena. One
day, they hope to offer the religion
concentration to students in all majors.
In addition, by adding more courses to the
Religious Studies curriculum, Weeks
hopes to increase students’ knowledge of
religious liberty and diversity and
encourage exploration of different beliefs.
“These courses would help students learn
how to communicate better with different
people,” she says.
If people can connect on a one to one
basis and come to understand and respect
each other’s differences, then there is no
reason why people cannot communicate
on a national and/or international level,
Weeks says.
In a broad sense, Weeks hopes to contribute in some way to a world that lives in
greater peace and harmony. “Because we
run our governments differently or have
different beliefs,” she says, “we need to
learn how to respect the differences that
each of us brings to the table.”

Kudos! cont.
Consortium for his founding role and
nine years of s \