Segment 1

Listening Comprehension

Listen to the piece on the Beth Jacob congregation in Mendota Heights.

Answer the following questions:


1. How does Rabbi Allen remember his religion's involvement in politics?
   
   
2. What does Earl Schwartz say are the two themes of Lincoln's Gettysburg address?
   
   
3. How does the story of the stranger influence the political and moral values and outlook of the Jewish people according to Rabbi Allen?
   
   
4. Why did acting as an election judge help Holly Brod Farber feel good about the election process?
   
   
5. What are the main worries of Gila Drazen when asked if the country is going in the right direction?
   
   

Answer key

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Critical Thinking

Based on the audio from the Beth Jacob congregation, answer the following questions:

1. What's the relationship between morality and religion? Do you agree with the speaker that said nonreligious people could be as moral as religious people? Why or why not?
   
   
2. For American citizens, which should be their top priority, the constitution or their religious beliefs? Why? How about for politicians? Why? If your answers were different, why?
   
   
3. How do you think the founders of our country would feel about the separation of church and state and the relationship between religion and politics today? Are we doing a good job of honoring their vision? Is their idea about what was best for this country still relevant? Why or why not?
   
   
4. Why would the statement that God had chosen the last president be troubling to some?
   
   

Answer key

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Research Challenges

Read the following poems on the Writer's Almanac Web site. After you have read them, answer the questions below.

Answer the following questions:


1. Go to www.tocqueville.org. Who was Alexis de Tocqueville? Describe two other observations he made about America and/or American democracy. Do you agree or disagree with his assessments? Why?
   
   
2. Explore the role of religious figures in the political history of the United States. Study the lives and impact of someone on the list or find someone on your own. How did this person's religious and moral beliefs affect their politics?
   
   
   • Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.
   • Reverend Ralph Abernathy
   • Minister Malcolm X
   • Minister Louis Farrakhan
   • Carrie Nation
   • Frances Willard
   • Emma Willard
   • Wovoka
   • William Lloyd Garrison
   • Frederick Douglass
   • Lucretia Mott
   • Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
   • Reverend Billy Graham
   • Elizabeth Cady Stanton
   • John Winthrop
   • Jonathan Edwards
   • Roger Williams
   • Pat Robertson
   • Walter Rauschenbusch
   • Aimee Semple McPherson
   • Father Charles Coughlin
   • Jerry Falwell
   • Louis Brandeis
   • Phyllis Schlafly
   • Madalyn Murray O'Hair
   
   
3. Interview people from local houses of worship in your community to see if values issues affect their political beliefs.
   
   
4. Research the three major branches of Judaism mentioned in this article: Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Outline their major differences and similarities.
   
   
5. Listen to other recordings on the Mirror on Morality site. How do the views of members of other religious congregations compare with those of Beth Jacob?
   
   
   

Answer key

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Key Terms and Topics

Terms

Answer key

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Click on these links to find further instructional ideas and study guides for the material on the Mirror on Morality Web site.

Segment 2: Decoding 'Moral Values' Read

Segment 3: 'Moral Values' Myth Read