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?
   
   Working with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the civil rights movement of the 1960's.
   
   
2. What does Earl Schwartz say are the two themes of Lincoln's Gettysburg address?
   
   Liberty and equality
   
   
3. How does the story of the stranger influence the political and moral values and outlook of the Jewish people according to Rabbi Allen?
   
   It reminds Jews that people on the margins are their primary concern because they were once those people.
   
   
4. Why did acting as an election judge help Holly Brod Farber feel good about the election process?
   
   It gave her a sense of empowerment by showing her how even people who don't agree with the dominant voice still get an opportunity to speak. It made her feel good to be an American.
   
   
5. What are the main worries of Gila Drazen when asked if the country is going in the right direction?
   
   Social security running out, poor education for children, future of religious tolerance, future of morality
   
   

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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?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   
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?
   
   The Constitution: In public life, people must adhere to the supreme law of the land. Personal decisions can be left to religious beliefs.
   
   Religious beliefs: God's law is higher than laws made by humans. Laws can be unjust and God is cannot.
   
   For politicians: While politicians should be guided by morality, they must put the laws of the land first; that's their job.
   
   
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?
   
   Answers will vary.
   
   
4. Why would the statement that God had chosen the last president be troubling to some?
   
   The statement suggests a Christian God, which leaves out all those who are not Christian.
   
   

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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?
   
   
   

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Key Terms and Topics

Terms

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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