It is often easier for middle school students to see differences among people than to see similarities, especially since many adolescents are familiar only with their own cultural reference points. Comparative religion is a challenging topic with a middle school audience because of most students’ limited exposure to religions other than their own.

When religion is neither a teacher’s specialty nor the main topic of a class or course, many teachers approach the teaching of religion with a certain amount of understandable trepidation.

Fortunately, a set of six Rules for Doing Comparative Religion have been developed by Professors Krister Stendahl, former dean of the Harvard Divinity School, and Todd Lewis, Professor of World Religions at the College of the Holy Cross.

This section offers a basic PowerPoint presentation designed to counterpoint Buddhism and Christianity. Its main focus is upon what the two religions share in terms of the lives of their founders, sacred texts, and places of worship. While these areas are similar, the basic beliefs of the two religions are, of course, very different particularly regarding the role of individuals and the path to salvation.

Click Here for Slide Show