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ON COMMON GROUND Guide for Teachers and Students
IV
AMERICA'S MANY RELIGIONS
About This Screen: The Religions Page
In America's Many Religions, you are invited to explore the religious traditions of America. The movie The Search for Meaning allows you to hear Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon, Muslim, and Jain Americans talk about their religious faith. The introductory essay, "Rivers of Faith," talks about what a religious tradition is, using the analogy of a river: vibrant, dynamic, with many tributaries and often several forks and branches.
This section does not look at religion city by city but, rather, through the experience of the people of each religious tradition. Each red button leads you to an introductory screen for a particular religious tradition, where you will find some or all of the following options. The case of Buddhism is an example:
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Introduction to Buddhism: The menu item Introduction shows the topics that introduce the Buddhist religious tradition. This is intended especially for people who have no background in Buddhism.
• Issues for Buddhists in America: The menu item Issues gives you a sense of what
things Buddhists care about and even argue about in America today.
Buddhism in the World: Timeline: This timeline can be clicked on for an overview of Buddhist history.
Buddhism in America: Timeline: This timeline can be clicked on for an overview of Buddhist history in the United States.
Multimedia: The Multimedia box has two buttons. The Movie button launches the Introductory QuickTime movie American Buddhists, and the Buddhist Voices button takes you to a screen on which all five Buddhist movies and all six Buddhist audio files are listed. All the audio visuals can be accessed from this one screen, although they also appear with their icons on selected screens throughout the section. The Featured Voices button tells you the names of the people who are speaking in the movies and audio files.
Buddhism in America: The menu item In America shows the topics that introduce the history and characteristics of Buddhism in the United States.
The Buddhist Experience: The menu item Experience invites you to learn something about the lived religious experience of Buddhists: their places of worship, songs and devotions, and festivals and forms of social action.
Profiles: The Profiles button takes you to the section of individual and organizational profiles. Under the menu item Profiles, you can meet people in each faith tradition and find out about the organizations that serve each community of faith.
· Info: Look for Info at the bottom of the Profiles list-or as the last menu item in the traditions treated more briefly. This valuable resource provides information about publications, magazines, and on-line resources for each tradition.
