Introduction

In World History, we strive to understand why events have happened so that we can better understand our present and the future. One of the the most important factors to help explain why people react in certain ways is religion. Throughout history, belief in a certain religion has effect the political, social, economic, and intellectual life of the believers. You will be creating a reference chart about some of the world's major religions.

The tragic events on September 11, 2001 and the ongoing events in Afghanistan and Iraq have affected the way many people view certain cultures. Throughout history, many evils have been done in the name of religion. That does not mean that the religion or the majority of believers support those actions. In this turbulent time, it is important to learn what these religions really teach; the message of love, peace, and harmony are usually the central focus.

You will be called on to do a wide variety of research this year. In the opening days of the year, you will do a variety of exercises that will help you with aspects of the research process. This WebQuest will be addressing the question of web site suitability and evaluation.

You are beginning your study of world history. Since religion is a basis for much of human history, you will need clear reference material that will give you some basic information about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, as well as some of the other belief systems. In creating your chart, you will also be determining which WWW sites are more helpful and accurate. You will also have to record basic bibliographic information for each site you decide to use.

To accomplish the tasks required, you must work your way through the following steps:
 

1. Print a copy of the Internet Bibliographic Information Log so you can make entries as you are doing research. Create your own chart based on the World Religions Chart. Your chart must contain all the same information. (Chart for Honors Class)
2. For each of the first 5 religions, you will be given two WWW sites to use for information. After accessing the site, you will make entries on your Major Religions chart about the specifics of that religion.
3. You may also notice that one of the sites is more useful than the other site; this may be due to many reasons including bias, wrong audience, lack of reliable information. Look at the domain name; is this an education site, or is this a commercial site (the fact that it is a commercial site does not necessarily make the site unreliable)? You will record this information on the Internet Bibliographic Information Log. Remember that the word "site" refers to the first page and all following pages that have the same root in the URL (address).
4. Judaism  -- About Judaism and The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
5. Christianity -- What is Christianity? and The Christian Travelers Guides
6. Islam -- World Religions Index: Islam and Discover Islam
7. Hinduism -- Hinduism and Gods and Goddesses by Holy Mountain
8. Buddhism -- An Introduction to Buddhism and Buddhism
9. For any additional information not available on these sites, please visit my list of Advanced Placement World History resources for links to world religion sites (See General - Society, Religion, Culture and Foundations - Major Belief Systems.)

There are different methods of evaluation on this WebQuest. First, your Internet Bibliographic Information Log will be the basis for on online discussion on site reliability and evaluation. You may access the Discussion Board as soon as you have completed the above steps. You will have 1 week from today to complete this part of the assignment. Second, your Major World Religions Chart will be the basis for a graded class discussion on core beliefs and religious practices of these 5 religions to be held next class. The discussion will include the questions listed in the conclusion below. Finally, your extended chart will be a wonderful resource this year and will be a required, graded item in your review portfolio.

You now have some basic information about the founders of these religions and their basic philosophy and beliefs. The next question to consider is did belief in these religions effect the lives of the believers? How did their civilizations develop differently from civilizations that had different beliefs? You will also have to continue this chart for the other religions that you encounter this year, including Confucianism, Taoism, Shintoism, Sikhism, and Zoroastrianism.

I would like to refer to all the wonderful websites on world religions, but space dictates otherwise. Please visit my list of Advanced Placement World History resources for links to some of these wonderful pages.

We all benefit by being generous with our work. Permission is hereby granted for other educators to copy this WebQuest, update or otherwise modify it, and post it elsewhere provided that the original author's name is retained along with a link back to the original URL of this WebQuest. On the line after the original author's name, you may add Modified by (your name) on (date). If you do modify it, please let me know and provide the new URL.