• Hear a lecture from experts in religious freedom, new religious movements, and local religious institutions;
• Go on a field trip to hidden treasures of Richmond; and
• Work in groups on the lesson plans that will be web-published and may be used for years to come.

Free of charge. Meals included. Space is limited.

Click here for the online application.


Institute Daily Schedule

Monday, June 23, 2008
Lecture: Virginia Colonial Roots of Religious Freedom (The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom and the Henry-Jefferson debate.) -Dr. Isabelle Kinnard
Field Trip: St. John's Church, and the Chickahominy Tribal Center/Sumeria Baptist Church.
Group Work: Structure of the Lesson Plan and division of topics.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Lecture: Diversity and Dissent in the Early Nation (The First Amendment, Separation of Church and State, and Incorporation) -Dr. Isabelle Kinnard
Field Trip: Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Beth Ahabah Museum and Archives, and the Virginia Baptist Historical Society.
Group work: Drafting Lesson Plans 1

Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Lecture: Religion, Race, and the Uncivil State (Second Great Awakening, Slave Religion and the Civil Rights, Temperance and Abolition Movements) -Dr. Isabelle Kinnard
Field Trip: The American Civil War Center at Historic Tredegar and Sixth Mount Zion Church.
Group Work: Drafting Lesson Plans 2

Thursday, June 26, 2008
Lecture: Genocide and International Human Rights -Ambassador Robert Seiple, Alberta Lindsay
Field Trip: Virginia Holocaust Museum and the Council for America's First Freedom's interactive exhibit, "Faces of Religious Freedom".
Group Work: Presentation of Lesson Plans 1

Friday, June 27, 2008
Lecture: World Religions in Richmond (Diversity and Immigration)-Professor David Bromley
Field Trip: Hindu Center of Virginia and Islamic Center of Virginia.
Group Work: Presentation of Lesson Plans 2, Conclusion

SOLs covered in this course:

Virginia Studies: 2(d, e), 3(g), 4(b), 5 (a, b,), 6(a, b), 7(a), 8(b), 9(a, b).
United States History to 1877: 3(a), 4(b), 5(a, b, c), 6(b, c), 7(b), 8(d), 9(f),

10(a).
United States History: 1877 to the Present: 3(e), 5(b), 6 (b), 7(d), 8(a).
Virginia and United States History: 3, 4(a), 5(b, d), 6(c), 8 (a), 10(e), 12(c), 13(b), 14(b).
Government: 2(e), 3(a, b), 9(a), 11(a), 12(d).

Teacher Biographies

David G. Bromley, PhD. is Professor of Religious Studies and Sociology in the School of World Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. His research interests include sociology of religion, social movements, deviance, and political sociology. He has written or edited over a dozen books on contemporary religious movements. His most recent books are Teaching New Religious Movements (Oxford University Press, 2007) and Cults and New Religious Movements: A Brief History (Blackwell, 2007). He is the former president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion; founding editor of the annual series, Religion and the Social Order, sponsored by the Association for the Sociology of Religion; and former editor of the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, published by the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. He is currently creating a website, World Religions in Richmond, that documents the diversity of religious traditions in Richmond, Virginia and the implications of that diversity for the Richmond community.

Isabelle Kinnard, JD, PhD. is the Vice President for Education at the Council for America's First Freedom. She lectures on history and law at universities, public schools (especially for Teaching American History grants), churches and civic organizations. She has appeared on television as an expert on religion and politics. She designs and creates exhibits, educational DVDs, and web-based learning experiences. Dr. Kinnard is the author of several articles in books, journals, and newspapers. She has held academic appointments at Northwestern University and The College of William and Mary.

Alberta Lindsey is the former veteran religion reporter at the Richmond Times-Dispatch. For years she covered area religious groups and religious events in Richmond. She now lectures to local civic and religious groups about Richmond's religious institutions, and produces a regular column, On Faith, in 50 Plus Magazine. She recently visited Sudan to attend the opening of a non-religious school established by her local church.

Ambassador Robert Seiple is the President of the Council for America's First Freedom, a diplomat, a world leader and an educator. He was the first ever U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom. The Ambassador was charged with promoting religious freedom worldwide, implementing reconciliation along religious lines in areas where religious intolerance was greatest, and ensuring that religious freedom became integrated in U.S. foreign policy. Prior to becoming Ambassador, Seiple spent 11 years as president of World Vision, Inc., the largest privately funded relief and development agency in the world. He is the founder of the Institute for Global Engagement, "a think-tank with legs," the author of Ambassadors of Hope (InterVarsity Press, 2004), and a much sought-after speaker at conferences and meetings world-wide.

Continuing Education Credit

You will receive a certificate of completion that will enable you to earn recertification points in your school district and/or you may enroll at VCU for one graduate education credit.

Course Requirements

You will be required to document 30 course hours of attendance. You and your team members will submit one written lesson plan per team member. The lesson plan must be keyed to a specific SOL, and must be at least 500 words long. The lesson plan must be electronically submitted in Word format. Document formatting will be specified at the first class meeting.

Application

Open to public school teachers from the following districts: City of Colonial Heights; City of Hopewell; City of Petersburg; City of Richmond; Chesterfield County; Goochland County; Hanover County and Henrico County.