SOR Wide Research Resource List

[ssarahj]

The following is the beginning of a list of resources including articles, books, podcasts, films and TV shows that encompass and compliment a whole heap of the SOR course (1 and 2 unit). I personally collated and used all of this stuff throughout my HSC year and I'll keep updating it as I remember and find more things. 

This is basically extra, non-necessary research for those of you who are particularly keen and want to have a really wholistic view of the religions you're studying. Obviously this isn't essential for a Band 6 but doing wide reading/viewing really helped me stay genuinely interested in SOR by relating it to the real world and contemplating the huge impact religious beliefs have on our lives and society.

GENERAL:
- Beyond Belief by Hugh Mackay - the first couple of chapters pretty much sum up a whole section of the 'Religion & Non-Religion' (2U) syllabus and also relates to 'Religion in Australia post-1945', also see this article which sums heaps of this up.
- On Being Podcast with Krista Tippet - there's a couple of gems if you scroll through the episodes depending on what religions you study, I still listen to these some mornings and we will be best friends if you listen too, also see this series which is the same host and subjects just shorter podcasts.
- Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton - this book looks really objectively at religions as a whole and relates mostly to the 'Religion & Non-Religion' topic (2U).
- The Story of God by Morgan Freeman - this mini documentary series is soooo good (mostly because it's Morgan Freeman and his voice) and served as interesting revision for me since it relates to all topics. The links on YouTube change all the time but if you have Foxtel you may have access to it through the Discovery Channel......
- Crash Course World History by John Green - you may have used this YouTube channel for other subjects but it's quite handy for putting religion into a historical context.
- Beyond Belief BBC UK Podcast with Ernie Rea - this podcast is pretty focused on Christianity and Islam but occasionally has some other religions included in the discussion, if you look through past episodes there's some that relate to the Depth Studies.

BUDDHISM:
- Toward A True Kinship of Faiths by His Holiness the Dalai Lama - this book is really great for understanding interfaith dialogue and common ground for religions and also helps with the 'Religion & Peace' topic (2U).
- Kundun directed by Martin Scorsese - this film is a great portrayal of the Dalai Lama's early life and is fairly accurate since the Dalai Lama actually gave his permission for the movie and helped with the script etc. This is good background knowledge if you study His Holiness as your significant person.
- Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Damien Keown - this book is a really solid overview of Buddhist ethics covering environmental, sexual and bio ethics. Since its online as a PDF you really have no excuse to not have a peek if you're studying Buddhism.

ISLAM:
- What my religion really says about women by Alaa Murabit - this TED Talk is cool if you end up focusing on women in Islam including sexual ethics and A'isha.
- Hajj360 by Al Jazeera - this video thing is so cool since you can see a 360 degree view of all the major places/rituals including the tawaf around the Kaba, which can be hard to visualise from 20 year old school DVDs, and obviously relates to studying the Hajj as a ritual.
- On Reading the Koran by Lesley Hazelton - I found this TED Talk to be really interesting especially considering I had read lots of sections of the Koran throughout the year (and also listened online to it being said/sung in Arabic = best background noise for writing Islam summary notes).


CHRISTIANITY:
- How I'm working for change inside my church by Chelsea Shields - this TED Talk is about a Mormon facing the misogyny inside her Church.
- Inside the Hillsong Church's money-making machine by Deborah Snow - this article is just generally interesting and relates to 'Religion in Australia post-1945' in terms of the rise of Pentecostalism and denominational switching.
- How Pope Francis is perpetuating the Catholic Church's radical anti-abortion position by Damon Linker - this short article relates to bioethics in particular abortion.
- Religious Perspectives on Bioethics edited by Mark Cherry - this book was in my school library and although it including all five major religions I found it the most helpful in understanding bioethics for Christianity. If you can't get your hands on this, a lot of the ideas/information is used in my Ethics paper which can be found in the Notes section of ATAR Notes.
- Luther directed by Eric Till - this movie is a near-perfect factual overview of Martin Luther's life and teachings if you study Luther as your significant person

If you have anything to add to this list, either post it here or send me a PM (especially stuff for Judaism and Hinduism)! 

[jamonwindeyer]

Thanks so much Sarah!! Geez, what a great resource stickied

[elysepopplewell]

Anyone studying Environmental Ethics in Islam?

"National President of Ahmadi Youth, Waqas Ahmad says the organisation has been involved in the annual environmental campaign for decades.

"It is a fundamental teaching of Islam - our religion and the practice of the founder of Islam, the Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon Him, who said that cleanliness is part of your faith. So we take up any initiative which involves cleaning of not only ourselves as individuals - our inner-selves and our outer-selves, but also our surroundings, our homes and where we work and then our country at large.

"So we live in a country - Australia - which is a beautiful country. It [the group's involvement] started with this initiative a long time ago and just to keep to our faith and practice the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad, it is a very important part of our faith to take part in this event - not only as Muslims but as Australians."

SBS article here!

[elysepopplewell]

A modern issue regarding Land Rights:

"Malcolm Turnbull has assured Gautam Adani, the Indian billionaire hoping to build Australia’s largest coal mine, that native title issues will not stop the $16bn Carmichael project."

Article here.

[elysepopplewell]

Want to know more about the White Australia policy? How does it affect the makeup of Australia today?

SBS has written a great little guide here!

[chloeannbarwick]

A really handy guide! Will check these out!

[elysepopplewell]

I love The Conversation - and here's a great article about the way Christians can debate/support the ethical issue of Euthanasia/assisted dying.

[elysepopplewell]

SBS has just published this short history of the Church of Scientology in Australia. I found it really interesting to learn about - you might too!

[elysepopplewell]

ATTENTION TWO UNIT STUDENTS
This is a nifty resource that's not difficult to read and is both great introductory reading but also reading to help you improve your existing notes.
It answers these questions:
Is religion the main cause of conflict today?
Does the proportion of religious belief or atheism in a country determine the peace
of the country?
In Muslim countries, does the demographic spread of Sunni and Shia
determine peace?
Is religion key to understanding what drives peace?
Can religion play a positive role in peacebuilding?

http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2017/04/Peace-and-Religion-Report.pdf

[Kombmail]

The following is the beginning of a list of resources including articles, books, podcasts, films and TV shows that encompass and compliment a whole heap of the SOR course (1 and 2 unit). I personally collated and used all of this stuff throughout my HSC year and I'll keep updating it as I remember and find more things. 

This is basically extra, non-necessary research for those of you who are particularly keen and want to have a really wholistic view of the religions you're studying. Obviously this isn't essential for a Band 6 but doing wide reading/viewing really helped me stay genuinely interested in SOR by relating it to the real world and contemplating the huge impact religious beliefs have on our lives and society.

GENERAL:
- Beyond Belief by Hugh Mackay - the first couple of chapters pretty much sum up a whole section of the 'Religion & Non-Religion' (2U) syllabus and also relates to 'Religion in Australia post-1945', also see this article which sums heaps of this up.
- On Being Podcast with Krista Tippet - there's a couple of gems if you scroll through the episodes depending on what religions you study, I still listen to these some mornings and we will be best friends if you listen too, also see this series which is the same host and subjects just shorter podcasts.
- Religion for Atheists by Alain de Botton - this book looks really objectively at religions as a whole and relates mostly to the 'Religion & Non-Religion' topic (2U).
- The Story of God by Morgan Freeman - this mini documentary series is soooo good (mostly because it's Morgan Freeman and his voice) and served as interesting revision for me since it relates to all topics. The links on YouTube change all the time but if you have Foxtel you may have access to it through the Discovery Channel......
- Crash Course World History by John Green - you may have used this YouTube channel for other subjects but it's quite handy for putting religion into a historical context.
- Beyond Belief BBC UK Podcast with Ernie Rea - this podcast is pretty focused on Christianity and Islam but occasionally has some other religions included in the discussion, if you look through past episodes there's some that relate to the Depth Studies.

BUDDHISM:
- Toward A True Kinship of Faiths by His Holiness the Dalai Lama - this book is really great for understanding interfaith dialogue and common ground for religions and also helps with the 'Religion & Peace' topic (2U).
- Kundun directed by Martin Scorsese - this film is a great portrayal of the Dalai Lama's early life and is fairly accurate since the Dalai Lama actually gave his permission for the movie and helped with the script etc. This is good background knowledge if you study His Holiness as your significant person.
- Buddhist Ethics: A Very Short Introduction by Damien Keown - this book is a really solid overview of Buddhist ethics covering environmental, sexual and bio ethics. Since its online as a PDF you really have no excuse to not have a peek if you're studying Buddhism.

ISLAM:
- What my religion really says about women by Alaa Murabit - this TED Talk is cool if you end up focusing on women in Islam including sexual ethics and A'isha.
- Hajj360 by Al Jazeera - this video thing is so cool since you can see a 360 degree view of all the major places/rituals including the tawaf around the Kaba, which can be hard to visualise from 20 year old school DVDs, and obviously relates to studying the Hajj as a ritual.
- On Reading the Koran by Lesley Hazelton - I found this TED Talk to be really interesting especially considering I had read lots of sections of the Koran throughout the year (and also listened online to it being said/sung in Arabic = best background noise for writing Islam summary notes).


CHRISTIANITY:
- How I'm working for change inside my church by Chelsea Shields - this TED Talk is about a Mormon facing the misogyny inside her Church.
- Inside the Hillsong Church's money-making machine by Deborah Snow - this article is just generally interesting and relates to 'Religion in Australia post-1945' in terms of the rise of Pentecostalism and denominational switching.
- How Pope Francis is perpetuating the Catholic Church's radical anti-abortion position by Damon Linker - this short article relates to bioethics in particular abortion.
- Religious Perspectives on Bioethics edited by Mark Cherry - this book was in my school library and although it including all five major religions I found it the most helpful in understanding bioethics for Christianity. If you can't get your hands on this, a lot of the ideas/information is used in my Ethics paper which can be found in the Notes section of ATAR Notes.
- Luther directed by Eric Till - this movie is a near-perfect factual overview of Martin Luther's life and teachings if you study Luther as your significant person

If you have anything to add to this list, either post it here or send me a PM (especially stuff for Judaism and Hinduism)! 

do you have any for hinduism? hinduism will be my core one.