Religiously Diverse and Colourful: First CERES Lab for Pupils starts

How is a coco nut related to religion? Which feasts are celebrated by Thai Buddhists? And where is a new mosque building erected in the Ruhr area?

Today, 19 pupils from the Carl-Friedrich-Gauß Grammar School of Gelsenkirchen attended the Alfried-Krupp-Schülerlabor of the Ruhr Universität Bochum in order to explore the religious diversity of their neighbourhood as scholars of religion would do it. The 7 and 8 graders were accompanied by their teacher, Mrs. Köllmann.

The course "Götter, Feste, Rituale. Eine Reise durch die Religionen des Ruhrgebietes" (Gods, Feasts, Rituals: A Journey among the Religions of the Ruhr Area" was designed by Judith Stander of the Center for Religious Studies to meet the needs and learning energy of pupils. In toadys course she was assisted by Kristina Götling, who helped to introduce the young explorers to their tasks.

Whether Jews or Hindus, Muslims or Christians: Within this course, all pupil go on a simulated field trip to explore for example the Hindu temple of Hamm, the Buddhist temple in Dortmund or a mosque in Duisburg. In doing so, they gather and collect information and examine diverse materials and objects used within different religious traditions in order to draw profiles religious groups and to make the local religious diversity visible.

The course has been designed for pubils from the age of 12-15 and correspondens to the school subjects philosophy and religion.