IERS Digital Modules Newsletter

1
NEWS FROM IERS
Index
News from the Third IERS meeting
IERS Digital Modules: An overview
IERS Digital Modules on Islam: An overview
Politics Acknowleding the importance
of studying Religions in schools
Selection of our partner schools
IERS Teaching Training Course
KA1 Teachers Mobility:
A Digital Modules Training Course
IERS on Facebook: Give us your feedback
From 27th to 29th April 2015, the third IERS meeting
was held in Augsburg, Germany, hosted by the Uni-
versity of Augsburg. Participants from the Institut Eu-
ropéen en Sciences des Religions, the University of
Salamanca, the Ca' Foscari University of Venice, the
ONG Oxfam Italia Intercultura, and the University of
Southern Denmark attended the event.
In this third meeting the six teams of the consortium
collectively assessed the finalization of the Digital
Modules and organized the schedule for the last steps
in the translation process. At the time of the meeting
the Digital Modules production was almost 100%
complete and the consortium had for the first time the
complete picture of the work (for a synopsis of the
contents and features of all the Digital Modules, see.
"IERS Digital Modules: an Overview" p. 2-4).
Thus, the consortium discussions shifted on how re-
sults could be broadly disseminated and how to make
them more sustainable. One important decision has
been made in regards to the extension of the project's
eligibility period: in order to ease the pilot phase im-
plemented by the associated schools, the IERS con-
sortium has sent a request to the EACEA Agency in
Brussels asking for a prolongation of the project's life-
time till April 2016. In this way teachers would have
the opportunity to plan the Digital Modules' pilots
from the start of the forthcoming academic year.
In order to better advertise and to reach more poten-
tial stakeholders, it has been decided to open also a
Facebook account dedicated to the IERS project.
Many teachers and other institutions dealing with edu-
cation and intercultural activities communicate
through the Web 2.0, and it is a good chance to pro-
mote and disseminate the Digital Modules (for more
see IERS on facebook: Send us your feedback, p. 7).
The IERS consortium discussed extensively about how
assuring that the Digital Modules will be used and ex-
ploited also after the project life-time. The partners
agreed on the Oxfam team proposal: the creation of a
short-term training course on the IERS Digital Modules
for teachers and educators, provided by the institu-
tions of the consortium and inserted in the framework
of the ERASMUS + KA1 "Learning Mobility of Individu-
als". In this way schools and institutions willing to
send their staff to this course can apply for a full
founding from the EU (for more info see KA1 Teachers
Mobility: a Digital Modules training course p. 7. The
design of this training course will be finalized in the
next meeting in Salamanca, in November 2015.
IERS Newsletter #2 August 2015
News from the Third IERS Meeting
(27/04/2015 - 29/05/2015)
With support of the Lifelong
Learning Programme of the
European Union.

2
IERS Digital Modules: An Overview
What are the Digital Modules?
The main aim of IERS Project is to create didactical
tools called Digital Modules. These offer 1) an articula-
ted overview of different religious traditions, 2) a me-
thodological introduction to the scientific study of reli-
gions and 3) a selection of topics revolving around the
theme of "conflict & coexistence, differences and simi-
larities" in religions.
The target of the Digital Modules are upper-
intermediate school teachers of Humanities and Social
Sciences (History, Philosophy, Sociology, Arts, Litera-
ture and, of course, Religion).
A Digital Modules is a ICT Application, to be used in
class by teachers, to hold one or more classes on a
certain topic. Every Digital Modules is made up of three
to twelve sections, each with a specific sub-topic. Each
section has two visualization. One for student and one
for teacher.
Each section is built around one up to seven resources
(texts, pictures, maps, videos, audio…) which can be
used in the classroom. Each resource is accompanied
by a quick presentation (for the teachers and the pu-
pils) which provides the background in order to have a
better understanding of its meaning and purpose. The
resource also comes with suggestions for work with the
pupils in the form of broad guidelines since detailed
questions may be useful in a curriculum and useless in
another. Every section is supplemented by a text which
gives the teacher detailed information about the sub-
ject. Cross-references between pages of different Digi-
tal Modules will encourage teachers and pupils to take
a cross-cultural approach.
A Digital Module is conceived as a whole. However
each section, although featuring reference to other
sections, has a relative autonomy. Therefore, teachers
are free to use the different sections of various Digital
Modules in a flexible way.
Digital Modules' Topics (1)
Introduction to Religious Traditions
The principal set of Digital Modules is made up of ten
detailed introductory modules that present the main
religious traditions of the world. Six Modules are devo-
ted to the three monotheisms (Judaism, Christianity
and Islam) that contributed building up the religious
and cultural heritage of Europe and the Mediterranean
area.
The modules on the three monotheisms share the sa-
me approach. Two modules are devoted to each tradi-
tion: The first module deals with the historical develop-
ments of the religion from its beginnings up to the
present day. It contains topics that are commonplace
in school's curricula such as Ancient Judaism, Judaism
in the 20th century, Early Christianity, the Reformation,
the predication of Muhammad and the first expansion
of Islam, thus making them more usable inside the
standard educational programmes. But their added
value is to deal also with lesser known aspects such as
Jewish modernity, Christian churches in the 19th
century, the various schools of Islamic law or the mo-
dern trends in Islamic thought. This in order to offer a
comprehensive picture and to emphasize the diversity
inside each monotheism.
The second module highlights some shared aspects of
the three religious traditions, such as the places of
worship, the holy texts, the status of the image, the
rites, the dogma, and more specific topics (the Jewish
diaspora, the art of Islamic gardens, monasticism) also
of contemporary relevance, like the importance of Je-
rusalem, or the developments of Muslim Minorities in
nowadays Europe.
Each section is built around two to four documents.
Different types of documents are used: excerpts form
the holy texts (Bible, Quran), religious and literary
works, maps, pictures and video... The documents are
given with a short presentation to provide a context
and identify the major issues. In order to help the tea-
chers and pupils in their work with the resources, each
document comes with a few questions or guidelines. A
"teacher’s text" gives a more detailed analysis of the
section’s topic in a secular, academic and non-biased
way.

3
Also the eastern and far eastern religions, which now
are being brought in Europe through immigration and
globalization, has not been neglected. One module is
devoted to Hinduism and one to Daoism, whereas for
Buddhism, which is characterized by a long history of
diffusion and adaptations throughout Asia (and now
also in the West) two modules have been provided.
Since the history of the countries which witnessed the-
se religious traditions is seldom touched in schools'
subjects (especially regarding premodern times), in
these modules the focus has been put on the doctrinal
(beliefs and worldviews) and ritual aspects, rather
than on a detailed historical evolution. Nevertheless,
diversification of beliefs, developments of doctrines
and ritual practices has been highlighted in order to
avoid stereotypes and the false idea of eastern religi-
ons as monolithic and timeless phenomena. In fact,
for each religions traditions the most interesting chan-
ges brought about by modernization and globalization
have been taken in due account. Moreover, being reli-
gions a social and cultural phenomenon, the interac-
tions with the social structures, politics and arts are
covered while discussing, for example, the theological
foundations of the caste system in India (module on
Hinduism, sec. 8), the diffusion of Buddhism thanks to
various forms of state-sponsorships (module on Bud-
dhism II, sec.1), the influence of Daoism and Bud-
dhism in Chinese ink-painting (module on Buddhism
II, sec.3). Since eastern religions are nowadays en-
joying an increasing popularity in the West, some
space is also devoted to foster a critical approach to-
wards exotic or biased understanding [Module on
Daoism, sec. 1,2 and 8; Module on Buddhism II, sec.
6].
The texts for teachers discuss the sections' topics
following a common scheme: information are divided
by categories, such as "main doctrinal tenets", "main
rituals", "main texts of the traditions", "founders" etc.
so that intercultural comparison between religious tra-
ditions can be easily made. Analysis of the featured
resources are also provided.
The resources used are mainly translations of the most
important texts, various images of religious art pieces
and pictures of people doing rituals, but also audio
and video resources are provided in order give the
students some concrete glimpses of how a religion is
lived.
As for the suggestion of exercises, these four modules
feature three type of questions: 1) introductory questi-
ons that serve most of the cases as a preliminary
brainstorming or as a point to start the exposition by
the teacher; 2) questions that mainly engage the stu-
dent in analyzing the resources showed; 3) questions
aimed to foster intercultural debate, either by sugges-
ting comparison with other modules topics or engaging
the student on its own cultural or religious back-
Introduction to the Study of Religions
But how about the category of "religion" itself? Being
an ambiguous and sensitive matter, it is also important
to provide students and teachers with a an introduc-
tion to the theoretical and methodological approaches
used and developed within the academic study of reli-
gions and suggest different tasks in order for the tea-
chers and pupils to apply this approach to their lec-
tures and learning.
All these modules aim at developing the students' ana-
lytical-critical knowledge and skills in order for them to
analyze and reflect on the methodological way of ana-
lyzing and comparing different religions, on the notion
of religion, on the relations between society, the indivi-
dual and religions, and on contemporary issues about
religion, multiculturalism and minority rights.
For example, the "Introduction to the Study of Religi-
ons: Subject Matter and Approaches" module provides
some of the most fundamental theoretical and metho-
dological principles applied in the scientific study of
religion, including e.g. the insider-outsider distinction.
The "Introduction to the Study of Religions: Compara-
tive religion" introduces some of the important con-
cepts and classifications developed and used as tools
for systematic and comparative academic studies of

4
religion, like "myth", "sacrifice" and "ritual process".
Theories and methodology regarding relationship
between society, the individual and religion are intro-
duced by the "Introduction to the Study of Religions:
Sociology of Religion" Module, which focuses in parti-
cular to contemporary issues, presenting theories and
concepts about civil religion, secularization, religion in
modern and post-modern society, minority and majori-
ty religions, individualized and lived religion. Lastly the
"Introduction to the Study of Religions: Philosophy of
Religion" provides an insight into some of the central
philosophy-of-religion approaches to religion as well as
examples of specific discussions and theories, including
relations and differences between theology, the study
of religions and the philosophy of religion. Apart from
giving an overview of the foremost philosophical topics
about religion, it deals also with contemporary issues
such as multiculturalism and minority rights as well as
the question of the "right place" for religion in the
public space.
In these modules students are given different tasks in
order for them to analyse the resources presented
(texts, images and videos) as well as the other Digital
Modules, applying the concepts, the theories and the
methodologies presented. Other tasks ask students to
actively engage themselves in discussions concerning
various topics in their own cultural, social and religious
contexts.
"coexistence & conflict, differences &
similarities"
In the end, in order to present concrete case-studies
that put in actual context the intercultural and present-
day issues in studying religions, the rest of the Digital
Modules are devoted to a series of topics revolving
around the theme "coexistence & conflict, differences
& similarities".
These modules feature much more focused and shor-
ter contents (no more than six section) in a broad ran-
ge of topics: the module on "Religion and the Body" is
aimed to show, in a comparative and intercultural way,
how religions shape and informs notions and practice
regarding something that we fell so natural and taken
for granted like our body. Other modules on Funda-
mentalism and Migration & Minorities are meant to
foster a more critical and informed approached to two
of the most salient contemporary phenomena related
to religions. What is the character of Fundamentalism
in the various religions? What are its historical origins?
What role do religions play in the migrations and in the
communities of immigrants in a foreign country?
Another module on "Religious diversity in contempora-
ry Europe" is aimed to clarify the difference between
the traditional features of religious and denominational
diversity coming from the past and the new forms of
diversity due to migrations, and then to focus on some
fields: urban space (coexistence of religious buildings
in metropolitan cities), food (religious diets and prohi-
bitions, religious food market), and law (international
and European law and protection of freedom of
conscience and of religion).
In order to deal with the topics also in premodern
times, and to facilitate the connection with standard
schools' curricula (especially History), the module on
Medieval Spain and Sicily studies two situations of reli-
gious coexistence in an age otherwise characterized by
violent conflicts — and in many cases religious con-
flicts. Al-Andalus (Islamic Spain) and Norman Sicily are
sometime seen as a golden age of tolerance and
mutually beneficial cultural exchanges. This module is
divided into four sections: the historical background
(section 1), the situation in Spain (section 2), the situ-
ation in Sicily (section 3), the cultural exchanges
(section 4). The teacher will be able to give a more
accurate assessment of the situation: indeed, in some
cases, a peaceful and fruitful coexistence happened,
but distrust and rivalry are nonetheless an important
feature of this era.

5
IERS Digital Modules on Islam: An overview
The study of Islam is divided in two modules:
The first module deals with the historical development
of Islam, from the beginning of the predication to its
contemporary transformations. It contains topics routi-
nely addressed in the curricula such as the birth of Is-
lam (section 1), the first expansion (section 2), the
Holy Scriptures (section 4), Shia and Sunnah Islam
(sections 5 and 6) or the situation of Islam in the con-
temporary world (section 10). It also focuses on lesser
known subjects such as the difference between Arabi-
zation and Islamization (section 3), the major Islamic
laws schools (section 7) and the modern trends such
as the rise of Islamism or the liberal and modernist
Islamic thought (sections 8 and 9).
The second module uses a thematic approach to high-
light some aspects of the Islamic faith and culture: the
figure of Maryam (Mary) (section 1), the story of the
people of the cave (section 2), the creation of Man
(section 3), the “visit to the saints” (section 4), the le-
gendary beasts (section 5), the gardens (section 6),
the role of Jerusalem (section 7), the mosque (section
8), the image in Islam (section 9), the Muslim minori-
ties in Western Europe (section 10).
Each section is built around two to four documents. All
these documents (with a few exceptions) come from
the Islamic world in order to give a better insight of the
diversity and the richness of the Islamic religion and
civilization. Different types of documents are used:
texts from the Quran and hadīth, religious and literary
works, maps, pictures and video...
This picture taken from a 19th century manuscript shows the de-
struction of the idols by Muhammad after the capture of Mecca
(module I, section 1).
This photo taken in Cairo shows the difference between Arabiza-
tion and Islamization: the Copts (Egyptian Christians) have kept
their faith but now speak in Arabic (module I, section 3).
This image is a popular depiction of the twelves Imams of the
Twelver Shia (module I, section 5).
This graph shows Islam as the 2nd religion (module I, section 10).

6
After the dreadful terrorist attacks at Paris headquar-
ters of the weekly satirical Magazine Charlie Hebdo,
European politics, among other measures, be-
gun also to focus the attention on the issue of
the teaching of religions in schools. In France in
particular, president François Hollande, in a speech
at the Sorbonne, although reemphasizing the role of
laïcité as a cornerstone of France’s education system,
called for a "secular teaching of religions", ad-
ding that laïcité "does not mean forgetting reli-
gions, or indeed being in conflict with religions".
This doesn't mean that teaching about religion was
previously absent in French schools: such topic doesn't
stand as specific subject as in other European count-
ries, but is dealt with through different subjects, no-
tably History and French. However, in this new
context, there is a political emphasis on the ne-
cessity to strengthen training of teachers on
this topic.
For example, the Superior Council of programs was
asked to strengthen the contents of secular teaching
about religion and media education and information in
elementary school programs.
During the 1st semester of 2015, several meetings
were organised in different regions about laicity
with higher education officers where Institut
Européen en Sciences des Religions - EPHE, the
French IERS Project Partner, reminded the im-
portance of the secular teaching about religion
and had the opportunity to introduce IERS pro-
ject and its aims. Moreover, IESR-EPHE has been
involved in the production of new educational re-
sources on the pedagogy of laïcité and secular
teaching about religion: resources for trainers; and
one video training course concerning teaching about
religion (outside an existing course on laïcité) set on
the e-training platform M@gistère targeted to teachers
of the first degree and of the second degree. IESR-
EPHE also introduced IERS project to the Dean of In-
spectorate in History in order to publicize the existence
of still usable products.
Outside the field of education, different parts of
society (associations, local and regional govern-
ment, private companies) are demanding more
information on religious issues. As an example,
IESR cooperates with a Council for Strategical research
on the production of video-modules explaining in a
comparative way how the three monotheistic religions
approach some questions like death, hospitality.
A similar awareness is rapidly growing also in Italy, a
country where the religious education has been traditi-
onally left to the non-compulsory hours of IRC
(Insegnamento della religione Cattolica, "Teaching of
Catholic Religion"). The Minister of Research and
Education, Stefania Giannini, in a long message
addressed to the Festival delle Religioni ("Festivals of
Religions") held in May 2015 in Florence, urged for a
reconsideration of the standard schools' pro-
grams in Humanities in order to be enriched al-
so with a keen focus to religions. Following this
policy line, the Ministry of Education of Research insti-
tuted a new commission called "Commission on Plura-
lism, Freedom and Study of Religious Sciences" whose
task is to open the schools' programmes to the present
pluralistic and multireligious society of Italy.
Selection of our partner schools
"Antonio Canova" High School in Treviso/Italy
was founded by the Napoleonic decreed 25th July
1807 and therefore has celebrated its 2nd centenary in
Treviso. Since 1867 the High School is named after
Antonio Canova, the great sculptor from Treviso and
since 1922 holds its premises in the existing neo clas-
sic style building.
The curricular offers a five year course that can be a
choice between either classical studies course or a for-
eign languages course, where three languages are
studied and which can be chosen between English
which is compulsory and another two foreign langu-
ages which can be chosen between Chinese, French,
Russian, Spanish and German.
In the academic year 2014/15 "Antonio Canova" High
School was proud of hosting 1357 students divided
between 54 classes of which 24 were classical study
courses and 30 classes were of foreign language cour-
ses.
More information:
http://www.liceocanova.it
Politics Acknowledging the importance of Studying religions
in schools: the case of France and Italy.
The Speech of the ministry of Education,
Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, explaining the plan of mobilization
for the Republican Values at Schools

7
The IERS project has been organizing a number of
national workshops, starting from February 2015, ai-
med to provide information and formation on the Digi-
tal Modules, to ease the future implementation of pilot
activities and improve the sustainability of these edu-
cational tools. In particular, these workshops aimed
to add further training and formation on the
issue of the teaching of religions in school.
In February 2 and 3, two workshops has been held at
the Foscarini High School of Venice and the "Antonio
Canova" High School of Treviso. The workshops
started with the salutations and a brief introduction by
Prof. Massimo Raveri, Professor of East Asian Religions
from Ca' Foscari University of Venice and main coordi-
nator of the IERS Project. Then Giovanni Lapis M.A.
and Maria Rizzuto M.A. (two author of the Digital Mo-
dules) illustrated the structure and design of the
Digital Modules, their main features and their
contents. Afterward Prof. Mariachiara Giorda (in the
photo) from the University of Turin (who also authored
a Digital Module) held a lecture on the theme "Value
and Methods of Teaching History of Religions in
Schools".
Italian teachers positively welcomed the project
outcomes and affirmed that they are quite a-
ware of the importance of such issues to be
dealt with in school in a comprehensive and sci-
entific manner, especially in the perspective of
eliminating religion-related prejudices among
youngsters. The main feedback gained through the
questions and answers session at the end of the work-
shop were recommendation to give due importance to
a comparative approach to the various religions traditi-
on and suggestions of technical nature like the colours
to be used in the interface.
A video recording of the Workshop in Treviso is
available at the URL: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=UUvnm1qVt5w#t=3965 (in Italian).
In Germany on 23rd February 2015, the Chair of Histo-
ry Didactics invited the German teachers of the pilot
phase to a one-day workshop at Augsburg University.
During the kick-off presentation the teachers gained
insight into the concepts, objectives and intended out-
comes of the project. This was followed by an
exemplary introduction to the design and handling of
the digital teaching modules and the tasks, which the
teachers have to fulfill during the pilot phase. Follo-
wing this, the teachers exchanged their experi-
ences with Religious Education in general and
the inclusion of religious dimensions in histori-
cal educational processes with respect to the
curriculum. In a lecture the national IERS project
leader Felix Petzold (first on the right in the group
photo) then referred to the potential of intercultur-
al education through religious studies in multi-
cultural history lessons. The subsequent discussion
gave the teachers the opportunity to adopt a critical
stance on this presentation. The one-day workshop
closed with a final feedback session and an outlook on
the next stages of the project. "The numerous sugges-
tions made by the teachers during this day were fruit-
ful for the further course of the project", as Felix Pet-
zold stated after the workshop. One example is them
calling attention to the necessity of an offline-version
for the Digital Modules, to use them in a
"conventional" classroom.
IERS Teaching Training Course:
News from Italy and Germany
Prof. Mariachiara Giorda from the University of Turin during her
lecture on the theme „Value and Methods of Teaching History of
Religious in Schools“
Felix Petzold with German History teachers after the one-day
workshop on 23th February 2015 in Augsburg/Germany

8
The IERS partnership is currently developing an inno-
vative 5-days training course for teachers and educa-
tors interested in promoting religious studies as a me-
ans of inclusive and intercultural education using inno-
vative ICT tools like the IERS Digital Modules.
The courses will place as a residential seminar of five
days situated in interesting cities such as Venice
(Italy), Paris (France), Augsburg (Germany) or Sala-
manca (Spain).
The IERS in-service training programme will been de-
signed by Internationally recognized Universities to
promote the fundamental role of intercultural educati-
on as a response to the challenges of religious and
cultural diversity across countries. It offers unique
career development opportunities for school staff, who
feel inspired and valued, thus supporting professional
development and staff retention.
This course will be designed in order to fit inside the
framework of Key Action 1 "Learning Mobility of Indivi-
duals" of the ERASMUS + Programme. This means that
schools and organizations in the field of education can
apply for funding for their staff members to send ab-
road for the IERS in-service training course.
The IERS consortium will provide the interested
schools or institution with supportive documents and
information helping to apply for funding.
Further information and details will be made available
once the course will be fully designed.
KA1 Teachers Mobility: a Digital Modules Training Course
Contact
Prof. Massimo Raveri
Giovanni Lapis
Department of Asian and
North African Studies
Ca' Foscari University of
Venice
Consortium
École Pratique des Hautes
Études, Institut européen en
sciences des religions,
France
Universidad de Salamanca,
Research GRoup in InterAc-
tion and eLearning, Spain
Universität Augsburg, Lehr-
stuhl für Didaktik der Ge-
schichte, Germany
Syddansk Universitet, The
Study of Religion, Denmark
Oxfam Italia Intercultura,
Italy
E-mail:
iers.comenius@unive.it
Visite our website:
http://iers.unive.it/
The IERS newsletter is published from time to time and contains information about project imple-
mentation activities and achievements. All partners contribute to its contents, reporting also latest
news on studies and research. To apply for this newsletter just write an E-mail to
iers.comenius@unive.it.
Project duration:
12/2013 — 11/2015
Project coordinator:
Prof. Massimo Raveri/Giovanni Lapis
Ca' Foscari University of Venice
Project No.: 539803-LLP-1-2013-1-
ITCOMENIUS-CMP
Newsletter Editors:
Giovanni Lapis
Renaud Rochette
Felix Petzold
Graphic Design:
Oliver Mayer-Simmet
This project has been funded with support from the European
Commission. This newsletter reflects the views only of the au-
thors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any
use which may be made of the information contained therein.
IERS on Facebook:
Give us your feedback about the modules
In order to better advertise and to reach more potential users of the mod-
ules and stakeholder, IERS created its own facebook page in May 2015.
Many teachers and other institutions dealing with education and intercultural
activities communicate through the Web 2.0, and it is a good chance to pro-
mote and disseminate the Digital Modules. The IERS consortium presents
once per month a new Digital Module on his IERS facebook page (https://
www.facebook.com/iersproject). Teachers and teachers association are invit-
ed to test and evaluate the modules. They share their feedback from prac-
tice with other teachers and give proposals to the authors in order to im-
prove the modules. The IERS facebook page is well connected with other
facebook pages and groups from all over Europe dealing with intercultural
education in school practice. We are looking forward to see you on face-
book!

IERS Digital Modules Newsletter

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