Ideas for High Schools
Overview Discussion
The following is an Overview Discussion of Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. Links to more detailed information can be found to the right.
Objectives
- To identify and understand Catholic social teaching as it relates to civic engagement;
- To understand and personally appropriate the call to enter the public forum;
- To realize responsible citizenship is a virtue;
- To recognize participation in the political process as a moral obligation.
Materials Needed
- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship statement, which can be found at www.faithfulcitizenship.org.
- Themes from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching. Visit http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/excerpt.shtml. Order from http://www.usccbpublishing.org/productdetails.cfm?PC=970 or visit http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/projects/socialteaching/socialteaching.shtml for the entire document.
- Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship DVD, which can be found in the “All Catholics” section of the Faithful Citizenship website.
Before the Lesson
- Educator should be familiar with the Bishops statement before the lesson begins.
- Students should have been assigned to read Faithful Citizenship for homework, and to outline one section of the document. Students should break into groups and each group should present a short summary of the section they were assigned. You may also want to view the DVD, Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship.
- Read Themes from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching together as a class.
- Present and discuss the cycle of faith in action: see, judge, act.
Discussion
- What do we as Catholics believe about how people should be treated in our society? From where do these beliefs stem?
- What kinds of things do we believe people should have to live a decent life? Why?
- Why do you think our Church teaches that voting is an important thing for Catholics to do? What is your experience about how Catholics view their responsibility to vote as related to their faith? Ask two adults you know how they feel about this.
- Why do the bishops encourage all Catholics, whether able to vote or not, to be involved in political life? What are other ways, in addition to voting, that you can be involved in advocacy for issues you care about?
- What kind of leaders does our society need? For what, in particular, should they stand and how should they lead?
- What is conscience? What is prudence? How does one develop a well-formed conscience and the virtue of prudence? What role should conscience and prudence play in our decisions about who to vote for?
- What are some issues that are discussed in the campaign that have ethical or moral dimensions? How does our faith call us to address them?
- Why do the bishops say that both opposing evil and doing good are “essential obligations”? What are examples of intrinsic evils and why must they always be opposed? What are examples of supporting the common good? What might your own actions to avoid evil and to do good look like?
- What are some examples of public policies from the past and present that have been harmful to people (legalized abortion, slavery, lack of voting rights for minorities and women)? How might we apply Catholic social teaching to those issues? How would those policies change based on a faithful response by constituents?
- How would you respond when others question why the church gets involved in political and economic issues rather than focusing exclusively on the spiritual dimension of life?
Suggested Activities
Research and Learn
Extended Response Essay
Students will write an essay on the role of the Catholic Church in the public forum and the believer's responsibility for civic engagement. Students may choose one or more of the “Goals for Political Life: Challenges for Citizens, Candidates, and Public Officials” from the Faithful Citizenship statement.
Topical Research Project
Students choose a topic from among the themes of Catholic social teaching and/or the Bishops' statement. Students research the application of one or more principles to a national or local election, detailing if and how candidates stand on the issues deemed central to promoting a more just nation and world. Or students may research an important contemporary public policy issue and explain how the themes of Catholic social teaching apply.
Voting Project
Students are asked to research the choices that will appear on the ballot for the voting district in which they live. Students create a one-page sheet that details their votes on the issues along with the reasons. Students then analyze their votes in light of the Bishop's statement and the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Candidate Research Project
Students will choose a local or national candidate and analyze the candidate's position in relation to the seven principles of Catholic social teaching and the issue areas emphasized in the Bishop's statement.
Analyze an Article
Students choose an article from their local newspaper on a public policy issue. The article is then analyzed from both a conventional political standpoint and from the standpoint of Catholic social teaching.
Extended Response Essay
Students will write an essay on the role of the Catholic Church in the public forum and the believer's responsibility for civic engagement. Students may choose one or more of the “Goals for Political Life: Challenges for Citizens, Candidates, and Public Officials” from the Bishop's statement.
Objectives
- To identify and understand Catholic social teaching as it relates to civic engagement;
- To understand and personally appropriate the call to enter the public forum;
- To realize responsible citizenship is a virtue;
- To recognize participation in the political process as a moral obligation.
Assignment
After reading and discussing the Faithful Citizenship statement from the United States Catholic Bishops, students will select one or more of the goals identified in the statement and address it in the form of an extended response essay. The essay should be three to five pages in length. The following are some sample questions students will want to incorporate into their essay:
- What do we as Catholics believe about how people should be treated in our society? From where do these beliefs stem?
- What kinds of things do we believe people should have to live a decent life? Why?
- Why do you think our Church teaches that voting is an important thing for Catholics to do? What is your experience about how Catholics view their responsibility to vote as related to their faith? Ask two adults you know how they feel about this.
- What kind of leaders does our society need? For what, in particular, should they stand and how should they lead?
- What are some issues that are discussed in the campaign that have ethical or moral dimensions? How does our faith call us to address them?
- What are some examples of public policies from the past and present that have been harmful to people (legalized abortion, slavery, lack of voting rights for minorities and women)? How might we apply Catholic social teaching to those issues? How would those policies change based on a faithful response by constituents?
- How would we respond when others question why the church gets involved in political and economic issues rather than focusing exclusively on the spiritual dimension of life?
- What is conscience? What is prudence? How does one develop a well-formed conscience and the virtue of prudence? What role should conscience and prudence play in our decisions about who to vote for?
- Why do the bishops say that both opposing evil and doing good are “essential obligations”? What are examples of intrinsic evils and why must they always be opposed? What are examples of supporting the common good? What might your own actions to avoid evil and to do good look like?
- The bishops describe two “temptations in public life” that voters can fall into: first, “moral equivalence” which “makes no ethical distinctions between different issues involving human life and dignity,” and second, the misuse of moral distinctions “as a way of dismissing or ignoring other serious threats to human life and dignity.” Describe a situation in which you witnessed one or both of these lines of thought. Why are they both distortions of the Church’s teaching?
- Why do the bishops encourage all Catholics, whether able to vote or not, to be involved in political life? What are other ways, in addition to voting, that you can be involved in advocacy for issues you care about?
Voting Project
Students are asked to research the choices that will appear on the ballot for the voting district in which they live. Students create a one-page sheet that details their votes on the issues along with the reasons. Students then analyze their votes in light of the Bishop's statement and the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Objectives
- Each student is to research the choices that will appear on the ballot for the voting district in which s/he lives.
- Each student is to create a one-page sheet detailing his/her votes with the reasons why they voted as they did.
- Each student is then challenged to consider election choices in light of the Bishop's statement and in light of Catholic social teaching.
Assignment
- Consult with local resources to establish which choices will appear on your ballot. Your local board of elections, newspapers, League of Women Voters, etc., may all be of help to you. Feel free to ask your parents, relatives, or older siblings to help you.
- You are to write or type the following information at the top of your sheet: your name, address, voting district, and county of residence.
- You are to list your choices and provide two compelling reasons for each of your votes. Be sure to include elections for city/village, and county offices as well as ballot initiatives.
- Complete the assignment by noting how themes from Faithful Citizenship or the themes of Catholic social teaching helped guide your votes.
Candidate Research Project
Students will choose a local or national candidate and analyze the candidate's positions in light of the seven themes of Catholic social teaching and the issue areas emphasized in the Bishop's statement.
Objectives
- To learn for oneself the complexity of addressing issues raised in the political arena from a perspective of faith.
- To develop methods of critically examining public policy issues from the perspective of Catholic teaching.
- To challenge others to examine their choices in a campaign in light of Catholic social teaching and the Bishop's statement on Faithful Citizenship.
Assignment
- Working in groups of 2-4 students, each group will select a local or national candidate.
- Students will research five major issues raised by the candidate, including the reasons behind their positions.
- Students will then analyze each position in light of the Bishop's statement and Catholic social teaching.
- Each student group will have one 20 minute session in which to present their findings.
- Students are required to use a combination of the following methods in order to present effectively:
- Oral lecture
- Student generated handouts
- Student generated visual aids
- References to current and relevant written works on the candidate
- Contemporary media presentation of the candidate (commercials, campaign literature, etc.)
- Facilitated class discussion
- Student will create a chart listing the candidate’s position on the issues and the Catholic stance on the issue.
Ideas for Debate
Class Debate
Students will form two teams to debate the Church's call to responsible citizenship and the moral obligation to participate in the political process. One team argues in favor of civic engagement viewed through the lens of faith and the other team presents reasons why religion and politics shouldn't mix.
Mock Election
Students choose a national or local election. Candidates are analyzed on the basis of Catholic social teaching and the issues presented in the Bishop's statement. Campaign signs, debates, and literature focus solely on the candidate's stands on issues relevant to Catholic social teaching.
Candidate Debate
Students choose a national or local candidate and portray that candidate in a mock classroom debate. Questions for the candidates are focused solely on issues raised by the bishops and those flowing from the principles of Catholic social teaching.
Issue Debate
Students choose a national or local public policy issue and take different sides of the debate. Each side presents its case in light of Catholic social teaching.
Class Debate
Students will form two teams to debate the Church's call to responsible citizenship and the moral obligation to participate in the political process. One team argues in favor of civic engagement viewed through the lens of faith and the other team presents reasons why religion and politics shouldn't mix.
Objectives
- To identify and understand Catholic social teaching as it relates to civic engagement;
- To critically reflect upon the call to "faithful citizenship" as presented by the U.S. Catholic Bishops;
- To understand and personally appropriate the call to enter the public forum;
- To realize responsible citizenship is a virtue;
- To recognize participation in the political process as a moral obligation.
Assignment
- Students in the class will form two groups, one arguing in support of the civic engagement of U.S. Catholics and one arguing in favor of a division between faith and political engagement.
- As a class, discuss the statement on Faithful Citizenship.
- Each group will detail supporting evidence for its position from outside sources, including American and Church history, mainstream American thought, Church documents, and Scripture, to support their position.
- Each group will have five minutes to present their argument and evidence. The opposing side will have two minutes to refute.
- After both sides present their arguments, discuss as a class the results of the debate. Discussion may be facilitated using one or more of the following questions:
- What do we as Catholics believe about how people should be treated in our society? From where do these beliefs stem?
- What kinds of things do we believe people should have to live a decent life? Why?
- Why do you think our Church teaches that voting is an important thing for Catholics to do? What is your experience about how Catholics view their responsibility to vote as related to their faith?
- Ask two adults you know how they feel about this.
- What kind of leaders does our society need? For what, in particular, should they stand and how should they lead?
- What are some issues that are discussed in the campaign that have ethical or moral dimensions? How does our faith call us to address them?
- What are some examples of public policies from the past and present that have been harmful to people (legalized abortion, slavery, lack of voting rights for minorities and women)? How might we apply Catholic social teaching to those issues? How would those policies change based on a faithful response by constituents?
- How would we respond when others question why the church gets involved in political and economic issues rather than focusing exclusively on the spiritual dimension of life?
Using Creative Skills
Investigative Reporter
Students choose a local or national candidate and write an article for a newspaper detailing the candidate’s stand on issues emphasized in the Bishop's statement. Or students choose a public policy issue and write an article for a newspaper detailing some the moral and ethical dimensions of the issue in light of Catholic social teaching.
Letters to the Editor
Students will write a letter to the editor of their local newspaper in support of a position on an issue related to Catholic social teaching and Faithful Citizenship.
Candidate Letters
Students will write a letter to a candidate requesting information on the candidate’s stand on issues related to Catholic social teaching and Faithful Citizenship. Students report their findings to the class.
Video Commercials on a Topic
Students produce a commercial on a public issue, relating it to Catholic social teaching.
Champions of Life and Dignity
Students may choose from among "champions" of human life and dignity, such as Dorothy Day, Archbishop Oscar Romero, or Caesar Chavez and present to the class how these individuals "lived" Catholic social teaching by addressing social problems of their day. Students may choose to create posters or banners that are then hung around the school. These posters will connect the "champion" to contemporary issues in light of Catholic social teaching and the Bishop's statement.
Prophets of a New World
Students studying the Old Testament will select an Old Testament prophet and apply their cause to the political issues facing our country today. Students will research the issues the prophet was responding to in their day, the challenges they faced, and the ways in which a similar call to holiness is needed in our world today.
Radio Commercial
Student can develop a 30 second radio commercial using Catholic social teaching to advocate for a particular stand on a public issue of importance today. Students record their commercial onto one CD in a class and everyone can hear them. They can also be played over homeroom announcements before/during food drives, etc.
Campaign Advertisement
Student will design an ad campaign to "sell" a theme of Catholic social teaching, including a catchy phrase/symbol/picture on poster and bumper sticker.
Power Point Presentation
Lead the class in a "learn then share" setting by having students create a PowerPoint presentation on an issue, a theme of Catholic social teaching, or a candidate in the election. As a class, students could also create a PowerPoint presentation outlining the Faithful Citizenship document (with sections divided among small groups), which they could then present to another class, at a school assembly, or even for a local parish.
Investigative Reporter
Students will take on the role of an investigative journalist pursuing a story on a local or national issue. Students will imagine that the article being written is for a nationally syndicated Catholic Social Justice magazine or newspaper. The purpose of the article is to raise awareness of a particular issue of human life and dignity addressed in the Faithful Citizenship statement by presenting a factual account of the realities surrounding the issue. The article should challenge the reading audience to think critically about their personal and collective responsibility.
Objectives
- To reflect on and think critically about a particular issue and the realities surrounding that issue.
- To understand how Faithful Citizenship, Scripture, and/or Catholic Social Teaching relate to an issue.
- To challenge others to reflect on and think critically about personal and collective responsibility.
Assignment
- Choose a current public policy issue.
- Research the merits of the particular issue both in light of Catholic social teaching and in terms of serving the public interest.
- Choose a creative headline and subtitle for the article that will hook the readers.
- Articles should be between 2-4 pages in length.
- Student must make use of the Faithful Citizenship statement in combination with any number of the following:
- The Faithful Citizenship statement
- Scripture
- Catholic social teaching
- Statistics
- Anecdotes
- Public or expert opinion
- Magazine, newspaper, or Journal articles
- Books, organizational brochures, or websites
- Articles will be published (graded) based upon the article's
- Organization (is it cohesive, does it flow?)
- Scope (does is place an issue in a broader struggle for justice?)
- Focus (does it provide a specific context for understanding?)
- Creativity (what about the language and content is unique?)
- Understanding (does the article present new ideas or themes?)
- Relevance (is the audience persuaded that the issue really matters?)
- Possible generic questions may come from six journalist questions, such as:
- Who? Who are the participants, who is affected, who are the primary actors, who are the secondary actors?
- What? What is the topic? What is its significance? What is the basic problem? What are the relevant issues?
- Where? Where does the activity take place? Where does the problem or issue originate? At what place is the cause or effect of the problem most pronounced?
- When? When is the issue most apparent? When did the issue or problem develop? What historical forces helped shape the problem or issue and at what point in time will the problem or issue culminate in a crisis? When is action needed to address the issue or problem?
- Why? Why did the problem or issue arise? Why is your topic an issue or problem at all? Why did the issue or problem develop in the way that it did?
- How? How is the problem significant? How can it be addressed? How does it affect the participants? How can it be resolved?
Champions of Life and Dignity
Students may choose from among "champions" of life and dignity, such as Dorothy Day. Archbishop Oscar Romero, or Caesar Chavez and present to the class how these individuals "lived" Catholic social teaching by promoting respect for life and dignity and addressing social problems of their day. Students may choose to create posters or banners that are then hung around the school. These posters will connect the "champion" with contemporary issues in light of Catholic social teaching and the Bishop's statement.
Outcomes
- To identify and understand Catholic social teaching as it relates to civic engagement to promote the life and dignity of the human person;
- To understand and personally appropriate the call to enter the public forum;
- To realize responsible citizenship is a virtue and recognize participation in the political process as a moral obligation.
- To connect the witness of the great champions of civic engagement for human life and dignity in Church history to contemporary issues.
Assignment
- Choose from among a list of significant witnesses of Catholic social movements in the last century, such as Dorothy Day, Caesar Chavez, Archbishop Romero, Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, Sr. Helen Prejean, and others.
- Research their lives and the stand they took in response to contemporary political thought of their time in light of the call to promoting human life and dignity.
- Determine two or three major arguments they raised and identify the basis in Catholic social thought used to advance their position.
- Conduct an analysis of one or more contemporary public policy issues and offer how you think they might respond. Justify your position using evidence from their writings and life.
- Create a poster that presents your ideas in an attractive and creative manner that promotes what stand they might take on a major contemporary public policy issue.
