Religion in the 1960s

  • 1 Week
  • Grades 9-12
  • 4 Lessons
Overview
Curriculum
Professor

About this course

Examine how America’s changing demographics in the 1960s influenced religion and politics. 

The 1960s saw an explosion of religious diversity in America. From the first Catholic president to the rise of Buddhist gurus, non-Protestants were gaining national celebrity. Professor Molly Worthen takes us back to examine religious differences in the 1960s and to evaluate the extent to which acceptance of religious differences in the U.S. has improved today.


Virtual Library

10 Videos

8 Readings

12 Additional Sources

History Lab

4 Group Activities

7 Comprehension Questions

17 Discussion Questions

9 Exit Ticket Questions

Standards Alignment

Connecticut

Florida

Texas

Virginia

Course Curriculum

Day 1

Lesson 1: The 1960 Presidential Election

Videos: 2
Readings: 2
Additional Sources: 3 (2 readings, 1 video)

Group Activity: 1
Comprehension: 2 Multiple-Choice Questions
Discussion: 6 Questions
Exit Ticket: 2 Questions

Day 2

Lesson 2: The Nation of Islam

Videos: 3
Readings: 2
Additional Sources: 2 (2 readings)

Group Activity: 1
Discussion: 3 Questions
Exit Ticket: 3 Questions

Day 3

Lesson 3: Eastern Religions

Videos: 3
Readings: 2
Additional Sources: 5 (3 readings, 1 audio, 1 video)

Group Activity: 1
Comprehension: 1 Multiple-Choice Question
Discussion: 3 Questions
Exit Ticket: 2 Questions

Day 4

Lesson 4: Is God Dead?

Videos: 2
Readings: 2
Additional Sources: 2 (2 readings)

Group Activity: 1
Comprehension: 2 Multiple-Choice Questions
Discussion: 5 Questions
Exit Ticket: 2 Questions

Professor

Professor Molly Worthen

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Molly Worthen is an associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a freelance journalist. She received her BA and PhD from Yale University. Her research focuses on North American religious and intellectual history. Her most recent book, Apostles of Reason, examines American evangelical intellectual life since 1945, especially the internal conflicts among different evangelical subcultures. Her first book, The Man On Whom Nothing Was Lost, is a behind-the-scenes study of American diplomacy and higher education told through the lens of biography.  She created an audio and video course for The Great Courses, “History of Christianity II: From the Reformation to the Modern Megachurch.” She recently released an audio course for Audible, “Charismatic Leaders Who Remade America.”

 

Worthen lectures widely on religion and politics and teaches courses on North American religious and intellectual culture, global Christianity, and the history of ideas.  She is a contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and has written about religion and politics for the New Yorker, Slate, the American Prospect, Foreign Policy, and other publications. She is currently writing a book about the history of political and religious charisma in America.