By June Peers & Hilda Rico Valdez

Out of the many electives Granada Hills Charter (GHC) offers, International Baccalaureate (IB) World Religions is one to consider. Taught by English teacher Joshua Mandell, the course explores seven core religions: Buddhism, Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Sikhism, Taoism, and Hinduism. The class is open to both IB and non-IB students.

IB World Religions uniquely approaches learning, instilling critical thinking skills into students. A key learning objective of the course is for students to thoroughly compare and contrast insider and outsider perspectives. To develop these skills, IB World Religions offers a wide variety of course material, including historical religious texts and videos from religious practitioners.

One of the most unique elements of the course is how students explore religion outside of a typical classroom setting through numerous field trips. This year, the class visited a Hindu temple in November and the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple in April. On these trips, a tour guide directs students to places of worship, as well as religious architecture and art.

“IB prioritizes an insider and outsider perspective, and because the tour guides are actual practitioners, we can view religion through their point of view,” junior Sofia Rodriguez said.

The course prioritizes interactivity through discussions. Mandell emphasizes the importance of being able to safely express their perspective on religion with each other. IB World Religions enables students to perceive discussion about historical and societal impacts as normalized.

Religion itself is often seen as a taboo topic. According to the Pew Research Center, a third of U.S. adults seldom talk about religion with people outside their family. The lack of public discourse on religion and its intricacies can lead to hurtful stereotypes and bigotry surrounding religion.

“With the amount of misinformation and misunderstanding out there in the world, I hope this class plays a tiny part in demystifying and understanding the culture and religions that are ever present in our society,” Mandell said.

As an IB requirement, students must submit an Internal Assessment (IA), which is a 1,500-1,800-word essay. Through this assessment, students produce an investigative study on religious practices and symbols and an analysis of their global impact. For a high-scoring IA, students are expected to consider the following questions: What is the human condition? Where are we going? How do we get there?

Overall, IB World Religions provides students with deep insight into religion. Though traditional history courses can inform students of certain religions, IB World Religions enables students to engage in the opportunity to explore these themes further.

With educational field trips and activities, students not only gain invaluable knowledge but memorable experiences as well.