Teaching Animals and Religion

Abstract

Abstract Although animals have served as subjects and objects of religion since the Paleolithic, they are often omitted from standard religious studies courses. In this article, I discuss some best practices for introducing students to the study of animals and religion. After outlining some of the benefits of teaching about animals and religion, I explain the pros and cons of the two main approaches: by tradition or by topic. The majority of the article discusses some of the most important topics to include, as well as how best to approach several of them in terms of pedagogy and media. The final section explains the importance of bringing real animals into courses like this, and offers a variety of experiential education techniques for doing so, including contemplative practices.