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Begin by brainstorming the term ‘science’. What does this conjure up for students? Encourage them to think about all of their senses, perhaps, for example, do they associate a particular smell with the science laboratories at school?-
Finally, class discussions on the video clip could consider the following points:
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Why might members of the established elite feel threatened by a scientific method?
Think about ownership of Û÷the truthÛª. The truth here is constantly up for discussion and review. How is this different to religion? (Draw out the terms Û÷open belief systemÛª and Û÷closed belief systemÛª here).
In another exercise, students could be asked prior to the lesson, to find out some information about Indian cultures. In order to avoid a few scribbled
sentences in advance of the lesson, teachers may wish to structure this around Û÷10 key cultural facts about IndiaÛª or similar.
At the start of the next lesson, after sharing the knowledge they had discovered, provide students with a copy of this Hindu Times article:
Discover More 'Politics and religious ideology should not intrude into science'
Using this material, ask students to work in groups to consider the extent to which, in India, religion and science are seen to be exclusive, and secondly, the extent to which this should be the case.
