Faith Curriculum Library: Tapestry of Faith: A Place of Wholeness: A Program for Youth Exploring Their Own Unitarian Universalist Faith Journeys

Activity 1: What is Reason?

Activity time: 10 minutes

Materials for Activity

Preparation for Activity

  • Read Leader Resource 1, Vocabulary of Reason Definitions, and Leader Resource 2, Reason and Unitarian Universalism. Adapt Leader Resource 2 for presentation purposes if needed.

Description of Activity

A matching game explores the meaning of reason for Unitarian Universalists.

Explain that the group will explore the definition of reason through a matching game. Tell them that they will work in pairs to see who can correctly match all the words and definitions the fastest. The words include "reason" and other terms that can be difficult to understand. Tell them that as soon as they are done matching, they should raise their hands.

Distribute Handout 1, Vocabulary of Reason, face down and tell them when to turn their papers over and begin working with their partner.

When the first pair has raised their hands, ask them to share their answers. If they are correct, they win! Invite questions from the rest of the group. If the first group to raise their hands did not match correctly, continue to the next pair until you find one that has matched all the words and definitions correctly.

Explain the importance of reason in Unitarian Universalism past and present. Read or adapt the script from Leader Resource 2, Reason and Unitarian Universalism. Invite discussion and encourage youth to speak to the role of reason in their lives.

Close by telling the group that in this workshop, they will explore ways that reason is used to reach a variety of religious conclusions.