I am teaching a class this semester which focuses on\u00a0speaking<\/em> about religion. It will focus on integrating (1) effective communication, (2) the skills that pertain to finding\u00a0accurate information about religion, and (3) navigating the controversies about religion in the present day. The \u201creadings\u201d for the course will all be recordings of people speaking. And I also want to start the course off on the first day with some short examples of people talking about religion in different ways, to address the fact that speaking persuasively does not always mean that you are being accurate. I\u2019m tempted to offer this famous individual as an example:<\/p>\nhttps:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=FxrU7gcOQnI<\/a>\n Speaking is something interesting to experience independently not only of content but of linguistic comprehension. When I was in San Diego in November, the taxi driver that took me from the airport was listening to something. Another\u00a0person who was also in the taxi with me suggested it might be a sermon from a mosque. I could tell it wasn\u2019t Arabic, but wasn\u2019t sure what it was, and so I looked at the radio display, and saw that it said it was the Epistle to the Hebrews in Amharic, the language spoken in Ethiopa. And so the taxi driver was a Christian, not a Muslim. Christianity and Islam sound<\/em> different to many Americans, because they associate the former with English and the latter with Arabic. But put the two in a language you don\u2019t know \u2013 especially one that has similarities with Arabic \u2013 and you won\u2019t necessarily hear<\/em> any\u00a0difference between them at all. (Have a listen to\u00a0the Amharic Bible here<\/a> to get a sense of what we heard). It is also interesting that the \u201cletter\u201d to the Hebrews in a Semitic language sounds like a sermon.<\/p>\n At the end of this post, you\u2019ll find\u00a0some examples of people speaking about religion. I\u2019m thinking of using at least some of the videos as starting points for discussion. The substantive focus will be around topics of religious controversy: violence, freedom of expression, evolution, abortion, the existence of God, the impact of religion on society, gender and sexuality, and so on.<\/p>\n But I also want to get at these sorts of questions as well: Which of these individuals are persuasive and effective communicators, and as a result\u00a0sound<\/em>\u00a0convincing? Which are\u00a0actually offering accurate information? To what extent do those two categories overlap?<\/p>\n I would appreciate suggestions from blog readers of other individuals to include, whether in short clips or as longer assigned viewing, in order to provide a basis for evaluating good speaking, coupled with good and bad content, and poor speaking, coupled with good and bad content, providing examples for students to emulate and to avoid. Who are some of the most persuasive scholars, clergy, politicians, and others that you\u2019ve heard speak about religion? And whom have you heard speak important things about religion in a thoroughly unengaging and unpersuasive manner?<\/p>\n Please note that a couple of the videos contain offensive language including swear words. You may be able to guess which ones just by looking at who the speaker is.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n John Green:<\/p>\n