How Christians use art to show faith
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can describe different examples of how Christians use art to express belief.
Key learning points
- Christians have represented their beliefs in art for many centuries. This includes modern artists painting today.
- We do not know what Jesus looked like. We know he lived as a first century Jew in Palestine.
- Many Christians throughout the world represent Jesus from within their own culture.
- Sometimes Christians use art to challenge established views.
Keywords
Incarnate - embodiment of God in human form
Biblical - ideas contained in the bible
Challenge - to dispute the truth or validity of an idea
Common misconception
We know what Jesus looked like. The white Jesus seen in stained glass windows is an authentic representation of Jesus.
We do not know what Jesus looked like. Artists all over the world can paint or represent Jesus from within their own cultures.
Teacher tip
You could liaise with your teacher in charge of art and see if you can use any questioning techniques used in art lessons to appreciate meaning in pieces of art in this lesson.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.In an Orthodox church you will often find art in the form of ...
Q2.Many Orthodox and Catholic Christians will __________ icons and statues.
Q3.For many Muslims it is considered forbidden to produce __________ art.
Q4.What might you commonly see in many mosques?
Q5.Which statement best fits how Christians view art?
Assessment exit quiz
5 Questions
Q1.What does the word incarnate mean?
Q2.Match the word to the definition.
embodiment of God in human form
ideas contained in the Bible
to dispute the truth or validity of an idea
Q3.African artists may paint Jesus as African because ...
Q4.What Christian belief does this artwork show?
Q5.Sometimes Christians use art to __________ established views.
To help you plan your 4 religious education lesson on: How Christians use art to show faith, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 4 religious education lesson on: How Christians use art to show faith, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 religious education lessons from the Spirituality: how is art used in religions and beliefs? unit, dive into the full primary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.