Negotiation Lesson
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ReligiousPersecution-Negotiation.docxReligious Persecution – Personal Decision
Sheet
Directions: For this activity, one assumes the following is true.
Date: Monday, 9 September 1987
Location: Communist Eastern Germany
Situation: As a member of the country's secret police, your job is to protect, at all costs, the communist government. The communist government is officially atheist. They have no religious affiliation, nor do they openly support organized religion. The country's churches and religious communities are considered a 'thorn' in the government's attempts at strict control of society and its citizens. Since the end of world war two, churches have maintained a certain degree of independence in an otherwise strictly controlled state. Many churches throughout Eastern Europe influence local citizens to criticize government policy and often provide a safe harbor for environmental, peace, and human rights groups. Fearing a political backlash from its European neighbors, the communist government will not close the different churches throughout the country. Instead, controlled measures seek to 'limit' the religious threat. The ongoing investigation into church activity uncovered several perceived threats directly related to the Church's influence. The government views the Church as a threat because 1) the Church represents strength and retreat in a harsh daily living environment; 2) the Church provides hope and salvation through the belief in a higher power and afterlife and not allegiance to the communist government; 3) the Church can connect to the masses through outside activities not related to Church-related operations; 4) the Church provides a counterbalance to the government's strict control of society. The government's policy is to stop or decrease the Church's influence directly or indirectly. Several proposals limit the Church's overall authority as you read the government report.
Proposal A: Infiltrate Church Seminaries. Stasi agents recruit fellow seminary students as informants to gather information on individuals seeking to become pastors. Information collected includes political beliefs towards the government, church activities, and underground movements.
Proposal B: Removal of Religion in schools. As part of the official atheist policy by the government, all school curricula will follow strict science guidelines and doctrines followed by humanistic theories. All reference to religion is mysticism. The desired outcome is that humans control their destiny, not religion.
Proposal C: Government-led anti-church activities. Pressure youth to participate in government-organized activities after school and on weekends. Such activities include political meetings, work internships, and sports events. Students who refuse are isolated and ridiculed.
Proposal D: Promote Social Differences. Encourage youth to pursue different music, politics, and entertainment preferences from older generations. Promoting a humanistic (atheist-centered) form of self-gratification is counter to traditional faith-based families. The desired outcome is a cultural divide between youth and older generations.
Proposal E: False information. Spread false news and rumors about beloved pastors and clergy. Stories include but are not limited to fabricated stories about church members, fake accounts of power struggles within the Church, or affairs among married members. The desired outcome is to create distrust among members and clergy.
Proposal F: Recruitment of Pastors/Clergy. Stasi agents recruit pastors and clergy to become informants. Informants spy on one another, providing critical information on Church activities, relations, scheduled events, and members. The information provides counternarratives for Church activities and vital information to spread rumors and disinformation.
Proposal G: False information and blackmail. Using elements of options A and C, Stasi agents create damaging rumors among the Church about leadership in the effort to expose and extort. Actions may include extramarital affairs, illegal drugs, or theft of Church funds. The desired result is removing specific Church leadership and replacing it with informants.
Proposal H: Government loyalty and acceptance. Students must take an atheistic oath to the government and pledge to live their lives as members of a communist society. Such allegiance includes active participation in political organizations, after-school activities, and job training. Failure to take the oath often results in denial of higher education, specialty schools, or desired jobs.
Directions: On the lines below, record your decision for each statement. Remember to consider these proposals as a member of the secret police and the government's protection.
1. The three proposals that should be assigned top priority are:
A)
B)
C)
2. The three most important reasons why these three proposals were selected as being the most effective for immediate implementation are:
A)
B)
C)
3. The results of these proposals that I would hope for are:
4. The three proposals that should be assigned the lowest priority are:
A)
B)
C)
5. The three most important reasons why these proposals are considered the least effective of all the plans are:
A)
B)
C)
6. The probable advantages lost by the government by making these three options the lowest priority is:
A)
B)
C)
Religious Persecution – Group Decision Sheet
Directions: For this activity, one assumes the following is true.
Date: Monday, 9 September 1987
Location: Communist Eastern Germany
Situation: As a member of the country's secret police, your job is to protect, at all costs, the communist government. The communist government is officially atheist. They have no religious affiliation, nor do they openly support organized religion. The country's churches and religious communities are considered a 'thorn' in the government's attempts at strict control of society and its citizens. Since the end of world war two, churches have maintained a certain degree of independence in an otherwise strictly controlled state. Many churches throughout Eastern Europe influence local citizens to criticize government policy and often provide a safe harbor for environmental, peace, and human rights groups. Fearing a political backlash from its European neighbors, the communist government will not close the different churches throughout the country. Instead, controlled measures seek to 'limit' the religious threat. The ongoing investigation into church activity uncovered several perceived threats directly related to the Church's influence. The government views the Church as a threat because 1) the Church represents strength and retreat in a harsh daily living environment; 2) the Church provides hope and salvation through the belief in a higher power and afterlife and not allegiance to the communist government; 3) the Church can connect to the masses through outside activities not related to Church-related operations; 4) the Church provides a counterbalance to the government's strict control of society. The government's policy is to stop or decrease the Church's influence directly or indirectly. Several proposals limit the Church's overall authority as you read the government report.
Proposal A: Infiltrate Church Seminaries. Stasi agents recruit fellow seminary students as informants to gather information on individuals seeking to become pastors. Information collected includes political beliefs towards the government, church activities, and underground movements.
Proposal B: Removal of Religion in schools. As part of the official atheist policy by the government, all school curricula will follow strict science guidelines and doctrines followed by humanistic theories. All reference to religion is mysticism. The desired outcome is that humans control their destiny, not religion.
Proposal C: Government-led anti-church activities . Pressure youth to participate in government-organized activities after school and on weekends. Such activities include political meetings, work internships, and sports events. Students who refuse are isolated and ridiculed.
Proposal D: Promote Social Differences. Encourage youth to pursue different music, politics, and entertainment preferences from older generations. Promoting a humanistic (atheist-centered) form of self-gratification is counter to traditional faith-based families. The desired outcome is a cultural divide between youth and older generations.
Proposal E: False information. Spread false news and rumors about beloved pastors and clergy. Stories include but are not limited to fabricated stories about church members, fake accounts of power struggles within the Church, or affairs among married members. The desired outcome is to create distrust among members and clergy.
Proposal F: Recruitment of Pastors/Clergy. Stasi agents recruit pastors and clergy to become informants. Informants spy on one another, providing critical information on Church activities, relations, scheduled events, and members. The information provides counternarratives for Church activities and vital information to spread rumors and disinformation.
Proposal G: False information and blackmail. Using elements of options A and C, Stasi agents create damaging rumors among the Church about leadership in the effort to expose and extort. Actions may include extramarital affairs, illegal drugs, or theft of Church funds. The desired result is removing specific Church leadership and replacing it with informants.
Proposal H: Government loyalty and acceptance. Students must take an atheistic oath to the government and pledge to live their lives as members of a communist society. Such allegiance includes active participation in political organizations, after-school activities, and job training. Failure to take the oath often results in denial of higher education, specialty schools, or desired jobs.
Directions: Imagine the group are members of the secret police. The job is to protect the government at all costs. On the lines below, record the group's decisions for each statement. Consider these decisions as a member of the secret police and how best to eliminate the Church's influence.
1. The three proposals that should be assigned top priority are:
A)
B)
C)
2. The three most important reasons why these three proposals were selected as being the most effective for immediate implementation are:
A)
B)
C)
3. The results of these proposals that we would hope for are:
4. The three proposals that should be assigned the lowest priority are:
A)
B)
C)
5. The three most important reasons why these proposals are considered the least effective of all the plans are:
A)
B)
C)
6. The probable advantages lost by the government by making these three options the lowest priority is:
A)
B)
C)
Questions for Review and Reflection
Suggested follow-up questions to focus and guide inquiry, reflection, and learning.
1. What is the group's primary problem(s) to resolve in this situation?
2. What is the significant difference between the group's best and worst solution?
3. Assuming the situation was actual, how would the group feel if the person or group had to make this decision?
4. In this situation, what information and efforts by the government are warranted to limit the power of religious organizations?
5. When does the government have the right to spy and manipulate its citizens to maintain national security?
6. When do an individual's liberties and freedoms outweigh a government's power for national security and control?
