Sociology of Religion: Worksheet--"Mother of the Year"

1. Who was Ruth Youngdahl Nelson?

2. How did she come to join the protest in 1982 against the first Trident nuclear submarine, as it moved to its base in Bangor, Washington?

3. "Do the kids know about Buchenwald?" What's she doing with that kind of a question in the middle of a family meal?

4. Why is Youngdahl Nelson willing to go to prison over this issue of the United States renewing its arsenal of nuclear submarines?

Sociology of Religion: Groups--"Mother of the Year"

1. What made Youngdahl Nelson so influential in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America?

2. How do you suppose the multiple generations of this family ended up having so much of an impact on the world?

3. What moral right do you think we as a country have to insist that other countries not develop nuclear weapons, given that we invented these weapons and are the only ones to actually use them against a civilian population?

4. How do you think a religious group multiples its impact when it takes stands based on the justice agenda that shows up prominently in parts of its holy texts? On the other hand, how do you suppose such a justice agenda complicates the effort to maintain broad support among members of a religious denomination?