Oklahoma Social Studies AWH.C.10.1
The Standard
Explain the origins of iconoclasm and the schism between Orthodoxy and Catholicism in 1054.
Oklahoma Academic Standards for Social Studies (2026)
Teacher's field guide
What This Standard Means
What Students Need to Do
- Students explain why some Byzantine rulers banned religious images and why others defended them. They distinguish that earlier dispute from arguments over papal authority and the creed that divided eastern and western churches.
What Mastery Looks Like
- A student can explain why critics feared that icons encouraged idolatry and why defenders said honoring an icon was not worshipping it. They can name papal authority and the wording of the creed as later disputes, without claiming that image bans alone caused the 1054 break.
Common Misconceptions
- Students may think Orthodox Christians rejected icons, though their use was restored in 843. They may treat iconoclasm as the sole cause of the split or think the churches separated over one event in 1054.
How to Assess It
- Ask students to write two sentences: Why did Byzantine Christians disagree about icons, and what was one other issue that divided eastern and western churches?
Lesson moves
Ways to Teach It
Give pairs event cards for an icon ban, the 843 restoration, and the 1054 excommunications; have them build a paper timeline.
Ask students: Why might a dispute about who sets church rules become as heated as a dispute about religious images?
Play a card sort using idolatry, icon defense, papal authority, and creed wording; students match each to the earlier or later dispute.
Show photos of an Orthodox icon and a Catholic church statue; ask how religious images are used and why some people objected.
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