Another proposed exercise: Split up the group into pairs, and give each pair two minutes to identify some issue or premise on which they disagree (it could be “is there a God?” or “is banning cigarettes a good idea?” or “are kittens cute?” or “should people be vegetarians?”— it could be anything.) Once the issue is identified, each participant gets five minutes to prove (to his/her partner) the OPPOSITE of his/her own actual belief (e.g., if you think there is a God, and your partner doesn’t, you have to make a case for atheism, and then your partner has to make a case for theism) — after which, each person has to rate his/her partner on the following: “How close did my partner come to representing, in detail, MY OWN actual views?” (For instance: if you were the theist arguing atheism, you have to rate how accurately/specifically your partner — the atheism arguing theism — represented your own actual position as a theist.)
Another proposed exercise: Split up the group into pairs, and give each pair two minutes to identify some issue or premise on which they disagree (it could be “is there a God?” or “is banning cigarettes a good idea?” or “are kittens cute?” or “should people be vegetarians?”— it could be anything.) Once the issue is identified, each participant gets five minutes to prove (to his/her partner) the OPPOSITE of his/her own actual belief (e.g., if you think there is a God, and your partner doesn’t, you have to make a case for atheism, and then your partner has to make a case for theism) — after which, each person has to rate his/her partner on the following: “How close did my partner come to representing, in detail, MY OWN actual views?” (For instance: if you were the theist arguing atheism, you have to rate how accurately/specifically your partner — the atheism arguing theism — represented your own actual position as a theist.)