Assignment: Religion Papers
Assignment: Religion Papers
Religion is a social- of designated and practices, , , , , , , or , that relates humanity to , , or elements. However, there is no scholarly consensus over what precisely constitutes a religion.
Different religions may or may not contain various elements ranging from the , , , a supernatural being or supernatural beings or “some sort of ultimacy and transcendence that will provide norms and power for the rest of life”. Religious practices may include , , commemoration or veneration (of ), , , , , , , , , , , , , , or other aspects of human . Religions have and , which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and and , that aim mostly to give a . Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are sometimes said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the , the , and other things. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has been considered a source of .
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There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, but about 84% of the world’s population is affiliated with one of the five largest religion groups, namely , , , or forms of . The demographic includes those who do not identify with any particular religion, , and . While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs.
The encompasses a wide variety of academic disciplines, including , and social scientific studies. offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, including the ontological foundations of religious and .
Assignment: Religion Papers
Assignment: Religion Papers
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Assignment #2: M2 The Purpose of Religion
Instructions
Clifford Geertz taught that religion is an overriding system of symbols that serves two purposes. It gives us a worldview – what is the world all about? And it gives us an ethos – what ought we to do?
Think about religion as practiced in America today. Does it give a worldview? And does it give an ethos? For example, think about Christianity, practiced by the majority of Americans. Do they receive a worldview they can accept from Christianity? Do they get guidance on how to act?
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 1, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #3: M2 Finding the Sacred – Submit Files
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Assignment #3: M2 Finding the Sacred
Instructions
It has been said that the United States has lost its sense of the sacred. Nothing is set aside, made special, or considered sacred. People use to dress up to go to Church, go to the theatre, or fly on an airplane. Today informal dress, or even shorts, is the norm. Weddings, rather than following time honored rituals, consist of a creative ceremony written by the bride and groom. Even a high school or college graduation is often marked by catcalls.
Answer the question whether you believe anything is sacred or holy in our contemporary society. Is that a good or bad thing?
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 1, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #4: M2 The Brothers Karamazov – Submit Files
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Assignment #4: M2 The Brothers Karamazov
Instructions
In his great novel The Brothers Karamazov, Dostoyevsky famously said, “Without God, everything is permissible.” The line comes up in the context of whether it is permissible for one of the brothers to kill their father, an evil man. Do you agree with Dostoyevsky or not, and why or why not.
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 1, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #5: M3 Religion and the Life Cycle – Submit Files
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Assignment #5: M3 Religion and the Life Cycle
Instructions
Describe a religious life cycle event that you attended – baby naming, bar or bat mitzvah, Christening, wedding, or a funeral. Describe the religious symbols or the religious meaning of the event.
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 8, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #6: M4 Your Religious Faith – Submit Files
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Assignment #6: M4 Your Religious Faith
Instructions
Now is the opportunity to think about yourself. Are you a theist, a deist, a pantheist, an atheist, or an agnostic? What are the advantages and problems with your particular point of view? There are no right or wrong answers to this question; just the opportunity to think.
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 15, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #7: M4 Is Scientology a Cult? – Submit Files
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Assignment #7: M4 Is Scientology a Cult?
Assignment: Religion Papers
Instructions
Scientology is one of the most controversial new religions today. (To learn a little about Scientology, look at the Wikipedia article Scientology .) Think about the definition of a cult. Would you consider scientology a mainstream religion or a cult?
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
End Date
Sep 15, 2017 11:30 PM
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Assignment #8: M5 The Axial Age – Submit Files
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Assignment #8: M5 The Axial Age
Instructions
Why is the axial age so important in the history of religion?
Define the axial age and tell why it is so important in the history of religion? How is religion different after the axial age from before?
Your answer should be between 150 and 300 words. Assignment must be typed in MS Word, where you can check grammar and spelling. After completing your assignment in Word, save the document, then click on “Add a File” button to attach the file and submit your assignment. Keep in mind that only one file is allowed per submission, and only one submission is allowed.
Assignment: Religion Papers
End Date
Sep 22, 2017 11:30 PM
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Final Paper – Submit Files
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Final Paper
Instructions
Write a five page paper, double space, on any topic covered in this course or related to the study of religion. The paper will be graded for both content and spelling and grammar. Establish a thesis paragraph (what you want to say) and then present intelligent arguments, using material that was covered in the course. Again, there is no right or wrong answers. Your paper can be pro- or anti- religion, as long as it is coherent and well written.
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
- Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
- Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
- One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
- I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
- Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
- In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
- Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
- Part of your weekly participation includes viewing the weekly announcement and attesting to watching it in the comments. These announcements are made to ensure you understand everything that is due during the week.
APA Format and Writing Quality
- Familiarize yourself with APA format and practice using it correctly. It is used for most writing assignments for your degree. Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for APA paper templates, citation examples, tips, etc. Points will be deducted for poor use of APA format or absence of APA format (if required).
- Cite all sources of information! When in doubt, cite the source. Paraphrasing also requires a citation.
- I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
Use of Direct Quotes
- I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
- As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
- It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
- For assignments that need to be submitted to LopesWrite, please be sure you have received your report and Similarity Index (SI) percentage BEFORE you do a “final submit” to me.
- Once you have received your report, please review it. This report will show you grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that can easily be fixed. Take the extra few minutes to review instead of getting counted off for these mistakes.
- Review your similarities. Did you forget to cite something? Did you not paraphrase well enough? Is your paper made up of someone else’s thoughts more than your own?
- Visit the Writing Center in the Student Success Center, under the Resources tab in LoudCloud for tips on improving your paper and SI score.
Late Policy
- The university’s policy on late assignments is 10% penalty PER DAY LATE. This also applies to late DQ replies.
- Please communicate with me if you anticipate having to submit an assignment late. I am happy to be flexible, with advance notice. We may be able to work out an extension based on extenuating circumstances.
- If you do not communicate with me before submitting an assignment late, the GCU late policy will be in effect.
- I do not accept assignments that are two or more weeks late unless we have worked out an extension.
- As per policy, no assignments are accepted after the last day of class. Any assignment submitted after midnight on the last day of class will not be accepted for grading.
Communication
- Communication is so very important. There are multiple ways to communicate with me:
- Questions to Instructor Forum: This is a great place to ask course content or assignment questions. If you have a question, there is a good chance one of your peers does as well. This is a public forum for the class.
- Individual Forum: This is a private forum to ask me questions or send me messages. This will be checked at least once every 24 hours.
Assignment: Religion Papers
