Religion Essay
There are two attachments below, one is the essay instruction form as provided by the instructor and the second one is the essay proposal form. kindly complete the essay proposal in the next 30 hours. what you write in the proposal form can be changed later during the essay. keep the english at a medium standard level. Thanks
Major Essay Assignment: Your Choice
Introduction
You will write a short analytical essay of about 5-6 pages on an aspect of one of the religions we look at in class. The essay should be typewritten, double-spaced, 12 point and must contain appropriate annotation and a bibliography of sources used. You must cite and integrate at least five secondary sources; class lectures do not count but can be used as an additional source. It should also conform to the Simon Fraser University Humanities Style Guide. See it at http://www(dot)lib(dot)sfu(dot)ca/help/writing/mla
Religions learned:
Hinduism
Buddhism
Judaism
Christianity
Islam
Purpose
To examine in more depth one aspect of one of the religious traditions, ancient or recent, that you find particularly interesting and write an insightful analysis using some of the information, concepts and resources introduced in this course as well as from your research. Do not list Wikipedia as a resource! You will need at least 5 strong secondary resources other than the textbook.
Task
Write a 5-6 page essay on one of the religious traditions that you find interesting. Your essay must contain (1) a readily identifiable thesis statement, (2) a series of supporting generalizations and (3) appropriate specific examples and illustrations. The essay must be analytical in approach and not just a description. Research papers deal with a careful study of objective evidence available to support and refute arguments. This means carefully examining the “parts” of your topic and writing insightfully about function, purpose, importance, how they relate to one another, etc. You need to include your personal opinion and judgement and demonstrate good critical-thinking skills
Some example questions and ideas to consider
- Choose one of the four major paths of Hindu yoga (i.e. Raja Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Karma Yoga or Bhakti Yoga). What is the approach to religious self-transformation in terms of the foundational principles of Hinduism?
- How do the Buddhist and Hindu views of the world differ?
- What basic beliefs do Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism have in common and how do they differ? Are the similarities more important than the differences? Why or why not?
- How has the concept of “exile” in Judaism shaped the modern state of Israel?
- What are the basic characteristics that distinguish Protestant denominations from the Eastern Orthodox churches? Are the similarities more important than the differences? Why or why not?
- Based on your understanding of Christianity, do you think that Islam is closer to Judaism or to Christianity and why?
- Compare two brief selections of religious texts. For example, compare the creation account in the Rig Veda (a Hindu text) with Genesis from the Hebrew Bible.
- Explore specific marriage practices and rituals in Islam and compare with those of Hinduism or Judaism.
Procedure
- Brainstorm several topics of interest (one topic might not work out!)
- Research and read, read, read (library and internet). Is there enough information? Is there too much information?
- Narrow down the topic to manageable size. You should be able to discuss thoroughly the material you are writing about in the 6-8 pages.
- Make a question that the thesis and essay will answer
- Make a thesis statement. This is the contract between you and the reader, a precise description of the issue you will discuss and your opinion/ideas about it.
- Make an outline. The outline is the path your essay will follow and each part should connect back to the thesis statement.
- Hand in topic, question, thesis statement and outline to instructor on Feb 21
- Write the first draft. You should be willing to reorganize, add and take away from the outline.
- Read the draft and rewrite. Is the thesis clear? Is it well supported by the rest of the essay?
- Again, check spelling, grammar, style
Evaluation
I will be evaluating your essays with the following in mind
- Demonstration of critical thinking skills taking into account various facets of a problem or idea
- Demonstration of insightful analytical depth showing sophistication and depth.
- Taking into account possible questions and objections
- Understanding of any terms and historical context
- Developed essay style (thesis statement, supporting evidence, summary conclusion)
- Organization (logical sequencing)
- Mechanics (grammar, punctuation, word choice)
Due Date : March 15
(Personal Bugaboos)
- WORD PROCESSED. All assignments must be word processed.
- TITLE. Every paper must have one, but a separate page is not necessary for short assignments. Include your name, course # and student #.
- PAGE NUMBERS. Every paper longer than one page should have page numbers.
- FONTS & MARGINS. Please use font 12 or something of similar size (my eyes are not what they used to be) and double space.
- STAPLE. Don't hand in loose sheets of paper.
- CITATIONS can be either as footnotes/endnotes or in parentheses in text. If you use parentheses, you must include page numbers.
- FOREIGN WORDS, except for proper names, should be in italics the first time used. By convention and use some “foreign” words are no longer foreign. Use the textbooks as a guide.(for example, Buddha, Dharma, Sangha)
- QUOTATIONS longer than about three lines should be indented from both sides and single-spaced, with no quotation marks.
- GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION. Here are some common errors:
a) Colon (:) use it to introduce a list, a summation, or an idea that somehow completes the introductory idea.
b) Semicolon (;) is used as a separator between two independent clauses that could stand as sentences but are closely related.
c) Punctuation goes inside quotation marks; footnotes go outside.
d) "They," "their" and "them" are plural; you cannot use them to refer to a subject that is singular so either use the plural consistently (e.g. "people" as the subject instead of "a person"), or use "one”
e) The simple past tense "to lead" is "led" (not "lead," which is an element).
- BIBLIOGRAPHY. Any paper using sources outside of assigned class readings must include a proper bibliography.
- BOOK TITLES are always in italics; article or chapter titles are always in "quotes."
- USING WEBSITES: Do not use Wikipedia. Although much of the information on Wikipedia is correct, it is not a reliable academic source. Websites must be critically evaluated.
- STYLE GUIDE: see English Department Essay Style Guide for more details at http://www(dot)lib(dot)sfu(dot)ca/help/writing/mla
[Instructor's name]
[Course]
[Date]
Introduction
Religions adhered to by different cultures and people have a tendency to show similarities to other religions. This is partly as a result of interactions between people from different places and nations. There is a tendency of more similarities between religions practiced by people from places or nations that are adjacent to each other. Indian religions mainly adhered to in South Asian countries including India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar among others share a common dharma philosophy of behaviors that are taken as existing in accord with order that makes life and the universe possible. Such religions include Hinduism and Buddhism which share many philosophies. The other category is the Taoist group of religions adhered to in the East Asian parts of the world. The Abrahamic set is the most adhered to group of world religions practiced all over the world. It includes Judaism, Christianity and Islam. (Meer 25)
The three Abrahamic religions emphasize and trace their origin to Abraham. He, Abraham, provides an important traditional and spiritual identity to them. These three religions have aspects that are common between them. Such aspects include Monotheism: worshiping of an exclusive God through different names, Ethical Orientation: The choice between good and evil, Scriptures: The continuity of the religion from creation, history to the present, resurrection of the dead, final judgment and a new world to come. (Doctrine & Dogma - My Jewish Learning)
These Abrahamic religions are all known to have originated from the Middle East. They all believe in the creation of man by God, Adam being the First man and Prophet. Passage of time, difference in cultures and general human relations resulted in diversities emerging in these religions since then. Is Islam more related to Judaism or Christianity? This essay attempts to answer this question. Based on the understanding of Christianity, the use of doctrinal, historical and religious practices, the relationships between the three religions will be examined. A conclusive opinion will finalize the view that Islam is more related to Judaism than to Christianity.
In order to get the measure of closeness between Islam and Judaism over Islam and Christianity, a quantitative and Qualitative comparisons have to be conducted of the relations between the two sets. A deduction then has to be made using the number of instances in which the relationship between Islam and Judaism scores against Islam and Christianity.
Comparison of Scriptures
The Jewish Holy scriptures according to Masoretic text is the primary source of Jewish Holy Scriptures while the Qur'an and the Bible (Old and New Testament) will be used for Islam and Christianity respectively. Despite some textual differences, all of the books in the Masoretic text appear in the Old Testament of the Christian bible. The Christian bible therefore contains all of the Jewish texts but also includes more material in the form of the New Testament. Neither Christianity nor Islam recognizes the Muslim Qur'an as an important source of religious text. Muslims on the other hand recognize the Christian bible as a source of religious texts, from the Old Testament, well into the New Testament. However, they only rely on the Christian Bible, where it agrees with the Qur'an. When one relies on Religious text as a form of comparison, it puts Christianity and Judaism close together and Islam further away from the two.
Another Quantitative method of comparing the relationship between the two sets is the analysis of prophets. The three religions recognize a significant number of prophets shared between them. All identified prophets in Judaism are also Prophets in the Christian religion. As for Islam, there are several prophets mentioned in the Old Testament who are also recognized in Islam. They include Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Joseph. Muslims and Christians recognize Jesus as a Prophet too, whereas, in the Jewish context, Jesus is mentioned as a normal human. Then, there are prophets that are unique to Islam including Mohammed, Hud, Saleh and Shuaib. Counting the number of prophets common to each sets therefore may lead one to believe that Christianity and Judaism are more related than Judaism and Islam.
Quantitative analysis of the relations between the two sets of religions therefore tends create the impression that Christianity and Judaism are more related than either of the two could be related to Islam. One fact ...