RELG 402 - World's Living Religions
Final Project - Three Term Papers
Mid-Term Grades
- There will be no Mid-Term Exam or Mid-Term Paper
- Midterm grades will be calculated on the work received by 9am, Wednesday, March 5
Note : For the Final Papers I strongly advise that you complete and submit at least two of them BEFORE Finals Week. Do not leave all three Papers until the last week of the semester. You should be able to write at least one of them by Mid Term Week, and if you do you will get feed-back which might help you write the other two.
The due date for the Final Papers is the last date by which they can be submitted. If you leave them all until the last week of the semester you will add an extra load of work to your full schedule.
Setting your own schedule for submission of the Term Papers will be an exercise in time-management and priorities which will be helpful for your future professional development.
Final Project, for submission by 9 am, Monday, May 5 - Three Papers
- Compare and contrast Christianity with one of the religions derived from Christianity, or with one of the New Religious Movements derived from Christianity.
- Compare and contrast Islam with one of the religions derived from Islam, or with one of the New Religious Movements derived from Islam.
- Compare and contrast Hinduism with one of the religions derived from Hinduism or with one of the New Religious Movements derived from Hinduism.
NOTE - for the purposes of these Papers, Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, and Eastern Orthodoxy are counted as groups within Christianity - they are not a sect, cult, NRM, or other religion.
Likewise, Sunnis, Shi'ites, and Sufis are counted as groups within Islam, rather than a cult, sect, NRM, or other religion. ISIS is a political/military organization rather than an NRM or religion.
If in doubt about your choices, check with the instructor.
Each paper should be 2,000 to 4,000 words in length
When comparing and contrasting a religion, or NRM with its parent religion, describe :
- Who was the founder of the religion or NRM, and why did he/she break away from the parent religion
- Are extra writings regarded as Sacred
- Are extra writings regarded highly, though not as Inspired
- How do the teachings of the religion or NRM differ from those of the parent religion
- What is the history of the religion or NRM after the break-away
- What are the relations between the religion or NRM and the parent religion (persecution? suspicion? excommunication? laissez-faire? amicable?)
Go here for Rubrics for Term Papers
Remember to cite your sources
Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then submit the papers to the relevant boxes in Canvas.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
