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REL 107 - Introduction to Religion

Assignment 15 - Religions, Sects, and Cults

Textbook Readings

• None

InterNet Links for this assignment

• Go here for Links for this week
• Useful articles can be found by using the Topics as search words in Search Engines such as MSN, Dogpile, AltaVista, or Yahoo
• Remember - always cite your sources

This Week's Assignment : Reflection papers

1. Compare and contrast traditional Christianity with one of the religions, sects or cults derived from it
2. Compare and contrast traditional Islam with one of the religions, sects or cults derived from it
3. Compare and contrast traditional Buddhism with one of the religions, sects or cults derived from it
4. Compare and contrast traditional Hinduism with one of the religions, sects or cults derived from it

Each paper should be two to four pages in length
You may choose the religions, sects, or cults given in this week's InterNet resources, or a religion, sect, or cult which you studied in any previous week of the course.

When comparing and contrasting a sect or cult with its parent religion, describe :

• Who was the founder of the sect, 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 sect differ from those of the parent religion
• What is the history of the sect after the break-away
• What are the relations between the sect and the parent religion (persecution? suspicion? excommunication? laissez-faire? amicable?)

Remember to cite your sources

Use MSWord or a text editor such as Notepad to prepare and save your work, then send it as an Attachment to, or pasted into, an email message to Dr. Rollinson at rel107@hellokitty.com, rel107@mail2world.com, and rel107@catholic.org.
Please use all 3 email addresses in case any of the mailboxes go down.

Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved

Dr. Rollinson

Department of Religion
ENMU
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated: August 20, 2007

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