Assignment:
By the end of the semester, we will have traveled through a great deal of history, and we will have familiarized ourselves with a great many religious, spiritual, and moral traditions. One thing that will have become clear to us is that "religion," however it's understood, isn't separate from social or political life. A corollary truth is that social and political commitments and actions are motivated by foundational beliefs about life's meaning, value, and purpose. Those foundational beliefs are often - though by no means always - understood and expressed through traditionally religious conceptual frames and vocabularies.
In this final assignment, you have the opportunity to creatively engage two opposing worldviews, but putting them into conversation with one another on a topic of social and/or political concern. There is a way in which Religious Studies is an imaginative enterprise. To understand the foundational beliefs (or worldviews) of another person or community, we need to bracket off our own worldview and imagine another's perspective. We need to approach the world around us as if one or another set of foundational beliefs were ultimately
true, and therefore governing.
Here's what you'll need to submit:
4 to 6 pages, 11- or 12-point font, double spaced, in which you adopt, articulate, and defend two distinct religious worldviews that we have looked at in this course, and in which you put those worldviews into conversation with one another on a topic of social and/or political concern. In the course of your paper, cite at least 4 course readings, using Chicago-style footnotes.
Here's how to do it:
You can begin in one of two ways. Begin by looking over the readings posted to Canvas, and reviewing your own Weekly Reading Responses to recall the traditions or issues that you found most compelling. Then, begin by choosing either two traditions you are interested in or a social/political issue that you are interested in.
If you begin by choosing traditions, you'll then need to think through the circumstances or issues where those two traditions might not see eye to eye. Think about what they might disagree about. If, on the other hand, you begin by focusing on a social/political issue, then you'll need to think about how different traditions might approach that issue in ways that lead to potential disagreement. The goal is not to cultivate in essay form a mutual admiration society. The goal is to creatively identify, explain, and resolve a point of actual disagreement. A pluralist society of the sort to which America aspires does not founder on the rocks of easy agreements. It is challenged, rather, by the regular occurrence of authentic disputes. It is challenged by the very human fact that foundational beliefs are relevant to how individuals and communities navigate the social and political spheres in which those same foundational beliefs are presumed to be irrelevant.
The options are endless. You could position a traditionalist Catholic against a liberal, non-denominational Christian on the topic of abortion. Or, you could set the position of Catholic Social Teaching against Evangelical prosperity gospel, on questions of economic justice. Or, you could spin out a conversation between a Black Baptist and a New England Congregationalist on what racial equity entails. Or, think about the kind of conversation an American Buddhist might have with an American Jew about rituals surrounding death. Or, consider how an atheist and a Christian Fundamentalist might work together to organize a winter holiday event for public school children. Or, think about how different communities might respond to prayer in school, or public displays of Christian symbols, or military chaplaincy, or non-binary gender identity, or religiously affiliated politicians, or limits upon the First Amendment....
I could go on. Whatever you decide, as you work to get your thoughts onto paper, here are some tips:
? It might help to consider the two voices to be related in some way: in-laws, or neighbors, or co-workers. The goal is pluralism, not an adversarial, one-side-wins battle. An adversarial impasse is not success here.
? Pull at least two quotes from class readings in order to strengthen or illustrate each of the two perspectives (for a total of four).
? You may find that some quick research of journalistic sources will help you to clarify the social/political concerns that are more salient in today's America, but research is not required.
? Write the paper as a clearly articulated dialogue. You may structure it as one would a play, with lines spoken by each side, or more journalistically, with a narrator's voice providing descriptive commentary between the voices. But remember that the two voices should each be fleshed out.
? You needn't write a report on the traditions you adopt, but you should include enough background information that a religiously non-literate reader will understand the issues at play. It might be helpful to assume that each of your characters is more or less unaware of the other's tradition, and needs it explained.