Term Paper Guidelines It should be 8 pages long.This i.docx
- 1. Term Paper Guidelines It should be 8 pages long. This is a research paper, so you should be sure to include a works cited page. The best term paper project to work on is one that excites and interests you. Below is a list of suggested topics; you may choose from this list or come up with a topic on your own. This is a research paper. You should cite at least three non- internet sources (books, academic journals, encyclopedias). Citing internet sources is allowed, but don’t confine yourself to these. Try to find sources that have been prepared for publication in a peer reviewed setting. Monasticism: its nature and its place as a path to sanctity in Christianity. Prayer: its purpose, the ways it is practiced, and its role in everyday life.
- 2. The Sacred: how it is conceived and experienced in different religious traditions Mysticism: its nature and the different forms it takes. Art: the role it plays in developing religious feeling and tradition. (e.g.: Eastern Orthodox icons) Symbols: their origin and meaning in different religious traditions. Authority over tradition: how it is established, and the role it plays in different religious traditions. Saintliness: how human piety and sanctity are conceived and recognized. Salvation: how it is conceived and how an individual achieves it. Sacred Law: how it is established and the role in plays in religious life. Prophecy and Revelation: their nature and the role they play in religious traditions. Science and Secularism: how have religious traditions reacted
- 3. to these modern movements? Music: the role it plays in worship. Diet: the role played by dietary restrictions in a religious life. Sin: how it is conceived and overcome in the monotheistic traditions. Caring for the community: the role Rabbis, Priests or Ministers, and Imams play in community life Cults: their relationship to mainstream religious traditions. Architecture: how the design of sacred space reflects different religious beliefs. Sexuality and gender roles in religious traditions. Miracles: their significance in the monotheistic traditions. Reform of traditions: how this arises and how it transforms religious traditions and communities. War: the attitudes taken by religious traditions towards conflict and violence.
- 4. God: how the divine is conceived and worshipped in different religious traditions. Fundamentalism in the monotheistic traditions: what it means and how it is expressed. These figures might make interesting subjects for biographical papers: Abraham Malcolm X Martin Luther King St. Paul King David Mother Theresa Ibn Arabi Elie Wiesel Martin Luther Saladin The Baal Shem Tov Rumi