World Religions.
Context: You should describe each sacred space in terms of religious purpose, meaning, features, and
usage. This conversation should focus on how the sacred space is an example of the religious tradition that utilizes it. I suggest you approach this assignment by considering the following: Describe the space as if you are experiencing it first-hand. Walk the grounds and report what your senses experience (as in, what do you see, feel, hear, smell, and maybe even taste?). What do all these things mean to the people of the religion? Why and how is it used by the adherents of the religion? Are there specific activities, props, and/or dietary aspects associated with this space? Are there certain times when this space is utilized? To what extent do the people participate in events at this space? The idea here is that you have demonstrated extensive cross-cultural knowledge through a description of the space, its use, and its meaning for the adherents of a particular religious tradition. Deductions of up to 30 points will be made for errors related to Location, Religions, and Content.
Summary: All religions have places (or spaces) that are considered important for their adherents. Often called sacred or religious spaces to note their role within religions, these locations can take many forms and serve a variety of functions. They could be human-made structures that are utilized by the faithful in ritual and/or ceremony, shrines to commemorate special places, landmarks of religious significance, or areas of terrain with religious importance. For this writing, I am asking you to imagine that you have been given the opportunity to visit two (2) different religious places (or spaces) outside of the United States. Each of your choices must be associated with one or more of the religions we have studied so far: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, or a specific Indigenous Religion. What places would you choose? For each, describe the place and explain why and how it is used by the adherents of a particular religion. Be sure to pay attention to all of the details below.
Quick View Checklist (all of this is discussed in greater depth in the Parameters section that follows):
Select 2 (and only 2) sacred places outside of the United States to explore.
Each location is associated with one or more of the religions studied in the first half of this course:
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, or a specific Indigenous Religion.
Each sacred space is discussed in terms of religious purpose, meaning, features, and usage.
Research sources are academic, scholarly, or primary sources (scriptures or doctrines of the religion).
Includes an ML formatted bibliography of at least 3 sources.
The structure is that of a standard college essay.
Submission is at least 600 words (bibliographies are not a part of the word count).
Contains appropriate sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and
punctuation.
Demonstrates original writing skills.
Quotes are limited to primary source material and are no more than 10% of the paper content.
Submission is provided in the Writing Assignment 1 Dropbox by the due date posted in the Time Schedule.
RELIGIONS – The sacred spaces that you select must be associated with one or more of the religions
discussed before the Mid-Term Exam: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shinto, or
a specific Indigenous Religion