Sam's Blog

Having completed the body of their outline at home, students spent class finishing the outline (i.e., completing the Introduction and Conclusions of their outlines) and beginning their rough drafts.  No handouts today!

I think that one of the best places to go for information about religion is  ReligionFacts .  It has a similar scope to Wikipedia, with a less academic (that is, more readable) tone.  Here are topic-specific links: Buddhism:  http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/intro_bud.htm http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm Christianity (specifically, concepts of salvation in): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvation#Christianity http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/beliefs/salvation.htm Mother Teresa: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother_Teresa http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1979/teresa-bio.html Hinduism: http://www.religionfacts.com/hinduism/overview.htm Christianity (and the Protestant Reformation); http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/denominations/history.htm Mormonism (and race and gender issues within): http://www.religionfacts.com/mormonism/beliefs/13_articles.htm http://www.exmormon.org/mormwomn.htm h

While I met individually with students to discuss their theses and come up with a plan to finish the outline (the form I posted last week), the other students were working or watching the movie God in America (part one).  

So, as mentioned in class, I wanted you to mark one of those 15 questions from the Pew quiz as being on a topic you are interested in learning more about.  Now, this week, I would like you to read more about the topic you chose (some people have chosen Mother Theresa, Mormonism, Buddhism/Nirvana, Hinduism, etc), and try to pick a thesis (some of your classmates who have already picked one are doing "Was Mother Theresa a Catholic?" and "Mormonism is a racist, sexist religion").   Fill out the third line, thesis statement, on this sheet. We also read more about the Pew Survey this assignment is based on.   Here is what we read.  I also included some interesting tables: this one , this other one , and a third one .

Here are the answers to questions 6-15 of the packet.  However, they are not in order, so you have to figure out which answer goes with which question, and write it in the appropriate spot.  You also need to look up the answers to questions 2-5.

Here is a link to the packet that was handed out in class yesterday, October 1.  There was a class- and home-work component to it.  The instructions are written on it, if you have questions.  If you weren't here and want a copy, you can download from that link, or see Liz for a copy (they are in my box in her office). I also shared this NYT article with the class.  It's a quick read; I recommend it.