Introduction
The opening paragraph serves an introduction to your paper. It should contain a thesis statement and an explanation of your thesis. Your goal in this term paper is to critically analyze all the sides of the issue and then decide which position is best.
Presenting Arguments to Support the Thesis
Present three arguments supporting your thesis. Remember, the purpose of your paper is to convince the reader, in this case your professor (me!), to accept your thesis. Make a list of possible arguments. Do not repeat arguments. Each argument should be different, not a rehash of an earlier argument. Such tactics are guaranteed to irritate your prof. who will waste valuable time reading the same argument twice. Do not make assumptions. Do not make claims you cannot support, back up your arguments. Do not put more than one argument in a paragraph. After you have completed a draft of your paper, go back and check your arguments for fallacies.
Potential Essay Topics
Karl Marx argued that religions arise as an escape from poverty and social oppression. Consequently he thought that when social problems were eliminated, religions would die away. What arguments and examples would you give for and against this position?
Explore the insights of Freud regarding religion, and use those insights to examine the religious tradition with which you are most familiar. How would Freud understand that religion? Do you agree? What are your conclusions?
Explore the insights of Jung regarding religion, and use those insights to examine the religious tradition with which you are most familiar. How would Jung understand that religion? Do you agree? What are your conclusions?
Compare and contrast the insights of Freud and Jung regarding religion? Whose view is stronger? How helpful are their conclusions?
Examine the impact of a religious leader such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., or Desmond Tutu, and how their faith shaped their convictions to fight for social justice and bring change to their respective country. What were their convictions? What arguments did they fight against?
Discuss the concept of “exile” in Judaism beginning with the exile from the Garden of Eden and ending with contemporary issues surrounding the modern state of Israel .
How is the concept of jihad related to the “Five Pillars of Islam.” Do you think that Muhammad would support the use of terrorism to “protect the Way of God against the forces of evil” (Living Religions, 423)? Why or why not?
Examine the role and status of women in Islam. Do you think that the essential principles of Islam preclude the development of feminism within the tradition, or is feminism consistent with the Qur’an and the sun nah of Muhammad?
Choose one of the four major paths of Hindu “discipline” and explain its approach to religious self-transformation in terms of the foundational principles of Hinduism — Brahman, Atman, Karma and Moksha.
Describe the relationship between the caste system , the four “stages of life” , and the Hindu concept of dharma — known collectively as Varnasrama Dharma. How does this system relate to the principles of Brahman, Atman and Karma … and how does it help one progress towards spiritual liberation ?
