Short essay

Choose one of the following questions

1. Describe some of the problems in today’s world that seem to be involved with religion and some ways religion can help inter-group and international understanding.

2. a. What do you think is the relationship between spirituality and religion? (Is it direct and immediate or merely incidental?) b. Give an example of someone who in your judgment is very spiritual, although not professedly and actively religious? What are the outstanding qualities of this person? c. Give an example of someone who in your judgment is a very spiritual person precisely because s/he is professedly and actively religious. What are the outstanding qualities of this person?

3. Religion has always been with us. Throughout history, it has expressed the deepest questions human beings can ask, and it has taken a central place in the lives of virtually all civilizations and cultures. As we think all the way back to the dawn of human consciousness, we find religion everywhere we turn.

This may be true of the past, but what about the present—and the future? In recent times, critics have suggested that religion is on the way out. Technology and science have changed our view of the world radically, leading some to say that we’ve entered a new stage of human existence, without religion. Soon, they argue, it will truly be a thing of the past.

In our day and age, rumors of religion’s demise seem very premature—and perhaps there’s no grain of truth in them at all. Religion persists and is often on the rise, even as scientific and non-religious perspectives have become prominent. We still find religion everywhere, on television, in film, in popular music, in our towns and neighborhoods. We discover religion at the center of global issues and cultural conflict. We see religion in the lives of the people we know and love, and in ourselves, as we live out and wrestle with our own religious faith. Why does religion continue to thrive? There are many reasons, but one thing is certain: religious traditions are adaptable in important ways. For many, contemporary religion even has room for skepticism, science, and the secular, which allows it to keep going strong in our rapidly changing world.

Overall, religion is powerful and persistent, and it shows no signs of disappearing. It provokes heartfelt commitment, eloquent expression, forthright action, and intense debate. For both practitioners and observers—for everyone who wants to be informed about the world around them—religion is an intensely curious phenomenon that calls out for better understanding.

Review the following website: http://studyreligion.org/why/index.html (Links to an external site.)

Review each of the following seven sections.

1. WHY STUDY RELIGION?
2. WHAT IS RELIGION?
3. SOME MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT STUDYING RELIGION
4. PRESSING CONCERNS IN THE STUDY OF RELIGION
5. WHAT WILL I STUDY?
6. WHERE CAN I GO WITH IT?
7. WHERE DO I START?

• First, give a concise summary of the content (at lease two or more sentences), overall perspective, or purpose of each section.
• Second, what is your reaction to each section: what strikes you as noteworthy, whether or not it was effective, and how it enhanced your understanding of religious studies.
• Finally, whether the overall website was informative or useful: would you recommend it to someone.

This is a “personal response” paper and is really all about you and your investigation into the answer. However, it is an academic paper and should not address or make any faith claims. Note: This paper is not intended to be a formal academic paper and may be written in an informal conversation style. Please note, however, your composition skills (grammar, punctuation, paragraph structure, clarity of expression, etc.) will be included in the evaluation of the paper. It should be an example of your best writing. Sources you must cite (35 points).

You must respond in two- three sentences to at least One Original Post for Full Credit. (15 points) Please review the following Discussion Board Rubric that will be utilized for your Discussion Board Grading. https://health.usf.edu/publichealth/eta/Rubric_Tutorial/~/media/428BC22CD3014080BA987D89684BA05C.ashx