How to Study Religion

How to Study Religion

Directions: This first assignment will ease you into the study of religion by discussing a method or approach to religious studies that you find interesting. Drawing on the course readings, choose something like the psychology of religion, the sociology of religion, the anthropology of religion, or critical theory and religion.and write a 1-page summary and analysis of this approach. To receive full credit on this exercise, you’ll want to (1) give a brief overview of the approach; (2) discuss key theories or terms employed within this discipline; (3) overview the method’s primary thinkers; and, lastly, (4) identify the approach’s main contributions and, if possible, weaknesses of limitations. These four above items include the exercise’s required content areas.

As for the structure of the writing itself, please do (1) organize your exercise into coherent paragraphs; (2) proofread your prose carefully to create strong, grammatically sound sentences; (3) use a balanced mix of summaries and quotations, the latter of which will (4) include at least two in-text references to authors, dates, and page numbers for the readings. For example, let’s say that you decide to write on the chapter titled “The Anthropology of Religion.” Follow this example sentence for citations: According to the author, “Anthropology approaches religion as an aspect of culture” (Bowie 2018: 21).