Find Any article on News of Religion in the World, Explain the story, Write about it through Sociology of Religion
Instructions
Students will write a 5-6 page (double spaced; 12 point Times New Roman font; 1-inch margins) research paper on religion and social change in current events. The central question you are tasked with answering is as follows: Based on your current event, is religion a force for social change, or is religion a force for maintaining the status quo? In other words, you are to use current events and sociological theories to assess whether religion is helping advance or impede social change. You are can frame your argument using the events of history, but you should focus primarily on the role of religion in at least one current events. See the “Research Paper” module on D2L for more information about this assignment, including a sample paper outline.
There is much you could write about for this assignment. To help spark your thinking, I encourage you to read or watch the news. See if you can find examples of religious leaders talking about current events. Look up, for example, how religion has been involved in Black Liver Matter protests. See if you can find articles about pastors speaking out on social issues. What are they saying? Do their words and actions promote or inhibit social change.
Assignment Requirements
• Include your name, the date, and the class name at the beginning of the paper. I do not have a specific format in mind. You do not need a separate title page, although you can certainly include one.
• Include a paper title, Introduction with a thesis statement, a Conclusion, and a Bibliography or Works Cited.
• Papers must be double-spaced, use 1-inch margins, include page numbers, and use Times New Roman font.
• Papers should not manipulate character spacing in an attempt to alter the length.
• Papers should be free of spelling or grammatical errors (deductions will be taken for such errors).
• Papers must be 5-6 double spaced pages, NOT including the bibliography.
o PLEASE INCLUDE A WORD COUNT AT THE END OF THE PAPER, PREFERABLY AFTER THE LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE PAPER BEFORE THE BIBLIOGRAPHY.
o A and A- papers generally 6 pages, demonstrating effort going above and beyond the minimum.
• All submissions must be Word or Pages documents. UPLOAD YOUR PAPERS TO THE D2LASSIGNMENT DROPBOX on 7/26 by 11:59 pm. If you have difficulty uploading your papers, you can email them directly to Prof. Mundey (mundeyp@savannahstate.edu) without penalty. Late papers will be docked a full letter grade (i.e. 10 percentage points). 12:01 am is considered late. Don’t wait until the last minute to upload your papers to D2L since slow Internet service and/or other technical difficulties may slow down the upload process.
• Papers must conform to one of the citation styles on the Purdue University Writing Lab website. I do not care which of these styles you choose, but you will be graded on whether you apply the style of your choice consistently and correctly. If you cannot find the citation style you want to use on the Purdue website, ask Prof. Mundey if it is acceptable to use. If you are already or are interested in becoming a Sociology major, I recommend using ASA (American Sociological Association) style, but this is not a requirement.
o YOU MUST LIST WHICH STYLE YOU ARE USING AT THE END OF THE PAPER NEXT TO THE WORD COUNT.
• You must reference (i.e. quote and/or cite) at least 5 books, book chapters, dissertations, theses, or journal articles (not journal book reviews) that we did NOT read in class.
o The following DO NOT count as one of the 5books/book chapters/journal articles you are required to cite, but you ARE free to cite them if you want: Time Magazine, Huffington Post, Newsweek, US Weekly, cnn.com, encyclopedias.
Example Paper Outline
I. Introduction: Summarize your topic & thesis.
a. Your paper must have an argument and this argument must be encapsulated in a strong thesis statement.
b. Tell the reader what this paper is about
c. What is going on in 2021 regarding religion in current events?
d. Optional: indicate what events from history you will use to provide context for the events of today.
II. Section 1: Theories about social change and religion
a. What do sociological theorists have to say about religion and social change. Examples of theorists you could cite might be Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Christian Smith, Aldon Morris. You can certainly cite others if you want.
III. Section 3: Contemporary events on race and religion
a. How do you see religion mattering in present day events?
b. You don’t have to discuss everything happening today. Consider focusing on 1-2 events.
c. Optional: Talk about events pre-2021 regarding religion and social change if it helps contextualize your current event.
IV. Conclusion
a. Summarize the main takeaways and most important arguments of your paper.
b. What do you conclude about religion based on the past and present.
c. What does your paper say about religion and social change.
