The following are the general guidelines for the paper:

Five pages

Double Spaced

12-point font (Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri)

1-inch margins

Saved as a word document (.doc or docx)

Minimum three sources cited according to Chicago style, but I will also accept MLA or APA styles.

Ritual Information and Background

Brief information about the ritual from your library research. What religion does the ritual come from? What do the people who practice this religion consider the purpose of this ritual to be? What is the history of this ritual within this religion? What is the mythology this ritual is based on?

Ritual Description

Describe the ritual in detail. How does it begin? Who are the people performing the ritual? Is it the entire community or is it reserved for specific people with special privileges?

Ritual Classification

What type of a ritual is this and how would it be classified? Was it prescriptive or situational? Was it periodic or occasional? Consider the list of rituals discussed in your textbook and our lectures and apply it to the ritual you’re discussing (e.g. therapy, social rite of intensification, rite of passage, pilgrimage). Provide information about the classification of the ritual from your readings and lecture and explain why you classified the ritual this way.

Symbols

Describe the symbols you observed, making sure to include the meaning of each one. Discuss symbolic elements of time and space if it is appropriate.

Ritual Specialist

How would you classify the ritual specialist (e.g. priest or shaman)? What is your reason for this classification?

Altered States of Consciousness

Were there altered states of consciousness? How was it achieved? What was the purpose and meaning of the altered state for this ritual?

Worldview

What is the worldview of this religion? How was this worldview reflected in the ritual?

Conclusion

Conclude with a discussion of what your thoughts and impressions are on the ritual. How has this changed your understanding of the religion to which the ritual belongs?

Bibliography

List of at least three sources from a major news or science publisher that informed your research, cited according to Chicago Manual of Style (Links to an external site.) (MLA (Links to an external site.) or APA (Links to an external site.) style citations also accepted, but stick with one type throughout your paper)