Exercise 1: How to Study Religion (40 points)

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.

(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, 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.