Your studies in this course mark a journey through the experience of religions around the world. For your HU320 final project you will further this journey with a visit to an actual site where people gather for religious practice or worship. Preferably, you should choose to visit a place of religious practice from a religion other than your own.
During your visit, you should assess what you observe and experience in relation to what you have learned in the course, such as understandings of Ultimate Reality, the history of religious systems, the role of religious rituals in individual and group identity formation, and the connection between religions and cultural influences. Talk with people at the religious site you visit to learn more about the history and religious life of the group as well as gain a sense of an individual’s personal experience in the group.
Using your analysis of information you gather during your visit as well as your synthesis of information from course readings and assignments, you will evaluate the correlation between religion, identity, and culture. Include references to these sources in your project.
Your final project should be a 6-8 page Word document in APA format and respond the following questions:
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What is religion? Be sure to include concepts such as beliefs, symbols, rituals, and ethics in your analysis. Illustrate how the religion practiced by the group you visited qualifies or does not qualify as a religion, based on your assessment.
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How does religious practice shape individual and group identity? Be sure to discuss the formation of shared meaning developed through religious practice and participative rituals. Illustrate ways you note individual and group identity is shaped by the experiences of the religious group you visited.
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How are religious groups shaped in part by cultural elements, and how do religious groups engage or affect secular culture? Be sure to include observations of cultural elements in the religious experience at the site you visited to support your conclusions.
