assignment is attached below

Summary : Most religions have “rites of passage” or “life -cycle rituals” associated with the various stages in the

human life. These rituals are most common ly associated with birth, adolescence , adulthood, marriage, and death

(or some variation of these). For this essay, explore one relig ious life -cycle ritual as expressed in two different

religio ns studied in the first half of this course: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism,

Shintoism , or a specific Indigenous Religion . There is more information about all of this below, so b e sure to

pay attention to all of the details in this document .

Quick View Checklist (all of this is discussed in greater depth in the Parameters section that follows) :

□ Select 1 (and only 1 ) specific religious life -cycle ritual .

□ Select 2 (and only 2) different religions from the first half of the course for the analysis of your life -cycle

ritual : Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Co nfucianism, Shintoism, or a specific Indigenous Religion .

□ The life -cycle ritual is discussed in terms of activities, events, observances, and beliefs for each religion .

□ Research sources are academic, scholarly, or primary sources (scriptures or doctrines of the religion).

□ Incl ude an MLA formatted bibliography of at least 3 sources.

□ The structure is that of a standard college essay.

□ Submission is at least 600 words (b ibliographies are not a part of the word count).

□ Contains appropriate sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and correct spelling and punctuation.

□ Demonstrates original writing skills.

□ Quotes are limited to religious scriptures or doctrines only and can be no more than 10% of the paper conte nt.

□ Upload completed essay in the Writing Assignment 1 dropbox by the due date posted in the Time Schedule.

Parameters : Here are the complete parameters of this research assignment:

LIFE -CYCLE RITUALS - You will discuss one life -cycle ritual. The most prominent examples to choose

from include birth rituals, coming -of-age rituals, weddings, and funerals . The choice is yours ; just make sure

it is a life -cycle ritual and not another type of religious ritual . Remember, life -cycle rituals are associated

with the transitional periods of the human life.

RELIGIONS - The life -cycle ritual chosen will be discussed in the context of two (and only two) different

religion s studied in the first half of the course: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism,

Shintoism, or a specific Indigenous Religion . For example , you could present some of the birth rituals of

Hinduism and Shinto; or perhaps some coming -of-age rituals of the Lakota and Yoruba . The point h ere is

that your selected life -cycle ritual is discussed i n the context of t wo of the religions from the first half of the

course. The choice of these religions is yours , but make sure the religions you choose actually participate in

that life -cycle ritual . For e xample, Confucianism and Daoism have very few life -cycle rituals that are

separate from Buddhism. Allow your research to guide your choice s regarding religions for this analysis.

CONTENT - For your analysis , y ou should describe the various acti vities , events , observances, and beliefs

associated with the life -cycle ritual for each of your t wo chosen religions . For example, a re there specific

activities, props, and/or dietary aspects associated with the event? Does the person receive anything as a part

of the ritual? Is there anything done to the physical body as a sign of the ritual? To what extent do es the

religious communit y participate? Have the events secularized in modern times ? Are the celebrations publicly

observed or isolated in the religious communities? Are there variations of activities, events, observances,

and beliefs based on geographical or divisional/denominational differences? You will find in your research

that there are a variety of different practices associated with life -cycle rituals that will be geographically or

divisionally specific. In other words, what they do in India is different from what they do in Japan; or the

practices of Mahayana B uddhists differ from that of Theravada Buddhists . In these situations, y ou should

isolate your conversation to one specific group (identifying in your essay the group you are focusing on for

each religion ). Not everything above applies in all situations; thes e are just some ideas of what to consider

as you prepare to write this essay. Deductions of up to 30 points will be made for errors related to the Life -

Cycle Rituals , Religions, and C ontent categories (outlined above) .

STRUCTURE - This paper should be done in a traditional essay format that includes : an i ntroductory paragraph

discuss ing the religious concept of life -cycle rituals and what you intend to explore (the life -cycle ritual you

have chosen and the religions you intend to explore) ; two or three paragraphs presenting what is outlined

in the “Content” category above (I suggest sep arate paragraph s for each of your religions) ; a conclusion

paragraph summarizing the content and/or noting the primary similarities and difference among the

religions explored; and then a bibliography of sources consulted (see below) .

RESEARCH - You are expected to do academic research for this assignment. This is not an opinion paper, it

is a research paper . To that end, consult and cite multiple sources (at least 3 , but you really should have

more ) to illustrate depth of research. These academic or scholarly sources should be peer -reviewed journal

articles or books (library resources), primary sources (sacred literature and official religious documents), or

authorized publications of recognized religious organizations . The rese arch sources consult ed should be

provided in a Bibliography conforming to the MLA (Modern Language Association) format. For more

information about the MLA format visit: https://spcollege.libguides.com/MLA_8th . For useful research

information, see: spcollege.libguides.com/world_religio ns . There will be deductions of up to 10 points for

errors in this category.

ACADEMIC WRITING - Your submission is expected to conform to academic writing standards (i.e.,

demonstrate the use of proper sentence and paragraph formats, proper grammar, and c orrect spelling and

punctuation). Up to 20 points can be deducted for writing errors based upon their frequency and severity.

WORD COUNT - Your submission is required to be a minimum of 600 words , but no more than 1200 words

(Bibliographies do not count a s a part of the word count). Submissions larger than 1200 word s or fewer than

600 words will receive no points . A college paper needs to demonstrate the skill of being thorough, yet

concise.

QUOTING - Quotes are limited to only the sacred literature or official doctrines of a specific religion and should

constitute no more than 10% of the paper content. In other words, you are not permitted to quote from your

research articles. You need to develop the ability to take the in formation that you would quote and express it

in your own words as this is how to demonstrate understanding. The quote d material from religious scriptures

or documents is only to support your conversation and should be used sparingly. Any quotes will need to

hav e internal documentation done according to Modern Language Association ( MLA ) standards:

https://spcollege.libguides.com/MLA_8th . Deductions will be assessed based upon the severity of the errors,

with the points coming out of the “subject and content” section above.

ORIGINAL WRITING - Your paper is to demonstrate original writing (see this conversation in the Syllabus).

In short, do not use the words of another as this can be considered plagiarism and may result in a failing

grade and possible honor code disciplinary action . Additionally, it is unacceptable to submit your own work

(in whole or in part) from another c ourse or a previous at tempt of REL 2300 . For more information, visit

https://www.spcollege.edu/current -students/student -affairs/student -right -to-know .

DUE - The essay is due by the date posted in the calendar. Any assignment submitted late for any reason is

subject to a 5 point per business day late deduction, up to an assignment maximum of 30 points deducted.

After the paper has been graded based on the categories above, the lat e points will be deducted.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS - Students are required to submit the paper electroni cally to the “Writing

Assignment 1” dropbox in MyCourses. Submissions to this d ropbox are subject to an originality check

through TurnItIn, a website t hat scans papers for signs of plagiarism and issues a report to the student and

instructor. Please note that the allowed file types are MS Word, WordPerfect, Postscript, Acrobat PDF,

HTML, RTF , and plain text. No other file types are accepted. I will grade and provide a response to you

within seven to ten days of the assignment due date.