Touchstone 3: Evaluating the Impact of Religion on Individuals, Society, and the WorldASSIGNMENT: In each of the three units in this course, you have learned about the role of religions in our world.

Touchstone 3: Evaluating the Impact of Religion on Individuals, Society, and the WorldASSIGNMENT: In each of the three units in this course, you have learned about the role of religions in our world. You have already reflected on some of the major approaches to studying religions, and compared and contrasted two religions. In Unit 3, you have investigated the impact of religion on individuals and society, including learning about religion’s role in shaping morality and ethics, as well as ritual and material culture. Finally, you also thought about religion’s influence on government and global affairs.  For your final Touchstone, you will evaluate the impact of religion on individuals, society, and the world. In a 400-600 word short essay, you will evaluate some of the ways in which religions both unite and divide, using specific examples from the lessons in Units 1, 2, and 3 to support your conclusions, by responding to this question: How do religions both unite and divide humanity?

A. Assignment Guidelines

DIRECTIONS: Write a short essay of 400-600 words that responds to this question: How do religions both unite and divide humanity?

As you develop your response, you should choose two of the following areas of religious influence from Unit 3 to analyze:

• Religion & the Individual
• Religions & Society
• Morality & Ethics
• Ritual & Material Culture
• Religion in Government
• Religion in Global Affairs

Your short essay should include four parts:

• Briefly introduce your topic and develop a clear and succinct response to the question: How do religions both unite and divide humanity?
• Support your response by analyzing the first area of religious influence that you have selected from Unit 3. Use at least two specific examples from the lessons in any unit in your analysis.
• Support your response by analyzing the second area of religious influence that you have selected from Unit 3. Use at least two specific examples from the lessons in any unit in your analysis.
• Briefly summarize and conclude your short essay.

You will use information from the Sophia tutorials to support your response. When citing material from a tutorial, please include the name of the tutorial and use the following format (using Sophia's Primal Religions tutorial as an example):

• In-text citation: (Primal Religions, n.d.)
• Reference: (n.d.). Primal Religions [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions--2/unit1/study-guide/7845/primal-religions-2

Refer to the completion checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.

❒ Have you chosen two areas of religious influence from Unit 3 to analyze? ❒ Drawing on these areas of influence, have you written a clear and succinct response to the question: How do religions both unite and divide humanity? ❒ Have you supported your response by using at least two specific examples from the lessons in any unit, related to the first area of religious influence that you selected?❒ Have you supported your response by using at least two specific examples from the lessons in any unit, related to the second area of religious influence that you selected?❒ Have you ensured that your evidence supports your initial response? If not, now is a good time to go back and revise your response. ❒ Is your short essay between 400-600 words, double-spaced, and formatted in 12-point font?❒ Have you cited examples with in-text citations?❒ Have you proofread your short essay for mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization?