Reflection: Religious Spaces

This week, you have considered how one defines the broad and varied concept of religious belief. In this Reflection, you will have the opportunity to explore several religious spaces and choose one to discuss in terms of how the religious space both supports and shapes the religious tradition’s belief system. You may wish to select from one of the religious spaces in this week’s resources, or you may elect to do your own research, finding out more about a religious space that is held sacred by the adherents of the religious tradition you intend to choose for your Final Project.

Questions about this Assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the Instructor’s response.

To prepare for this Reflection:

• Review this week’s course readings, focusing on religious spaces. Consider not just religious buildings, but also other spaces such as family altars and sacred landscapes.
• Carefully consider aspects of the belief system you chose with regard to how those beliefs both inform and support their religious spaces.

By Day 7

Compose a 1- to 2-page reflective paper in which you do the following:

• Describe the religious space of the tradition you focused on, and explain how the belief system of that tradition supports and is supported by its religious spaces.
• Be sure to cite your sources using APA format.

If something comes up that might prevent you from submitting your Reflection on time, e-mail your Instructor immediately! Your Instructor’s contact information is in the Instructor area.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Assignment for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Assignment using the naming convention “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Reflection Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Assignment.
• Click the Week 2 Assignment link.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Assgn+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Reflection Rubric

Check Your Assignment Draft for Authenticity

To check your Assignment draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 2 Assignment draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Assignment by Day 7

To submit your Assignment:
Week 2 Assignment

Project: Final Project—Week 2 Milestone

To help you prepare for your Final Project, throughout the course you will be asked to complete sections of the Final Project Worksheet. You will return to the worksheet during various Discussions and other activities as you progress through the course. By the end of Week 4, you will have a complete worksheet, which will be a solid foundation for the development of your final research paper that is due in Week 5.

By Day 5

1. Retrieve the Final Project Worksheet from this week’s Resources.
2. Select the religious tradition on which you will focus. Identify the religious tradition in the worksheet.
3. In the worksheet, write a paragraph explaining why you chose this religious tradition.
4. Submit your worksheet with the Week 2 sections completed.

(You will receive your worksheet back from your Instructor so you can complete subsequent sections in the weeks ahead.)

Questions about this Assignment? Post them in the Contact the Instructor area. That way, everyone in the class will see, and benefit from, the Instructor’s response.

Submission and Grading Information

To submit your completed Project for review and grading, do the following:

• Please save your Project using the naming convention “WK2Proj+last name+first initial.(extension)” as the name.
• Click the Weeks 2, 3, 4 Project Rubric to review the Grading Criteria for the Project.
• Click the Week 2 Project link.
• Next, from the Attach File area, click on the Browse My Computer button. Find the document you saved as “WK2Proj+last name+first initial.(extension)” and click Open.
• If applicable: From the Plagiarism Tools area, click the checkbox for I agree to submit my paper(s) to the Global Reference Database.
• Click on the Submit button to complete your submission.

Grading Criteria

To access your rubric:
Weeks 2, 3, 4 Project Rubric

Check Your Project Draft for Authenticity

To check your Project draft for authenticity:
Submit your Week 2 Project draft and review the originality report.

Submit Your Project by Day 5

To submit your Project:
Week 2 Project

Week in Review

This week you compared ancient religions’ burial rituals, views on death, views on the afterlife, and how religious spaces are shaped by religious belief systems and are reflected in culture. You also selected a religious tradition to analyze in the context of a globalized culture. Next week you will explore additional religious rituals and institutions that support tradition.

To go to the next week:
Week 3