Argue whether, in your legal opinion, you think the student have been allowed to wear her nose stud to school based on your definition of religion and your determination about if the CoBM is a religion or not. If you decide the CoBM is a religion, but that she should be prohibited from wearing her nose stud to school, explain what the state’s compelling interest is to support the denial of her religious right.
Category: Religious studies
The Church of Body Modification (CoBM)
Is the Church of Body Modification (CoBM) a religion or not? If you argue that it is a religion, demonstrate how it fulfills the definition you provided and what the CoBM has in common with the other religions we have studied. If you argue it is not a religion, use your definition to show how CoBM is fundamentally different from the religions we have studied.
In formulating your answer, it will help to look at the Church of Body Modification website: http://uscobm.com/
Fit your definition of religion
Demonstrate how Islam, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Yoruba traditions, Judaism, and Sikhism fit your definition of religion. All religions studied must fit the definition.
What the word “religion” means
Write a critical response to the following:
The Johnston County School system dress code allows exemptions for religious belief, but does not define what the word “religion” means. Write a fair and sensible definition of “religion” that the school system can use, based on the eight religions we have studied in class.
Spreading Christianity throughout the West
What methods were used to spread Christianity throughout the West? How did the Church create a standardized doctrine? Why do you think the assimilation of different versions of Christianity was important to the strength of the Catholic Church?
Christian religion
1. Christianity is considered a sectarian movement that comes from Judaism. What are some elements that distinguish Christianity from its Jewish roots?
2. What are some important commonalities between Christianity and Judaism?
3. How do you explain the notion of Messiah and what claims does Jesus make for this title?
4. Describe 1-2 primary doctrines or key beliefs about Jesus. How does this make Christianity unique among the world religions?
5. What makes Christianity unique among the world religions? Be sure to mention 2-3 characteristics in your response.
6. The resurrection of Jesus is a highly debated topic among religion scholars. In what ways does the Christian message hinge on the resurrection? Please explain your answer.
Abraham
In Genesis, chapter 18, God reveals to Abraham that He intends to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah for their wickedness. Abraham argues with God about the justice and righteousness of this judgment considering that innocent people will die along with the evil people. Abraham is recorded as saying “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do what is just?” Abraham, appealing to reason, actually then gets God to agree not to destroy the cities if ten righteous people are found in it. In Genesis, chapter 22, God commands Abraham to take his only son, the beloved Isaac, and sacrifice him upon Mount Moriah. Abraham proceeds to obey the command without questioning the rationality or the morality of this human sacrifice of a son through whom God had promised Abraham countless descendants.
Which Abraham do you admire more, the one who challenges God’s decision to destroy Sodom and Gomorrah based on reason and an innate sense of justice or the Abraham who in extraordinary faithfulness to God’s commandments takes his son Isaac upon Moriah to sacrifice him? (The author of Genesis appears to favor the man of faith over the man of reason.) Explain your decision. What does this “debate” suggest to you about your own reliance on faith? On reason?
Religion’s moral code.
You try to live strictly by the moral rules contained in your religion’s moral code. The two most important rules are “Be merciful” (don’t give people what they deserve) and “Be just” (give people exactly what they deserve). Now suppose a man is arrested for stealing food from your house, and the police leave it up to you whether he should be prosecuted for his crime or set free. Should you be merciful and set him free, or be just and make sure he is appropriately punished? How do you resolve this conflict of rules? Can your moral code resolve it? To what moral principles or theories do you appeal?
Theories of Mircea Eliade
Analyze the theories of Mircea Eliade in his The Sacred and the Profane. Eliade uses a lot of examples in his book, but you will be using the example of a Sardinian woman’s religious expression in the film, Supper for Dead Souls (La Cena della Anime, 2018), found on Bb.
You should explore these ideas in your paper:
-Eliade begins his book, The Sacred and the Profane, by stating his goal in reassessing Otto. His approach is historical, not theological (like Otto). How does he explain hierophany, and how we find it in sacred space, sacralization of nature, sacred time, and human existence/passage?
-How would he analyze La Cena? How is sacred space carved out? Nature? How does the passage implied here work with Eliade’s understanding? Finally, how would Eliade see sacred time here?
Christianity, Hinduism, and Buddhism
Describe the similarities between Hinduism, Buddhism, and Christianity. Decide if they are related or not and defend your position.