In real life it might not be so easy, but your goal with this project is to create your own religion…from scratch! Be as creative (and humorous even) as you’d like. We’ve now studied a number of religions and traditions, and I’m making an assumption that you now have a general idea for what each religion contains and how they go about their respective “faith-lives.” In addition, you should have some understanding of elements that each religion or spiritual tradition (or philosophy depending upon your own interpretation of some religions we’ve studied recently… Native American Traditions, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism/Confucianism, Buddhism) have within them. Use your creative flow to literally make up your own elements to connect to your new religion.
Pick any film or TV show on Netflix and create your religion based on the characters/plot lines/scene/etc.
For Part 1 of this assignment, you will need to lay out the parameters of your new religion. You may choose to use Word or PowerPoint.
The core of your assignment (and what I will grade you on) needs to lay out the “official” and specific parameters for your created religion. To get at that information, you’ll need to account for the following large topical areas (these are the specific criterion you will be graded on and must have):
- God/gods/Creator(s)
- Founder (dates if necessary)
- Follower Numbers and Geographic locations
- Sacred Texts
- House(s) of Worship
- Major Practices
- Life’s Purposes
- Redemption/Salvation
In general, the more appropriate descriptive info you provide, the higher your grade will be. Just like the Part 2, please feel free to be humorous and use your creativity. I want you to enjoy the process of this assignment, of course, as much as an assignment can be viewed as “enjoyed.”
For Part 2 – Your goal will be to “create” an issue of power that your religion is currently facing in modern times, and write no less than 400 words detailing this power struggle within the religion. Again, you have license to be creative! As long as it connects to your religion and shows how their beliefs or faith life might be dealing with this issue, you’re good to go!
Make sure to address how your religion’s power issue is either elevating/decreasing or maintaining consistency in your religion as viewed on the global arena. Meaning, what does the rest of the world think about your religion? Are they a threat? Are they an asset?
Sample Solution
