(Answered) RELI 448N Week 5 Assignment: Interview Essay

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Required Resources
Read/review the following resources for this activity:

Instructions
For this assignment you are required to sit down for a conversation with someone whose religious identity differs from your own (this means that if you identify as Christian, for example, you should find a conversation partner who does not identify as such). The purpose of this exercise is for you to engage with someone else in conversation. That means that you will not only ask questions, but you will hopefully answer questions about your own beliefs, as well.

Review the article for this activity, “Talking About Religion – How to Do It Right” (link in Required Resources), for some guidance on how to engage in conversations about religion before meeting with your partner. You may also wish to share this information with your partner.

In this exercise, you will listen to the ideas of someone who you identify as religiously “other.” You will share your own ideas and report on what you learned. This would include what you learned about your conversation partner’s beliefs, and how those beliefs compare to your own religious upbringing and/or current practice.

The report should give a description of the major topics of discussion and a detailed summary of what you learned. As part of your assignment you should include the following:

  • Describe your conversation partner’s beliefs. Some things to consider include the following:
    • What are the material expressions of their tradition (statues, paintings, music, etc.)?
    • Do they see any conflict between the stated beliefs of their tradition and their own beliefs?
    • Based on your partner’s description, which theory of the origin of religions (Week 1) offers the best explanation for their approach to religion?
    • What challenges can your partner identify that their religious tradition faces in the modern world? Do they feel that their tradition is responding positively?
    • Is the tradition focused on belief (orthodoxy) or behavior (orthopraxis)?
    • Apply the 8 elements of religion from Week 1.
  • Provide some cultural and historical context for the religious tradition of your conversation partner. (It is important that you do some research before you have your conversation so that you are able to ask informed questions that come from genuine interest.) Make sure you use citations in your discussion of what you learned from your research.
  • Compare your partner’s beliefs and practices to your own religious upbringing and/or current practice. This is to be done in the report not as a debate with your partner.
  • Conclude with your personal reaction to this experience and any additional questions that came up after your conversation. Be kind!

This is a formal academic paper so pay careful attention to the basics of writing a good English composition.

Writing Requirements (APA format)

  • Length: 1000-1200 words (not including title page or references page)
  • 1-inch margins
  • Double spaced
  • 12-point Times New Roman font
  • Title page
  • References page (minimum of 1 scholarly source)

Solution:

Conversations about Religion

Religion is arguably the most entrenched and ubiquitous characteristics of human beings in society. However, understanding religion is challenging especially due to the multiplicity of religions which shapes cultures and reflects the diverse nature of the world. Despite the importance of religion in people’s lives, there are not only limited discussions about religious beliefs and faith but also, as argued by Mikkelson and Hesse (2009) and Daley (2014), most people find uncomfortable discussing religious-related topics. Taking this into account, this essay focuses on a religious discussion involving my conversation partner (Muslim) and I (Christianity) in a bid to know the Islam religion better and have an open and kind discussion.

The religious belief of my conversation partner is Islam. Application of the eight elements of religion is crucial to understanding Islam and probably important for starting a conversation based on these elements. Muslim belief system as discussed by Watt (2017) is explained through the “Six Articles of Faith” in which Muslims believe in only one God (Allah) who is eternal, omnipresent, and omniscient. As per this explanation, the psychological theory of religion can be used to describe the origin of Islam. The theory, as initially proposed by Sigmund Freud, posits that religion is as a result of the unconscious needs of the mind for wish fulfillment (Power, 2017). People want to feel secure and thus their need to believe in God (Allah), a powerful father figure, to help them overcome life challenges. For instance, people believe that through prayers, God will answer them and solve their challenges…….Please click the icon below to purchase full solution at $10