Research Proposal on "Christian Identity Movement and Mainstream Christianity"

Quoted Instructions for "Christian Identity Movement and Mainstream Christianity" Assignment:

Please write in simple English. These are the instruction specified by the teacher. I have the book by Malise Ruthven book, Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning. If you need it, I can scan them and send it to the *****. The minimum number of sources is three.

For the second writing assignment you must select a fundamentalist religious group, discuss its defining traits, and then briefly evaluate it. In evaluating it, you must say whether or not you think this group truly does or does not promote the fundamentals of the religious tradition to which it belongs and back up what you say with arguments and evidence. You will want and need to use the Malise Ruthven book, Fundamentalism: The Search for Meaning. In it you will find discussions of the history of fundamentalism, as well as defining traits of fundamentalist movements. (*These are summarized and elaborated, and extended in the digital handout *****10 Traits of Fundamentalisms*****. You will also want to draw on the resources included in the document *****Links on Fundamentalism*****. Both of these documents are posted on our Angel site on the *****Lessons***** page.)

Note: You must formulate a thesis and then demonstrate it over the course of the paper. (E.g., *****Though Christian fundamentalists claim to be retrieving and reasserting the fundamentals of Christianity when they oppose the radically tolerant character of modern American life, I believe they are not true Christians because *****¦***** Or, *****Hindu fundamentalist movements rightly sense that two non-Indian cultural impositions *****“ the Muslim Moghul empire and its legacy and modernity, introduced to India through European colonial expansion *****“ have eroded the fundamentals of the Hindu traditions. This situation demands a reassertion of the fundamentals of Hinduism so as to preserve the historically Hindu character of Indian society.*****)

General Guidelines

This is an exercise in academic research and writing. Academic research and writing is, ideally, characterized by the following traits: the articulation and defense of a thesis; clarity of expression; taking responsibility for what you say, as well as acknowledging the sources that underlie or structure what you say; neutrality during the expository or exegetical phase of ones writing; fairness in the evaluative stage of writing.

Your thesis. In your first or second paragraph, you must formulate your thesis and underline it. Then, over the course of the paper, you must demonstrate your thesis.

NOTE: You must underline or italicize your thesis. If you do not, 5 points will be subtracted from your overall grade.

Clarity of expression. I place a high premium on clarity of expression. A clear and well-written paper more effectively conveys both the material being analyzed and the ultimate conclusions you draw regarding the material. It also demonstrates that you have taken the time to review carefully what you have said. Thus, coherent and succinct expression, and a minimum of grammatical and spelling errors, are requisite to your receiving a high mark on this assignment.

Taking responsibility for what you say. It is incumbent on you to back up what you say with arguments and reasons that support the claims you make.

Acknowledge your sources. Another aspect of responsible academic writing is the citation of your sources. No one thinks in a vacuum. Thinking and writing are a form of dialogue with past and present thinkers from the world*****s religious and philosophical traditions. The claims you make will almost invariably be drawn, whether knowingly or not, from a specific line of intellectual history associated with a specific religious or philosophical tradition. Thus, to the extent that it is possible *****“ and it will not be possible in every case *****“ it is important that you research the background to the line of argument that you take and the conclusions you draw.

Neutrality and Fairness. It is imperative that you demonstrate a genuine understanding of the material you discuss. In order to do that, you must initially, at least, cast the fundamentalist group you select in the best possible light. During the exegetical phase of writing (i.e., the part where you discuss the history and characteristics of the fundamentalist movement you choose to examine), you must engage even those religions that seem wrong to you with all due respect and consideration. As a corollary to this, during the evaluative phase of writing (i.e., the stage of writing where you say what you think), if you are critical of the group you examine, you must be fair to it.

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