Tradition.. Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam Custom Essay

Submit an annotated bibliography containing at least three primary sources, three scholarly journal articles, and five scholarly books for the research paper. 


This should be a primary source.
Smith H. (1991). The Worlds Religions. Harper Collions

(exclusive of title page, notes, and bibliography)
Times New Roman 12 font with standard one-inch margins

Essay Topics and Essay Proposals

There are two sections of the essay prompt that have generated some queries. The first is the statement that the research paper topic is related ?to the key tenets of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.? The second is the statement that these tenets are to be ?relate[d] to justice, the resolution of conflict, and forgiveness with useful strategies for warfare intervention.? I have been asked whether only one tradition or all five are to be focused upon, and I have been asked not only whether there are three or four aspects to be emphasized but also what ?forgiveness with useful strategies for warfare intervention? entails.

First, focus on one tradition. Attempting to draw all five religions together could be difficult for two reasons: 1) each tradition is different and requires different facets of your attention (and therefore qualitatively different sources), and 2) it is not the case that all five of these traditions share the same ?key tenets.? (A comparison between two traditions may be tenable, but I think it could easily lose focus.) If Huston Smith needed a whole book to write on ?The World?s Religions,? then it would be difficult for even a scholar of Smith?s standing, much less a student new to comparative religious studies, to draw the five major traditions together in a greatly reduced and restricted space. I know that the word ?and? preceding Islam in the first part of the essay prompt seems to be all-inclusive, but the sentence is not meant to be read that way. Choose one of the five traditions listed here and then identify the key tenets (beliefs?you cannot be exhaustive in such a short space, but three or four primary tenets would be proper) of this tradition.

Second: The three aspects that you are to relate to the tradition of your choosing and its tenets are 1) justice, 2) conflict resolution, and 3) forgiveness. As with the earlier sentence, this is grammatically correct but visually a bit less specific than was intended. ?Useful strategies for warfare intervention? as a phrase following the preposition ?with? is placed in a spot that may be read as if it is connected particularly to forgiveness in a way that qualifies it as ?forgiveness with useful strategies for warfare intervention.? But what is intended here is a more complex relationship. These three aspects (justice, conflict resolution, and forgiveness) are to be related to ?useful strategies for warfare intervention? and also to the key tenets of the tradition that you choose.

The research questions that you need to address and then attempt an answer to in your paper are the following:

1. What are the key tenets of the tradition that you choose to focus on?
2. How does the tradition through its key tenets address the three concepts of justice, conflict resolution, and forgiveness? and
3. How may #2 be brought to bear upon useful strategies (or a useful strategy?) for warfare intervention?

Number three is the tricky part, and this is where you must draw from your study in this class, your research (granted, you?ll be performing the bulk of this after you submit your topic proposal), and your own critical creativity in order to write on an original paper topic. If you?re having some trouble in coming up with a perfect topic?well, don?t worry about perfection at this stage. This is a proposal, and there?s bound to be fine-tuning as the term unfolds. If you have only a nascent idea at this stage?well, great, formulate it in words as best you can and come up with your tentative thesis. I?ll be sending you my feedback very soon after reading your proposals through the weekend, and then we?ll be proceeding from there, particularly about what sources may be available upon your topic.

As far as specific topics go?don’t be wary of trying a topic out. Given the three concepts mentioned and the concern with interventions strategies, potential papers may concern what a tradition may have to say about just war or about preemptive strategies. These are only two (very broad) examples. Reflect upon the question?and I hope this handout is helpful here?as you formulate your proposal.

I believe that is enough to work off. Just send a message if you need clarification.