T‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍his assignment requires you to apply this text we read to analyze the religious service you visited. WATCH A RELIGIOUS SERVICE VIRTUALLY. You cannot attend a Christian service of any kind for this assignment (Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, non-denominational, “contemporary,” etc.). It is because the purpose of this assignment is experience something unfamiliar to you, then analyze your experience using material from this class. Think about it like this: you are trying to see a new religion through the eyes of the Karl Marx. Your paper should explain how their ideas help to make sense of what you experienced. The theorist you are going to be relating your religious service to is Karl Marx. His reading is attached below. (Karl Marx, A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right. 1843). Think about these questions as you craft your paper’s argument. These aren’t a checklist, but a guide to your thinking…What are the most important things that happened at this religious service? If my theorist had been to the service I attended, what would he or she say about it? How would the theorist characterize the religion of this community? Would my theorist say this community’s actions are religious, and why or why not? To what extent does this theorist’s definition of religion fit with what the community says about themselves and what I experienced? What did I observe that might challenge or complicate my theorist’s understanding of religion? You do not need anything to write this paper except your own observations and the course reading you chose. DO NOT look up your topic on the internet. Papers that include any sources except the course reading and the author’s own observations will be severely penalized. Papers suspected of copying from websites will receive an automatic F. Your goal is to analyze a living religion with intellectual tools from this course. The point of this assignment is not to express your feelings about what you experienced or your own personal religious opinions. The purpose of this assignment is to analyze an experience as objectively as you can, using specific ideas from one of the readings we did this term. Your paper must: • Have an introduction that clearly states your argument with a thesis statement • Have a thesis statement that answers the question: why would my theorist say this is (or is not‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍) religion? There is not one correct answer. Be creative as you develop your answer. • Identify the name and location of the place you visited, its religious affiliation, the type of service you attended, and the date you visited. . I attended a Friday Shabbat service at B’nai Israel in Wilmington NC on February 14, 2020. • Include a brief discussion of your theorist’s main argument about religion. Keep this to one paragraph or less. Use specific quotes from the reading to demonstrate your understanding of the author’s thoughts on religion. • Include specific and detailed observations about the service you visited. Be specific. Don’t just assume, “these are Jewish people, so they read from the Torah and wore kippahs.” Explain some of the things you actually saw, heard, and observed at this particular service. • Analyze your observations by making specific references to your chosen course reading. This analysis will help you make conclusions that support your thesis. • Provide appropriate citations for all quotations and ideas taken from the course reading. To cite the readings, include the author’s name and a page reference in parentheses. . Morgan Morgan writes, “People do what they want to believe. They make belief in the things they do… materiality mediates belief” (Morgan 11-12). • Have a conclusion that reiterates your thesis and provides final insights about the great book you observed. Your paper must NOT: • Be about a religion in general. Your paper is about the specific congregation you visited and the things you witnessed at one service. It is not about Judaism, Christianity, Islam, or another religion in general. • Be about a service you visited last summer, over winter break, or on a trip two years ago when you were “on missions” with your church. You must visit a religious service specifically for this class. • Copy and paste any information from a community’s website. Your paper will receive a zero if you do. It’s just lazy–and it’s plagiarism. • Include any statements about your personal religious beliefs. This paper is not about you, your beliefs, or your feelings. It is about the congregation you visited. • Make vague comparisons between your personal religion and the beliefs/practices of the congregation you visited. Again: your paper is about the congregation you visited. • Attack or insult the con‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‌‌‍‍‍‌‍‍‍‍‌‍‍gregation you visited. Don’t be a jerk.