SMU Religion Worksheet

Please answer ONE essay question from each of the following FIVE sections. You will write five essay questions in total. You may NOT answer two questions from the same section.

For each individual essay question you will write 500 words each, minimum. Since you are writing five essay questions total (at 500 words each) this means you will write a minimum of 2500 words for this entire exam (all five questions together will add up to this amount). Again, this is the MINIMUM, so if you want to get into the “A” range, you will want to write a bit more.

If you make a direct quotation in your exam, please include a reference. But if you are simply talking about material covered in course readings generally, you don’t need to include references; simply mention in the question which course reading you are referring to. If you refer to materials from outside of course readings, then please include a reference and bibliography for that material, however, keep extra-course material to a minimum, as the main purpose of this examination is to test your knowledge of course material.

Section I: Hinduism, Religion and Immigration in Canada

Essay Question 1

Identify and discuss some important moments from the story of Hindu (South Asian) migration to Canada. Also, identify and discuss some important characteristics of Hinduism in Canada Generally. Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 2

Explore the issue of how minority religious communities in migration do not simply transplant their religion, but recreate their religious traditions in the Canadian immigrant context through the following question: How are Hindu rituals of death and dying changed in the Canadian context and why? Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer. (You are not required to use the example of rituals of death and dying. If you would like to discuss other examples from the readings/lectures that illustrate the same point, you are welcome to use those as well or instead).

Essay Question 3

Identify and discuss at least three challenges that Hindu religious minorities face in Canada. Give examples to illustrate each challenge. You might also discuss how Hindu religious communities have attempted to address these issues. Make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Section II: Domestic Violence and Religion in Canada; and Ethnicity & Evangelical Protestants in Canada

Essay Question 1

Tell me about the history of religion and domestic violence in Canada. Use several examples to illustrate your answer, and make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 2

Identify and discuss the four narratives of the relationship between religion and domestic violence as outlined in the article. Use several examples to illustrate your answer, and make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 3

What is evangelicalism? Identify and describe important components of the history and current state of evangelicalism in Canada, including how evangelicals have engaged in public life in Canada.

Essay Question 4

Is evangelicalism in Canada a good example of religious diversity? Why and/or why not? In the course of your answer, identify and describe at least two evangelical ethnic groups discussed in the readings and lectures in some detail (i.e. those with their own subtitles: Asian, Black, Francophone, Aboriginal).

Section III: Heaven’s Gate & the Solar Temple, Cults &New Religious Movements in Canada

Essay Question 1

Why do some new religious movements become violent? Make several references to the relevant components of this chapter/lecture in the course of your answer. (Make sure you make reference to Heaven’s Gate and/or the Solar Temple in the course of answering this question).

Essay Question 2

Identify and describe the three primary contributing factors that may lead to violence in NRMs as discussed in the chapter/lecture. Make several references to the relevant components of this chapter/lecture in the course of your answer. (Make sure you make reference to Heaven’s Gate and/or the Solar Temple in the course of answering this question).

Essay Question 3

If you happened to be in a position to make a difference with regard to whether an NRM became violent or not, what could you potentially do or what advice could you give relevant government agencies to potentially help avoid an escalation to violence? Make several references to the relevant components of this chapter/lecture in the course of your answer. (Make sure you make reference to Heaven’s Gate and/or the Solar Temple in the course of answering this question).

Essay Question 4

Are converts to NRMs brainwashed? Make several references to the relevant components of this chapter/lecture in the course of your answer. (Make sure you make reference to Heaven’s Gate and/or the Solar Temple in the course of answering this question).

Section IV: Religion and Sexuality in Canada; and Canadian Catholic Experience

Essay Question 1

What did you learn from this article on religion and sexuality in Canada? Identify and describe some of the main points of the article. Make several references to the readings and lectures in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 2

Why do some religious people in Canada reject same-sex marriage? How did religious people respond to or participate in the same-sex marriage debate in Canada? Are there future prospects for religious Canadians becoming more accepting of same-sex marriageaccording to the article? Make several references to the readings and lectures in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 3

Identify and discuss diversities (of conceptualizations) of sex, gender, and sexuality. How do religions in Canada view this diversity? How does the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms protect and/or not protect this diversity? Make several references to the readings and lectures in the course of your answer.

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Remember, this question below is based on the section of content I did not give you lectures or PowerPoint slides for, so I will grade this section more easily if you decide to answer the question from below. However, make sure to write at least the minimum word count. I cannot grade the content more easily if it is not present.

Essay Question 4

What did you learn from this article on Catholicism in Canada? Identify and describe some of the main points of the article. Make several references to the reading in the course of your answer.

Section V: Comprehensive Questions on the Entire Course

The questions below are designed to get you to think about what you have learned over the entire term and come to some general conclusions about what you have gained. You may take whatever position you wish on the questions below, and you may refer to anything we have studied in the entire course, but be sure to explicitly use course materials to back up your statements in an educated and critical manner. I encourage you to refer to case studies or theory that you found particularly striking, interesting, convincing, or important. What captured your imagination or interest most? (You areonly required to answer one question from below, but you can overlap them if you wish, as they are essentially just three ways of asking the same question).

Essay Question 1

What have you learned about the history of religious diversity in Canada in the course generally? Do you look at, understand, or examine religion in Canada differently than before you took this class? How? Why? Use several examples to illustrate your answer, and make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 2

What did you learn about the history of religious diversity in Canada in this course that you did not know before? What did you find most striking, interesting, important or useful in this course? Why? Use several examples to illustrate your answer, and make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.

Essay Question 3

Which chapters, lectures, issues, insights, or discussions did you find most striking, interesting, important or useful in this course generally? Why? What did you learn from them about the history of religious diversity in Canada? Use several examples to illustrate your answer, and make several references to the relevant readings, lectures, and class discussions in the course of your answer.