RLGN 104 Critical Thinking Research Paper

RLGN 104

Critical Thinking Research Paper Assignment Instructions

Overview

Critical thinking is an essential part of a person’s life. You should not only know what you believe, but what people from other worldviews believe as well. This becomes essential in sharing your beliefs with them. If you are a follower of Christ and have a Biblical Worldview, you should want to share your beliefs in a Christ-like way (1 Peter 3:15). Critical thinking can involve comparing and contrasting the beliefs of two worldviews. In this assignment you will learn and articulate how a worldview of your choice (one of four options) would answer the five worldview questions. You will also compare and contrast those responses with the Biblical Worldview response. This will build on your knowledge from the Biblical Worldview Research Paper Assignment. It will also help you to know how to do this with any person’s worldview you interact with throughout your life.

Instructions

For this assignment you are to choose one of four worldviews (i.e., Secular Humanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Islam) and learn and articulate how that worldview would answer the five worldview questions. Review chapters four and five of Finding Your Worldview: Thinking Christianly about the World for content and clarity to these questions. You will also compare and contrast that worldview’s responses to the five worldview questions with how the Biblical Worldview would answer that question.

· Cover page– This is the first page to be included in your paper. This should be formatted according to the style (APA, MLA, Turabian) that you will be using for this assignment. Refer to the Writing Style Guide sample paper of the style you are using to format this page. If you are using APA, an Abstract is not required.

· Content pages – These pages will contain your content and fulfill the requirements as listed below. The word counts are for the total Part. A word count is required after Parts 1 and 2.

Part 1 (300 – 500 words) Choose one of the four worldviews (Secular Humanism, Hinduism, Buddhism, or Islam) and in five separate paragraphs, answer the worldview questions of Origin, Identity, Meaning (Purpose), Morality and Destiny from that worldview’s perspective. Review chapters four and five of Finding Your Worldview: Thinking Christianly about the World for content and clarity to these questions. Clearly identify the worldview you have chosen in your content. Since this content would not be considered “common knowledge” be sure to cite specific content that you put in your own words or quotes you add to your assignment to avoid plagiarism.

The Question of Origin – (What is the origin of the universe etc.? How did humanity come into existence?)

The Question of Identity – (What does it mean to be human? Are humans more important than other living things?)

The Question of Meaning/Purpose – (What is humanity’s purpose?)

The Question of Morality – (What is meant by right and wrong? How is morality determined?)

The Question of Destiny – (What happens when a person dies?)

Note: Do not include these questions in your answers. Just provide the content asked by these questions. Part 2 (300 – 500 words). You are to compare* and contrast* the worldview you have chosen and their answers to the five worldview questions with the answers from a Biblical Worldview. The content from your chosen worldview needs to be cited and all biblical ideas added to your assignment are to be supported with scripture.

* Compare: How are the two worldview responses similar or the same?

* Contrast: How are the two worldview positions different?

· Bibliography/References/Works Cited page

a. In addition to the in-text citations, a bibliography/reference or works cited page must be included based upon they style you have chosen to format your paper.

b. A minimum of four different sources are required.

1. Use academic sources for your paper. (For example, do not include blogs, social media, opinion pages, or Wikipedia.)

2. At least two of the sources must be outside of the materials used in this course (this would include the Bible, any required reading or videos, and the required textbooks).

c. You are also encouraged to view the Writing Style Guide located in the Student Responsibilities tab of the Course Overview. Once you access the Student Responsibilities area, scroll down to locate the link to the Writing Style Guide. You will then visit the official style guides (i.e., APA, MLA, or Turabian) required in formulating your assignment.

Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.

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