Sometimes you just have to pee in the sink

Final Exam Study Sheet Religious Studies 220 Spring 2011
The final exam will be administered on Wednesday, May 4th, 10 AM -12 PM. The exam will be divided into 4 parts: 1) Identifications; 2) Fill in the blanks; 3) Material culture artifact; 4) Essay. I will choose one of the following essay questions and ask you to write on one question for about 45 minutes. You may discuss and prepare the essay questions with classmates prior to the exam. The final, however, will be a closed-book exam. Please bring blue books with you to the exam. Essay Questions 1. Vatican II brought enormous changes to contemporary American Catholicism. Write an essay that outlines the major changes and how they related to larger cultural concerns. Catholics remain divided over the “modernizing” efforts of Vatican II. Some thought it went too far, some thought Vatican II did not go far enough. Provide three examples from your readings and lecture that illustrate the spectrum of responses. End you essay with your thoughts about the relationship between changes brought about by Vatican II and three larger issues in American religious history. 2. American religious history is a story about cultural encounters, resistance, and exchange. Throughout the course we have studied religious individuals and groups that define themselves not only in relationship to their religious beliefs, but also in relationship to others. For example, we have considered the debates over to what extent Buddhists, Hindus and Jews have ‘Americanized’ to practice their religious beliefs in the United States, as well as struggles over the uses of Native American sacred landscapes. Write an essay that examines the problems and possibilities that religious groups face when they balance their religious commitments with their responsibilities of being American citizens. To answer this question, discuss at least three religious groups using specific 20th and 21st century examples from lecture notes, video selections, and course readings. 3. Should personal faith affect politics? Are questions about a presidential candidate’s religion appropriate? To answer this question, take a stand on the issue (answer yes or no). Write an essay that draws on the speeches by JFK, Cuomo, and Romney in support of or as an example of opposition to your position. How does each speaker answer the question? Compare their answers, do they agree or disagree with each other? Be sure to discuss how understanding each speaker’s historical moment, religious tradition, and audience is critical for interpreting their response to the question of how their particular faith might influence their political actions. End your essay with a prediction (based on what you have learned in this class this semester) if the question of faith and politics will continue to be asked of candidates for public office in the United States. 4. Does religious freedom in the United States presume a “type” of religion? In what specific ways and in which spaces are religious practices ‘allowed’ and ‘not allowed’ in the United States? In your answer, begin by addressing what the Constitution and the first Amendment says and does not say about religion. Using at least two major speeches we have discussed, describe what others have said about religious freedom. Provide at least two examples (from readings, lectures, or videos) of religious groups that have advanced religious freedoms in this country and explain how they have done so. Finally, conclude the essay with your thoughts on the challenges of religious freedom in an increasingly religiously diverse nation.
5. Many Americans have claimed the United States as “a Christian nation.” In light of the pivotal Immigration act of 1965, how would you characterize the way that an influx of immigrants practicing non-Christian religions affected the religious landscape of the United States? In your answer, use at least three primary resources to detail different beliefs, practices, physical changes in America’s ‘Christian landscape’, and gauge the impact of Americanization on these three groups. End your essay by discussing whether the characterization the United States as “a Christian nation” is an accurate description. 6. At the beginning of the course I asked you to address your learning goals for the semester. I asked you to consider the following questions: Why have you chosen to enroll in this course? What do you hope to learn by the end of the semester? How do your personal learning goals fit with the goals of the course as stated on the syllabus? Is there a relationship between your background and your learning goals for this course? Now I would like you to reflect on your leaning this semester. Please write an essay that addresses the following issues: (1) The content of your learning (that is, what key ideas or information have your learned in this course this semester?) (2) The context of your learning (that is, how does what you have learned this semester fit into the larger context of your life?) (3) The process of your learning (that is, what was the best learning experience you had this semester? What have you learned about how you learn best?) (4) the outcome of your learning (that is, which of the learning goals, identified in the course syllabus and in your first “Letter to the Professor,” did you achieve? What evidence do you have that they were achieved? Which of the learning goals will you continue to pursue after the course has finished?) Each of these four issues should receive a separate paragraph. Overall, do you feel that you met your learning goals this semester?