Religious and Ethnic Groups Paper Instructions

Part I

Select at least 1 religious and 1 ethnic/racial group not your own from the list below.

Religious groups (based on http://religions.pewforum.org/pdf/affiliations-all-traditions.pdf)

Christianity

Evangelical Protestant

Mainline Protestant

Historically Black Churches

Roman Catholic

Latter-Day Saints (Mormons)

Jehovah's Witnesses

Orthodox (Greek, Eastern)

Judaism (Orthodox, Conservative, or Reform)

Buddhism (Theravada or Mahayana)

Islam (Sunni, Shia, Sufism)

Hinduism

Racial/ethnic groups (based on divisions in U.S. Census Bureau documents)

Asian (Asian descent)

Black (African descent)

Hispanic and Latino (South or Central American descent)

Pacific Islander (Polynesian descent)

White (European descent)

Part II

Write a 750- to 1,400-word paper in which you consider the following regarding the religious group and racial/ethnic group you selected:

Religious group:

How does your selected religious group differ from other religious groups (such as in their beliefs, worship practices, or values)?

What has been the experience of your selected religious group with others that do not share its beliefs or practices?

In what ways has the religious group you selected contributed to American culture?

Provide specific examples of prejudice or discrimination your selected religious group has experienced.

What were the sources of this prejudice or discrimination?

Does what you've learned about this religious group help you understand it? In what ways?

Racial/ethnic group:

How does your selected racial/ethnic group differ from other racial/ethnic groups (such as differences in ancestry, language, or culture)?

What has been your selected group's experience with other groups?

In what ways has the racial/ethnic group you selected contributed to American culture?

Identify some specific examples of prejudice or discrimination that your selected group has experienced historically.

What were the sources of this prejudice or discrimination?

Does what you've learned about this racial/ethnic group help you understand it? How?

Include the following as part of your conclusion:

How are the prejudice and discrimination experienced by your selected religious group and racial/ethnic group similar?

How are they different?

Can you draw any conclusions about discrimination from this comparison?

Provide citations for all the sources you use.

Judaism

Discovering the differences between religions is sometimes a touchy subject. I am going to compare the fundamental beliefs of Judaism and the other major religions of the world. Jewish people are commonly known...