For a printable copy of this assignment, click here and see pgs. 12-16.

Final Assignment

Address the following scenario:

Professor Stephen Prothero is vexed.

The distinguished author of American Jesus and A Nation of Religions has just finished doing some research for a new book on America's "religious literacy," and he's not happy with his findings.* Apparently, the nation's educational and informational outlets have done such a crappy job of informing people about religion that two out of three Americans cannot name all four Gospels. A significant number believe the "Hail Mary" to be merely a humorous moniker for a football play. Thousands more struggle to explain the particulars of their own faith and how it differs from other faiths around them. Oh, but there's more! On Prothero's desk is the following report by The First Amendment Center: "Sixty-five percent of Americans believe that the nation's founders intended the U.S. to be a Christian nation and 55% believe that the Constitution establishes a Christian nation." A recent essay from The New York Times - tacked to Prothero's in-office dartboard - reveals that even high-level Washington officials engaged in the "war on terror" can't explain the difference between a Sunni and Shi'a Muslim.**

Noting the popularity of Oprah's book clubs, Prothero has devised a plan to deal with Americans' "religious illiteracy." His plan is to have Congress approve and fund an "American Religious History Month." In advance of this month, Congress will mail, at government expense, an essay series entitled "What Every American Should Know About American Religious History" to everyone from John and Jane Q. Taxpayer to Washington bigwigs. Then, during the month, American citizens will be invited to discuss these essays in reading groups, led by volunteer teachers, judges, college professors, and corporate CEOs not in jail. Some people, of course, will not want to participate. To encourage widespread participation, Prothero will propose that Congress provide free beer and mixed drinks to all participants. Non-participants, however, will be sentenced to thirty days of community service or ten hours of The Real Housewives of Orange County reruns.

You are one of Professor Prothero's interns, and it's your job to write one of the essays in this series for him. Each essay in the series will focus on one of the following topics:

- American Religions and Establishment/Disestablishment
- American Religions and Insider/Outsider Status
- American Religions and Economics
- American Religions and Politics
- American Religions and Regionalism

You will sign-up to write a 15-page essay that should address a seemingly straightforward question: "What should every American know about [insert your topic] and why?" Preliminary discussions have narrowed your essay's source material down to the following list:

- Any reading selection from R. Marie Griffith's American Religions. Note: This is not limited to assigned selections. In other words, feel free to use selections that you did not read for the workshops!

- Any reading selection from a Course Packet put together by Darren E. Grem at the University of Georgia.

- Any specific lecture from Grem's lecture series.

- Any PowerPoint slide or audio-visual selection used during his lecture series.

- Any reading selection from Jon Butler, et al's Religion in America Life. Note: Like the lectures, this should mostly serve to fill out the necessary historical context for your other source materials.

- If necessary, outside research from unassigned books and articles. Sources from the web must have an in-print equivalent (e.g. Articles from the online versions of The New York Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Christianity Today, Sojourners, The Journal of American History, The Economist, etc. are fine because those are in-print publications). Wikipedia.com, blogs, and other questionable websites are strictly prohibited.

NOTE: YOUR ESSAY SHOULD NOT BE A SUMMARY, MERELY DETAILING WHAT HAPPENED. Prothero wants it to spark debate about the meaning of our nation's religious history. So, your essay should tender, in the first paragraph, a debatable argument for what every American should know about your topic and why. Subsequent paragraphs should flow seamlessly from point to point, using specific and varied sources (from the list above) to support your argument. A final paragraph should wrap up your essay, offering some final comments about your topic's importance and how your essay solves - at least in part - the problem of Americans' "religious illiteracy."

Prothero wants this project to be circulating in Congressional committees by the end of the year, but he also wants to evaluate how you're coming along with your particular essay. Thus, the first five typed pages should be turned in on Sept. 24th, the first ten typed pages on Nov. 7th, and a copy of the full 15-page essay on Dec. 3rd.

Prothero is something of a Luddite and, thus, you may NOT turn it in via e-mail. Remember, you're aiming to impress an esteemed research professor (and, by proxy, a wider audience), so make a solid argument supported with specific details, examples, and quotations. Likewise, aim for clarity, creativity, and adherence to the rules of proper style, organization, and grammar. Double space your essay and format it with 12-point, Times New Roman font, 1-inch margins all around, and your name only in the header. Due to the budget limitations for typesetting and printing this essay, it may NOT go under or over 15 full, typed pages.

* Stephen Prothero, Religious Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know - And Doesn't (New York: HarperOne, 2007).
** "'07 Survey Shows Americans' Views Mixed on Basic Freedoms," The First Amendment Center, online at: http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=19031; Jeff Stein, "Can You Tell a Sunni from a Shiite?" The New York Times (October 17, 2006), online at: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/opinion/17stein.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Each draft of the Final Assignment will be evaluated according to this table (although the first five and ten pages will not receive a grade). See the next section for explanations of the thinking and writing skills measured by this evaluation.

On the paper copy itself, red marks indicate a deficiency in the area corresponding to the number marked (e.g. if a section is underlined or circled in red and a "3" is beside it, it means you have a problem in that section with supporting your argument with evidence). Blue marks indicate an achievement in the area corresponding to the number marked (e.g. if a section is underlined in green and a "3" is beside it, it means you have supported your argument with well-chosen and appropriate evidence). All peer-reviewed marks will generally appear in black ink.

Note: Point totals may include decimal points of ten (8.5, 16.5, etc.) to ensure the most accurate evaluation possible.

A - The essay shows a sophisticated understanding of how to think and write like a historian. The main argument of the essay is clear and richly explained with sensitivity and insight. It has no misconceptions about the history under study. Subsequent points make a case for certain definitions, documents, and materials over others, recognizing appropriate qualifications and the pros and cons of the choices involved. Evidence is warranted, sourced, corroborated, and otherwise completely sufficient to make points plausible. Other thinking skills displayed are advanced and exemplary, going beyond the grasp of the subject typically found at novice and intermediate levels. The implications of the topic under study are clear, but it avoids unsubstantiated opinion or personal moralizing. The essay's prose is flawless or near flawless - clear, well organized, error free, and artful. Formatting (page length, double spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman, 1-inch margins all around, name only in header) is dead on.

B - The essay shows a solid understanding of how to think and write like a historian. The main argument of the essay is clear and explained accurately and fully, with no major misconceptions about the history under study. Subsequent points make a case for certain definitions, documents and materials over others (although it may falter in this endeavor at points). Evidence is provided for nearly all claims made; although there may be problems with warrants, sourcing, and corroboration. Other thinking skills used are appropriate for addressing the assignment, but not exemplary. The essay restrains its tone effectively and avoids unsubstantiated opinion or personal moralizing. The prose style is "reader-friendly"; errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation are minor enough to be overlooked. Formatting is dead on.

C - The essay shows a partial understanding of how to think and write like a historian. The main argument of the essay is explained in a generally effective way; yet, some points of this argument may be explained more precisely than others, or there may be slight misunderstandings about the history under study. Subsequent points may make a case for certain definitions, documents and materials over others, but they may be hard to find or present ideas that are too uncomplicated. Evidence is not altogether sufficient to make claims plausible to a reasonable person; warranting, sourcing, and corroborating are inconsistent or clumsily employed. The thinking skills used are not adequate for successfully addressing the assignment. The paper may reveal some misunderstanding of key ideas, methods, or needed skills. A tone of simplistic excoriation or laudation of key events, figures, or issues may appear in the essay. The prose writing is inconsistent; some sentences and paragraphs are fine, while others suffer from distracting errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation. Formatting may contain careless mistakes.

D - The essay shows little understanding of how to think and write like a historian. The main argument of the essay is not clear. Definitions are either unclear or uncomplicated. The documents are not understood or are misconstrued in a manner unfair to the authors and the history under study. Although the essay may have a thesis or present subsequent points, both are hard to find or stated in overly stark, black and white language. Evidence is very weak; warranting, sourcing, and corroborating are mostly absent. The thinking habits used are inadequate for addressing the assignment, revealing major misunderstandings of key methods, and/or needed skills, or misunderstandings of how to complete the assignment. Unsubstantiated opinion and conjecture, based mostly in simplistic laudations or excoriations, is pervasive. The prose is "rough draft" quality; some sentences may be difficult to understand due to errors of syntax, spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation. Formatting satisfies fewer requirements than it should, or it may ignore these requirements altogether.

F - No essay provided for evaluation, or the essay does not meet the assignment's requirements in any commendable way.