|
Your Spiritual Autobiography
Why should you do this?
-
If you tell me about your familiarity with
and attitude toward religion - what you already know and don't
know regarding religion - I can better gear the class to your
needs and personalize it for you by suggesting topics and
projects that might be of interest for you to investigate in the
course of your studies.
-
It can also be helpful for you to
systematically take account of, and reflect upon, where you are
and how you got there and where you want to go, religiously
speaking.
-
This is also your first opportunity to
demonstrate to me your writing skills, so I will know what to
expect from you in the future and can make suggestions for
helping you to improve these skills.
What should you do?
In a 500-1000 word essay,
reflect on where you are coming from, where you currently
stand, how and where you desire to go regarding religion and
spirituality in your life:
-
What place does religion have in your life?
-
What are your religious beliefs and practices?
-
Was religion part of your
upbringing? In what way?
-
Have you questioned or gone a different path
from that of your childhood? Why or why not?
-
What do you like and not like
about religion in general and your own in particular?
-
Even if you have no
religious background you can still find something to say about why this
is the case, how you feel about it and where you perceive yourself going
in the future as regards religion (are you searching for some spiritual
direction in your life?
-
Would you, for instance, expect to raise your
own children the same way you were raised? Why or why not?).
-
You might
include in this any specific questions or issues you hope to explore
through this course.
(these are guiding
questions, only meant to suggest content, if other issues
relate better for you, by all means, respond in your own way)
- As a part of this personal reflection take the
"Belief-O-Matic"
self-assessment, e-mail results to yourself, print results,
include it with your Spiritual Autobiography and comment on the results in your
autobiography: Were you surprised by the results? What might you do as a follow-up to these results (e.g., find out more about the religions at the top of your list)? Did any of the questions on the assessment confuse
you?
(You can also take another interesting assessment to find out "What's Your Spiritual Type?")
Grading criteria: It's pretty easy to do
well on this essay if you apply yourself to it
- Composition: apply your best composition
and grammar skills - this will be taken into account. Do you
have a catchy "hook" as an opening line to grab your
reader? Are your paragraphs focused and transition well from one
idea to another? Do you offer a summative conclusion? For more
details, see composition
standards for formal writing.
- Clarity: have you been clear in telling
me enough about yourself so I can help you? (e.g., don't just
say "I go to church every week" or "I'm a
Christian" - tell me what kind of church, what
denomination)
- Focus: have you written enough (500 -
1000 words as noted above) to be informative but avoid going off
on a tangent?
- Completeness: Have you included your
"Belief System Selector" results and commented on
them?
return
to top |