How do different religions worship? Attend or
watch videos of TWO worship services from groups based in the province of
Ontario (each at least 25 minutes long) one each from two different
traditions, neither of which may be your own religious/secular tradition.
Choose a service from a religion from List A and one service from a religion
from List B.
List A:
Indigenous Canadian Religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Confucianism, Taoism,
Sinkyo, or Shinto.
List B:
Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Unitarian Universalist, Bahai, or Secular
Humanism.
If you are
unsure of what category a worship service falls into or if it eligible, email
Dr. Zeichmann. Toronto alone has a multitude of different worship sites that
stream services on a weekly basis; be sure to check that the service occurs in
a language you understand before choosing it. If you attend in person, you MUST
be in contact with the worship site first to see if there are any expectations
they have from outsiders (e.g., how to dress, rituals you should not
participate in). Note that this paper does not require a thesis statement or an
argument. For a paper to get a grade in the A range, it must be well written
and discuss all of the following. Your paper should include proper citation and
a works cited page (in Chicago citation system) that does NOT include Wikipedia
or any other non-scholarly web site; the exception is that you can cite the web
page for the specific denomination or worship group itself. In a minimum of
2000 words address the following:
1. Describe
art, symbols, images, sacred objects of the religion and most importantly,
their meaning and importance! Explain how they were used in the
building/service. Remember, all kinds of things may have importance such as
the direction the building is facing, the colors used, any symbols.
2.
Distinctive dress, articles of clothing, of members and/or clergy of the
religion you witnessed during your visit. Inquire as to whether normally there
is a distinctive dress, etc. in other locations. Include how much adaptation or
concessions to Canadian ways of worshipping you witnessed during your visit
(for this you may also have to tap a knowledgeable person for information). How
also has COVID-19 affected things what parts of the service needed to change
and what needed to remain the same?
3. Forms of
ritual, worship/liturgy, special ceremonies, particular/distinctive practices
that you saw practiced during your visit. Be sure you can describe the flow of
the service and what rituals were performed.
4. Describe
how what you saw and heard impacted you. Did your visit enhance your
appreciation for that particular religious faith and/or for religion in
general? Did you feel you were worshipping? Did anything strike you in a
negative way? What was the most positive result of your visit?
5. How did
the service differ from or conform to your expectations, especially based on
the readings you had done for class and any other preconceived notions?
6. Discuss,
as relevant to what you observed in the service, fundamental beliefs (important
if you are visiting a sectarian group and note differences in belief and
practice from its parent group) and sources of authority or basis for the
religion or sect (inspired scriptures, teachers, direct revelations, etc.).
Specify both the religion and the sect or branch you have visited (e.g.,
Hinduism: Shiva, Vishnu, Hare Krishna; Judaism: Orthodox, Reformed,
Conservative, Reconstructionist; Buddhism: Tibetan, Mahayana, Theravada; Islam:
Nation of Islam, Sunni, Shia; Christian: Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, United
Church of Canada, Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints). Keep in mind
that you are NOT comparing the religions as a whole, but the specific services
you attended/watched.
7. Finally,
be sure this is a COMPARATIVE paper! Discuss the similarities and differences
(do not say there arent any) between the services you attended. You may also
draw in comparisons with your own religious/secular background.
There are
also two exceptions when it comes to things: a) Messianic Judaism sits at the
centre of Venn Diagram circles of both Judaism and Christianity if you are
either Jewish or Christian, you will need to find a different service; b) there
are various Christian Indigenous ministries (e.g., Toronto Urban Native
Ministry) which I will treat as the opposite: even though they are both
Indigenous and Christian, you can count it either as group A Indigenous or
group B Christian you can write about these types of services if you are
Christian (but not Indigenous) or Indigenous (but not Christian). Papers should
be double-spaced, Times New Roman 12-point font, with no need for a cover page.
