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Sacred Books of the World
RELS 201.002
This is a religious studies class and when we study religion through the lens of sacred books it is important to experience and/or observe the text in practice. Each of the world’s religion have a distinct style of worship, so the purpose of this assignment is to visit religious services to get a firsthand account of religion outside of the classroom .
During this visit you will need to pay close attention to your surroundings, be able to explain what happened during the service and how it felt during your time there. If you get a sense of the sacred at this service, try to describe what it was like. This report should be two pages, double spaced. Pay particular attention to the use of sacred books and how they are used in worship and ritual.
Visiting a Buddhist Meditation
1. Denomination of Faith – Which branch of Buddhism are you exploring during this visit?
2. Architecture and Interior Organization – Where is the meditation taking place? Are there benches, chairs, bulletin boards, artifacts, incense, ect.?
3. Style of Worship – Ritualistic, order of service, bulletin, formal, informal? How long was the session?
4. Music – Is it classical, contemporary, or another style? Do you see a choir or instruments?
5. Sacred Texts – What translation? Which texts? Who reads the text?
6. Prayer/Meditation – Is it recited, personal, or silent? This can include meditation, chanting, walking, ect.
7. Form Service was Given – Was it guided meditation, sermon, homily, spoken word? Were there different elements?
8. Theology – What ideas were presented?
9. Posture in Meditation – Are you standing, sitting, kneeling, touching?
10. Authority – Hermeneutics, who interprets the scripture and how?
11. Intangibles – Is there a sense of the sacred? Explore, in as much detail as possible, the thoughts that arose in your time there.
*Keep in mind these questions: What did you expect? What was different from those expectations?
Ashlee Godwin, revised 3/28/2013
Sacred Books of the World
RELS 201.002
This is a religious studies class and when we study religion through the lens of sacred books it is important to experience and/or observe the text in practice. Each of the world’s religion have a distinct style of worship, so the purpose of this assignment is to visit religious services to get a firsthand account of religion outside of the classroom .
During this visit you will need to pay close attention to your surroundings, be able to explain what happened during the service and how it felt during your time there. If you get a sense of the sacred at this service, try to describe what it was like. This report should be two pages, double spaced. Pay particular attention to the use of sacred books and how they are used in worship and ritual.
Visiting a Jewish Religious Service
1. Denomination of Faith – Which branch of Judaism are you exploring during this visit?
2. Architecture and Interior Organization – Where is the service taking place? Are there banners, benches, chairs, bulletin boards, artifacts, a library, a Torah Ark, ect.?
3. Style of Worship – Liturgical, order of service, bulletin, formal, informal?
4. Music – Is it classical, contemporary, or another style? Do you see a choir or instruments? Group or individual singing?
5. Sacred Texts – What translation? Which texts? Who reads the text? What language is the text in?
6. Prayer – Is it recited, personal, or silent? Who prays at this service? What is the mood of prayer?
7. Form Service was Given – Was it sermon, homily, spoken word?
8. Theology – What ideas were presented?
9. Posture in Worship – Are you standing, sitting, kneeling, touching?
10. Authority – Hermeneutics, who interprets the scripture and how? Male or Female (most denominations may not have female leaders)?
11. Intangibles – Is there a sense of the sacred?
*Keep in mind these questions: What did you expect? What was different from those expectations?
Ashlee Godwin, revised 3/28/2013
