The Church and Capitalism

Choose ONE of the themes in the course concerning the relationship of the Church to the Modern World (colonialism, atheism, evangelism, Denominationalism, Church/State, Church/Capitalism, etc.)

Limit: 2000-2500 words; see parts of the assignment listed bellow.

1. Visit ONE local church for a Sunday Service (Catholic or Protestant) and analyse the content of the Service in relation to your chosen theme.

2. Interview the minister/priest and at least THREE members of the congregation about the relevant theme.

3. Write up your findings about that particular Church in relation to what you have learned about the theme/topic in the course. What is consistent with what you’ve learned? What surprised you? Your write up should include the following:

a. A theoretical discussion of the chosen theme and its significance for the modern church. Engage with at least one text from the course in defining and discussing your theme.

b. A brief discussion of the church you attended (Catholic or Protestant? What city? What day/time? Title/theme of sermon? Etc.)

c. A discussion of this sermon in relation to your chosen theme, making reference to ideas discussed both in the course lectures and in the course readings.

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Students who do not wish to complete a field report and would rather write a traditional research paper may do so. Limit is also 2500 words.

The research paper should treat one major theme or question raised by the course and/or the course readings. Research must include at least one text from the assigned course readings and two articles from a scholarly journal. A proposal of the essay topic must be submitted no more than two weeks before the due date, and should include (1) a thesis statement; (2) bibliographical entries for the sources that will be used.