Final Paper on the Meaning of Religion in American Life will be 4-5 pages long and have
three separate parts. Be sure to begin with an introduction and conclude with a conclusion.
1. Interview three different people about how they understand “Religion in American Life.”
They may not be family members, and two out of three must be from a religious tradition
different than your own. (Hence, if you’re a Christian, you may interview one other
Christian, but the other two must be from non-Christian traditions.) You may ask
questions such as, “What has your experience of religion been?” “What is your worship
community like?” “What role does religion play in American public life?” “Is your
practice of religion tied to your race/ethnicity/sex/gender/sexual orientation/ability or
disability/age?” Try to ask questions that are open-ended and do not presuppose an
answer. When you are done, write three short religious/cultural biographies of the people
you interviewed. This section should be 1-2 pages long.
2. What themes emerged from your interviews? Do they share anything in common? If so,
what? If not, where do they diverge? This section should be 1-2 pages long.
3. Using what you’ve discovered in your interviews and your own experience, answer the
question, “Is it possible to define Religion in America? Why or why not? Does all
religious experience share things in common? If so, what? If not, why not?” This section
should be 1-2 pages long.
