ouchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course materia
ouchstones are projects that illustrate your comprehension of the course material, help you refine skills, and demonstrate application of knowledge. You can work on a Touchstone anytime, but you can’t submit it until you have completed the unit’s Milestones. Once you’ve submitted a Touchstone, it will be graded and counted toward your final course score.
Touchstone 2: Comparing and Contrasting the Common Elements of Religions
ASSIGNMENT: For this Touchstone, you will demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of religions so far by comparing and contrasting two of the world’s religions. In a 400-600 word short essay, you will compare and contrast one “Eastern” religion and one “Western” religion discussed so far in this course. Using specific examples from the lessons in Unit 1 and Unit 2 to support your conclusions, you will analyze some of the ways in which these religions are both similar and different. In order to foster learning and growth, all work you submit must be newly written specifically for this course. Any plagiarized or recycled work will result in a Plagiarism Detected alert. Review Touchstones: Academic Integrity Guidelines for more about plagiarism and the Plagiarism Detected alert. For guidance on the use of generative AI technology, review Ethical Standards and Appropriate Use of AI.
A. Assignment Guidelines
DIRECTIONS: Select one “Eastern” religion and one “Western” religion discussed so far in this course. Review the lessons in Unit 1 and Unit 2 as you consider how these religions are both similar and different.
Your short essay should include four parts:
Briefly introduce the two religions you have selected to compare and contrast.
Identify and explain at least two commonalities between these two religions, using specific examples from the lessons.
Identify and explain at least two differences between these two religions, using specific examples from the lessons. Briefly summarize & conclude your short essay. In your conclusion, explain what we can learn about religions in general by noticing both their similarities and differences.
As you develop your response, you should compare or contrast at least one example from each of the following elements of religion:
Historical & geographic origins
Core beliefs & doctrines Core rituals & practices
Important texts & narratives You will use information from the Sophia tutorials to support your response. When citing material from a tutorial, please include the name of the tutorial and use the following format (using Sophia’s Primal Religions tutorial as an example):
In-text citation: (Primal Religions, n.d.)
Reference: (n.d.). Primal Religions [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions–2/unit1/study-guide/7845/primal-religions-2
This is only an example, your own citations will be to the tutorials you use in answering the question. Please do not use any sources outside the class.
Refer to the completion checklist below throughout the writing process. Do not submit your Touchstone until it meets these guidelines.
❒ Have you selected one “Eastern” religion and one “Western religion” discussed so far in this course? ❒ Have you briefly introduced the two religions you selected?❒ Have you identified and explained at least two commonalities between these religions?❒ Have you identified and explained at least two differences between these religions?❒ Have you included at least one example from each of the given elements of religion: historical & geographic origins; core beliefs & doctrines; core rituals & practices; and important texts & narratives? ❒ Is your short essay between 400-600 words, double-spaced, and formatted in 12-point font?❒ Have you cited examples with in-text citations? ❒ Are the cited examples from the class tutorials?❒ Have you proofread your short essay for mistakes in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization?B. Rubric
Advanced (100%)Proficient (80%)Needs Improvement (60%)Non-Performance (0%)
Selection of Religions (5 points)
Essay identifies an “Eastern” and a “Western” religion discussed in the course.Essay correctly identifies an ‘Eastern’ religion and a ‘Western’ religion to compare and contrast, and accurately describes both. The reasoning behind the selections are clear and interesting.Essay correctly identifies an ‘Eastern’ religion and a ‘Western’ religion to compare and contrast, and accurately describes both.Essay incorrectly categorizes religions, selects two ‘Eastern’ or two ‘Western’ religions, or provides a significantly inaccurate description of one or both.Essay fails to identify an “Eastern” religion and a “Western” religion to compare and contrast, or to provide any description of either.
Analysis of Similarities (Comparison) (5 points)
Essay analyzes similarities between religions and provides specific examples that support the analysis. Essay accurately identifies and explains two similarities between the selected religions. The essay demonstrates an insightful analysis of the similarities.Essay accurately identifies and explains two similarities between the selected religions.Essay accurately identifies and explains only one difference between the selected religions.Essay does not accurately identify and explain similarities between religions.
Analysis of Differences (Contrast) (5 points)
Essay analyzes differences between religions and provides specific examples that support the analysis. Essay accurately identifies and explains at least two differences between the selected religions. The essay demonstrates insightful analysis of these differences.Essay accurately identifies and explains two differences between the selected religions.Essay identifies and explains only one difference between religions. The explanation may be vague or contain inaccuracies.Essay does not accurately identify and explain differences between religions.
Elements of Religion (5 points)
Essay draws on disparate elements of religion for analysis.
Essay describes examples from each of the four elements of religion: -historical & geographic origins -core beliefs & doctrines -core rituals & practices -important texts & narratives The examples are thoughtfully chosen and explained.Essay describes examples from each of the four elements of religion: -historical & geographic origins -core beliefs & doctrines -core rituals & practices -important texts & narrativesEssay describes examples from one or two of the four elements of religion: -historical & geographic origins -core beliefs & doctrines -core rituals & practices -important texts & narratives Two or three elements are missing.Essay does not describe examples from any of the four four given elements of religion: -historical & geographic origins -core beliefs & doctrines -core rituals & practices -important texts & narratives
Use of Evidence (3 points)
Submission uses specific examples from the course, that are cited appropriately, to support the response.
At least 4 specific examples from the course are used to support the response. Examples from the course are cited appropriately. The examples are thoughtfully chosen and explained.At least 4 specific examples from the course are used to support the response. Examples from the course are cited appropriately.1-2 examples from the course are used to support the response. Examples may not be cited appropriately or may come from sources outside of the course material.No examples from the course are used or cited to support the response.
Conventions (1 point)
Essay follows conventions for standard written English. There are almost no errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization; all length and formatting requirements are met.There are minor errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that do not impede readability; length and formatting requirements are nearly met.There are consistent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that significantly impede readability; length and formatting requirements are not met.There are consistent errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization that significantly impede readability. Meets requirements (1 point)
Submission meets formatting requirements, including 12-point font, double-spacing, and word count.
All requirements for formatting and length are met.Requirements for formatting and length are mostly met.Requirements for formatting and length are somewhat met.Requirements for formatting and length are not met at all.
C. Requirements
The following requirements must be met for your submission to be graded: Composition must be between 400-600 words.
Double-space the composition and use one-inch margins.
Use a readable 12-point font.
All writing must be appropriate for an academic context. Composition must be original and written for this assignment.
Plagiarism of any kind is strictly prohibited.
Submission must include your name, the name of the course, the date, and the title of your composition. Include all of the assignment components in a single file.
Acceptable file formats include .doc and .docx.
In-text citations should use this style: (Monotheism, n.d.)
References should use this style: (n.d.). Monotheism [MOOC]. In Approaches to Studying Religions. Sophia Learning. https://app.sophia.org/spcc/approaches-to-studying-religions–2/unit2/study-guide/8161/monotheism-2
All cited examples are from the class tutorials