Position Paper II
Religion in Society
Rationale for Assignment
In our final unit of the semester we will examine the broad area of free speech, and particularly what types of speech, messages, expressions, and even actions are appropriate or good for society and which are not. Many of the issues related to freedom of expression or association seem to be tied to religion or grounded in arguments related to one's view of religion. Indeed, in terms of what generates many of our public controversies, the role of religion in society seems to rank among the most widely debated public topics. Your second essay assignment will allow you to add your voice to current debates regarding what should or should not be acceptable expressions and actions in our society.
A Pledge to “One Nation, Under God”?
As you may know, the Supreme Court has just heard oral arguments in the case of whether or not our Pledge of Allegiance should contain the phrase “under God.” How should the Court rule? Develop an essay in which you argue:
“The U.S. Supreme Court should rule to remove the phrase ‘under God'
from the Pledge of Allegiance because . . .”
or
“The U.S. Supreme Court should rule to keep the phrase ‘under God' in
the Pledge of Allegiance because . . .”
Amend the US Constitution to Define Marriage?
Within the past year, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled in favor of state recognized marriage being extended to same-sex applicants. Judges and courts in other states, including California and New Jersey, are also considering adopting such measures. In response, many state legislative bodies, including the state of Missouri, have attempted and even adopted laws and amendments to state constitutions that would define legal marriage as including ONLY a male and female. Most recently, President George W. Bush has suggested an amendment to the U.S. Constitution is needed that would define “marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife.” What do you think our nation should do about this matter? Specifically, argue:
“The U.S. Constitution should be amended to define marriage as the union
of a man and a woman because . . .”
or
“The U.S. Constitution should not be amended to define marriage
as the union of a man and a woman, but rather same-sex marriages should be allowed in our society because . . .”
The Assignment :
Your five-page essay should develop a specific thesis related to one of the two issues above. You should begin your research process by familiarizing yourself with the arguments advanced by those who support your view as well as the specific arguments made by those who are against your position. Next, identify the strongest arguments that support your position. Each of your reasons (or arguments to support your overall thesis) must be supported with clear and convincing evidence in which you explain the logic of your argumentation (i.e. your warrant).
As you write your essay, assume your audience to be the general public who is reasonably educated but not fully informed about the topic. A practical approach might be to think you are writing a guest editorial that could be printed in the local newspaper.
A minimum of three sources must be cited in the paper. At least two of your references must be sources that were published in print form, including newspaper, magazine article, published report, book source, etc. (We realize that you might obtain your print / published sources electronically.) Your remaining required third source can be obtained from the Web (in other words, this source can be one that has been published ONLY on the Internet.) Of your three required sources, you can use only one source that is provided as background information as part of this assignment. Of course, your essay can incorporate more than the three required sources.
This paper is worth 200 points (80 points for the first draft, 100 points for the final draft, and 20 points for a peer review that you will write of another student ' s essay.) For more specific guidelines in preparing your essay see the Writing section of the course web page.
You must turn in your graded first draft with your final draft and always be sure to keep a copy of your paper for your files.
Assignment Due Dates :
Friday, April 2: Paper #2 assignment made
Friday, April 16: Draft of paper #2 due to Instructor and Peer Reviewer
Friday, April 23: Peer review of paper #2 due to Instructor and peer
Friday, April 30: Draft of Paper #2 returned to students
Thursday, May 6: Revised Paper #2 due to Instructor