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Before you read this, I recommend you read through the “Guide to Writing in Religious Studies” posted in the folder. It should help you get a better sense of how to approach your topic, and how to develop a thesis. Also, see the general feedback for the Midterm papers.

This is not meant to be an exhaustive list. The following are just some examples to get you thinking about the near infinite range of possible broad topics. You will need to narrow your focus once you do some initial research. Remember that the text includes suggested readings at the end of each section-that is another way to mine topics and sources for consideration:

1) a significant figure in American religious history or the contemporary period, for example: Crow Dog (1833-1911), Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, George Armstrong, Aimee Semple McPherson, John Brown, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Richard Oakes, Joseph Smith, Amina Wadud, Reinhold Niebuhr, James Cone, Fethullah Gülen, Irving Greenberg, Michael Lerner, Roshi Joan Halifax, etc.

I do not want you to write a biographical account, instead focus your argument on why/how this person was influential.

2) an historical or contemporary event and its significance in American religious landscape: the 1969 Alcatraz Proclamation and Occupation, Abolition Movement, Wounded Knee Occupation 1973, 1893 First World Parliament of Religions, Civil Rights Movement,1990 Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act, etc.

3) a group, new religious movement, trend, development, or struggle involving a religious community in the American context: Theosophy, American Indian Movement, Metropolitan Church Association, Nation of Islam, Branch Davidian Movement, spiritual not religious identification, civil religion, religion and the military, religion and prison, appropriation/absorbtion/cleaving of other traditions and practices-here, I am thinking of yoga, meditation, sweat lodges, etc.

4) a place with significance for a particular group: for instance, LDS historical trips to Palmyra, Kirtland, and Nauvoo; Standing Rock and the Sioux Nation, Sedona and New Age pilgrimage, Karya Siddhi Hanuman temple, etc.

5) religious observances/rituals in the U.S. context: Dia de Los Muertos, Sukkot, Ramadan, end of life, etc.

6) religion in the work of: a particular U.S. artist, novelist, poet, photographer, composer, musician, or a particular film, television series, etc.

you must have a clear and identifiable thesis statement. This is a sentence that tells the reader what you intend to argue in your paper. It is also a guide for you as you write the paper. I suggest you bold the thesis statement, if that helps you stay on track. A thesis statement is not a fact, i.e. "the sun is yellow." It is also not an opinion, "I think Grover Cleveland was a bad president." Avoid generalization: “as everyone knows” does not strengthen your argument.  Your thesis should pass the "so what?" test. Your thesis statement should be an interesting contention that you can support through careful scholarly research. Please take advantage of the One Search feature that is available through ASU libraries online. You can access it through your MYASU page. You can narrow search results so that you get journal articles, and do go beyond the first page of results to see what you find. Try experimenting with the pairing of search terms, too, as you will get different results.