Term Paper Proposal (Research) Student Name Course Name and Number Instructor Name Date of Assignment Religious Violence and Radical Islam Today, we live in a world where violence plagues our society. I believe it is crucial to discuss the concept of violence. Why does it occur? Why does it seem to be consuming not only those living in America, but the entire World population? Our daily news headlines are stormed with stories about new acts of violence every day. Many times these headlines are developed due to an act of violence that was committed by a religious group. This paper will focus on the impulse of violence within religion. The thesis for this paper is that in any religion in which radical groups exist there is potential for violence to occur. According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the World’s second largest religion and the fastest growing (The Future of World Religion, 2015). In light of this fact, this research paper will focus on the radical groups that exist within the Islamic religion. The major emphasis of this paper will be to determine if the violence that occurs is a reflection of ideological foundations in the religion or is it more greatly influenced by culture and other precipitating factors. First, I will examine some of the violent acts carried out by religious groups throughout history. I will look at the factors that influenced such acts to be carried out by these groups of people using information from “Religion, Terror and Violence: Religious Studies Perspectives”, by Rennie and Tite (2008). History reveals many acts of violence occurring among religious group. In particular were the battles that occurred during Holy wars. For example, the Crusades were a series of battles that occurred between 1096-1291 for control of the Holy land. I will use examples and information from Selengut’s “Sacred Fury: understanding religious violence”, to determine whether violent acts, such as the Holy wars, were only influence by opposing religious beliefs or were they a product of other factors such as political and cultural influence? I will also implement material from Kressel’s “Bad faith: the danger of religious extremist”, which explains extremist among many religions, in further support of my thesis statement. Second, I will narrow my focus on violence to that which is occurring in the Islamic religion. I would like to express again that I am not focusing on Islam because I believe it is a violent religion. I am focusing on this religion in particular because of its fast growing population and attention it has recently been receiving in our society. As stated in my thesis, I am attempting to prove that violence can exist in any religion in which there are radical groups of people. I will use information from Esposito’s book, “What everyone needs to know about Islam”, to explain a few of the foundational ideologies that exist in Islam. Next, I will focus on the radical groups that exist among the Islamic religion. ...

1. Term Paper Proposal (Research)
Student Name
Course Name and Number
Instructor Name
Date of Assignment
Religious Violence and Radical Islam
Today, we live in a world where violence plagues our
society. I believe it is crucial to discuss the concept of violence.
Why does it occur? Why does it seem to be consuming not only
those living in America, but the entire World population? Our
daily news headlines are stormed with stories about new acts of
violence every day. Many times these headlines are developed
due to an act of violence that was committed by a religious
group. This paper will focus on the impulse of violence within
religion. The thesis for this paper is that in any religion in
which radical groups exist there is potential for violence to
occur. According to the Pew Research Center, Islam is the
World’s second largest religion and the fastest growing (The
Future of World Religion, 2015). In light of this fact, this
research paper will focus on the radical groups that exist within
the Islamic religion. The major emphasis of this paper will be to
determine if the violence that occurs is a reflection of
ideological foundations in the religion or is it more greatly
influenced by culture and other precipitating factors.
First, I will examine some of the violent acts carried out
by religious groups throughout history. I will look at the factors
that influenced such acts to be carried out by these groups of
people using information from “Religion, Terror and Violence:
Religious Studies Perspectives”, by Rennie and Tite (2008).
History reveals many acts of violence occurring among religious
group. In particular were the battles that occurred during Holy
wars. For example, the Crusades were a series of battles that
occurred between 1096-1291 for control of the Holy land. I will

2. use examples and information from Selengut’s “Sacred Fury:
understanding religious violence”, to determine whether violent
acts, such as the Holy wars, were only influence by opposing
religious beliefs or were they a product of other factors such as
political and cultural influence? I will also implement material
from Kressel’s “Bad faith: the danger of religious extremist”,
which explains extremist among many religions, in further
support of my thesis statement.
Second, I will narrow my focus on violence to that which
is occurring in the Islamic religion. I would like to express
again that I am not focusing on Islam because I believe it is a
violent religion. I am focusing on this religion in particular
because of its fast growing population and attention it has
recently been receiving in our society. As stated in my thesis, I
am attempting to prove that violence can exist in any religion in
which there are radical groups of people. I will use information
from Esposito’s book, “What everyone needs to know about
Islam”, to explain a few of the foundational ideologies that
exist in Islam. Next, I will focus on the radical groups that exist
among the Islamic religion. What do they believe in regards to
violence and their religion? I will determine this using Bukay’s
article “The Religious Foundations of Suicide Bombings”,
which elaborates on Islamist Ideology. Finally, I will provide
examples of violence that have been carried out by the Islamic
radical groups. Are these acts ultimately influenced by their
religious beliefs or are they a product of political and cultural
influence? I will answer this with evidence from Esposito’s
“Unholy war: terror in the name of Islam”.
In conclusion, each of the source listed will help to
provide a better understanding about the idea of violence within
religions. These findings will support my thesis in which I aim
to explain the existence of violence among all religions and
radical groups, in particular the Islamic extremist.
References:
Esposito, John L. Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam.
New York: Oxford UP, 2002. Print.

3. Esposito, John L. What Everyone Needs to Know About Islam.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2011. Print.
Kressel, Neil Jeffrey. Bad Faith: The Danger Of Religious
Extremism. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 2007. Print.
Rennie, Bryan S., and Philip L. Tite. Religion, Terror and
Violence: Religious Studies Perspectives. New York:
Routledge, 2008. Print.
Selengut, Charles. Sacred Fury: Understanding Religious
Violence. Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, 2003. Print.
Wormald, Benjamin. "The Future of World Religions:
Population Growth Projections, 2010-2050." Pew Research
Centers Religion Public Life Project RSS. Pew Research Center,
02 Apr. 2015. Web. 24 Oct. 2016.
LIBRARY RESEARCH PAPER (Option one)
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION
This assignment would involve significant library research on
some topic of interest related to the issues, concerns, questions
and ideas discussed in the World Religions class.
The first step is to develop a question you want to answer or a
thesis you want to explore. Be sure you get the question or
thesis approved by me before you get too far into the literature.
The librarians can be very helpful to you in this research. The
library has a number of resources (books, periodicals, journals)
devoted to the study of world religions.
The purpose of this assignment is to learn 1) to do a valid
review-of-the-literature library research, 2) to synthesize
findings and draw conclusions, 3) to organize material in a
systematic way in order to support a thesis or answer a
significant question, and 4) to write a clear and well
documented report on one's findings.

4. Each Proposal must meet the following requirements in order to
be approved. Without the Instructor’s Approval, the student
CANNOT submit a Research Paper on Week 15.
1. The Proposal should be a document of at least 600-700 words
which provides a brief summary of the in-depth analysis of your
chosen topic, including the problem or question to be addressed,
the method, approach or perspective that you propose to use to
discuss or argue a point of view or opinion, and a general
conclusion statement summing up what you expect to learn from
your exploration of the issue, matter, person or concern.
2. The Proposal should reference from at least 5 of books and
approved peer-reviewed articles that are on your Annotated
Bibliography assignment. Keep in mind that articles found on
websites with a URL that ends in “.edu” (these may come from
the Internet – no other internet sources may be used. Points will
be deducted for every internet source used that has not been
approved).
3. Please consult MLA or APA Guidelines to ensure the proper
style for citations and bibliography. Points will be deducted for
improper citation form, failure to follow the instructions for
completing a proper Proposal, and for errors in grammar,
punctuation and syntax (sentence construction). If you have
problems with writing papers, please visit the Writing Center or
see me after class.
4. The proposal must be submitted as an email attachment to the
Instructor ON OR BEFORE SUNDAY of WEEK SEVEN BY
11:59 PM– failure to submit a proposal means you cannot
submit a research paper on WEEK 15.
5. Remember to proof your work. Your submitted document
should be mechanically and grammatically correct. This means

5. that there must not be any or very few spelling, punctuation,
sentence construction, grammar or formatting errors.
Internet Policy on Resources
While there are an increasing number of web pages devoted to
theology and religion, the information is often not reliable or
better than what is available in the library’s book and journal
collections. Therefore, you are not to use any source from the
Internet unless the information comes from online journals
available through the library. Contact the instructor if you are
not sure of the validity or legitimacy of your source.
Please Note: Submissions will be sent through SafeAssign to
check for plagiarism.
Annotated Bibliography on Theology and Ethics
Edgar B. (2009). Biotechnology: theology, ethics and the new
biotechnologies. Christian Perspectives on Science and
Technology. ISCAT Online Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.iscast.org/journal/articles/Edgar_B_2009-
07_Biotheology.pdf
Borrowing extensively from his professional experience and
knowledge in theological studies, the author, a professor at
Asbury Theological Seminary, takes a strong study of the
relationship that exists between theology, ethics and new
biotechnologies. About the book by Forrester, this article brings
in a new perspective of understanding ethics and theology.
Today biotechnology is one of the topics that utilize a lot of
ethical concepts, and it is necessary to look into it. Within the
study, Edgar proposes and links six bio-theological principles
by intrinsically syncing them to what God would have wanted
for all human beings. The research topic focuses only on
theology and ethics which seems too general to handle hence as

6. an avenue for specific mentioning of examples this source
seems both sufficient and efficient.
Erickson M. J. & Bowers I. E. (1996).
Euthanasia and Christian ethics. Retrieved from
http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS- PDFs/19/19-1/19-1-pp015-
024_JETS.pdf
Euthanasia has undoubtedly been a controversial topic since its
inception. It is tough to explain to people especially Christians
how one could ask for their death which has to be aided by
another. The two authors research much deeper into this topic
with sufficient evidence both from the Bible and other studies.
The theory at play here is that euthanasia only has scientific
backing with no links to Christianity. The authors get most of
their data and evidence from previous research works
publications. In conclusion, the authors come up with five
conclusions to bridge the gap between the horns of euthanasia
and Christian ethics. However, there is a particular linkage
between euthanasia and the bible but that both scientists and
Christians to be open to results of further research on the topics.
Forrester, D. B. (2010). Forrester on Christian ethics and
practical theology:
Collected writings on Christianity, India, and the social
order. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate.
This book is about the Christian understanding of ethics and
practical theology. Inside are numerous topics that touch on
some of the most sensitive issues on both ethics ad theologies.
The author also provides a vital account on theological studies
that talk about ethics. Talking about Christian ethics and
theology limits other religious settings from the comprehensive
understanding if the two topics, therefore the author have also
included brief studies on other religions such as Hindu. The
author says that most of the ethical and theological positions in
this book may contradict beliefs of people based on experience
or other. Thus it is necessary to grasp the fact that they are very

7. contextual. The wealth of information in this book makes it a
good source for the topic as the author not only talks about what
is in theory but also his personal experience in the journey of
Christianity.
Hock E. C. (1996). Ethics and Theology. Reformation &
Revival.
A journal about church leadership, Volume. 5, No. 4.
Retrieved from https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ref-
rev/05-4/5-4_hock.pdf
This article somewhat limits most of its contexts to the church
leadership; however, the author says that the knowledge is open
to borrowing and application in other contexts in life. The
article brings a different angle of looking at the topics at hand
in comparison to the other materials. It shifts the focus to the
church leadership with very practical examples that call for
application ethics. The literature review is very generous with
information and data from credible sources. He also defines
Christian ethics from the conventional definition of ethics. In
the concluding paragraph, Hock says that without pleasing God
and conforming to His Christ, Christian ethics do not reflect
anything Christian or evangelical.
Klassen J. (2013). The relationship between theology and
development: how theology can be related to development in
post-modern society.
Missionalia Online Volume. 41, No. 2 Pretoria, SCIELO.
Retrieved from:
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid
=S0256- 95072013000800007
This article engages in very full and extensive discourse on
theology and development. The author after outlaying the two
much-contested definitions of development considers ethics as a
topic under development. He says that ethics comes in after
each stage of development. In relation to other articles, this

8. article introduces subjects such as Trinity, missiology,
ecclesiology and many others lacking in the other articles when
munching theology as a topic. By giving examples of
underdevelopment South Africa and extrapolating it to the rest
of the world, the author brings in the aspect of culture on the
subject. This unique way of relating topics brings valuable
information to the research topic.
Morris R. A. & Woodbridge N. B. (2015).
Christian ethics as an acceptable ethical system in the
situation of the present culture: a theological analysis and
critical evaluation. Retrieved from:
https://www.sats.edu.za/userfiles/Christian%20Ethics%20a
rticle.pdf
Morris and Woodbridge, critically evaluate the value of
Christian ethics in an adequate ethical system by carefully
studying various moral crises that face Americans. Some of
these ethical issues include alcohol, drug abuse and racism. The
two authors also use many sources to prove that Christian ethics
have tenet theological basis. There are also specific verses from
the Bible that quoted in this article to aid understanding of
some concepts. This article complements the other articles by
borrowing extensively from the Bible and explaining how these
verses relate to the situations under considerations. By using the
Bible for verses, this article provides undisputable theological
links for the research paper.
Partoteeah K. P., Hoegl M. & Cullen J. B. (2007). Religion and
Ethics:
an empirical test of a multidimensional model. Business Ethics.
80:387-398. DOI 10.1007/s10551-007 9439-8. Retrieved
from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d8ad/44b93c250cd7c57d9
14e57d8fb93dc863a65.pdf
This article introduces mathematical principle in understanding
if there is a relationship between religion and ethics which is

9. lacking in all the other sources. The hypothesis brings forth the
interest of an individual’s willingness in justifying a suspicious
behavior as a dependent variable with other religious but
significant factors as independent variables ethically. The
authors also mention the connection of this hypothesis to others
in other studies where there was only a unidimensional linkage
between the dependent and independent variables. However,
since there were many religious factors to be considered it was
difficult to conclusively relate region and ethics as there were
various factors such as wisdom and education which were
difficult to place as religious or others.
Witherington, B. (2009). The permanent image:
The theological and ethical thought the world of the New
Testament. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.
This book focuses on understanding the existent relationship
between theology and ethics as seen in the New Testament.
Witherington takes a strong study into many topics that are
summarized in the other articles which are very complementary
of this book. In addition to already met topics in theology and
ethics, there are plenty of other relevant topics which are
tackled sufficiently in this book. Numerous publications and
articles are cited and discussed as well. Also numerous
hypotheses on theology and ethics such as ‘ethics emanates
from Christianity’ are well proved with significant facts from
other sources. The professional and academic record of the
author combined with experience also brings an importantly
quality taste that is necessary for preparing this research.
References
Edgar B. (2009). Biotechnology: theology, ethics and the new
biotechnologies. Christian Perspectives on Science and
Technology. ISCAT Online Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.iscast.org/journal/articles/Edgar_B_2009-

10. 07_Biotheology.pdf
Erickson M. J. & Bowers I. E. (1996). Euthanasia and Christian
ethics. Retrieved from http://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-
PDFs/19/19-1/19-1-pp015-024_JETS.pdf
Forrester, D. B. (2010). Forrester on Christian ethics and
practical theology:
Collected writings on Christianity, India, and the social
order. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate.
Hock E. C. (1996). Ethics and Theology. Reformation &
Revival. A journal about church leadership, Volume. 5, No.
4. Retrieved from https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ref-rev/05-
4/5-4_hock.pdf
Klassen J. (2013). The relationship between theology and
development: how theology can be related to development in
post-modern society. Missionalia Online Volume. 41, No. 2
Pretoria, SCIELO. Retrieved from
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid
=S0256-95072013000800007
Morris R. A. & Woodbridge N. B. (2015). Christian ethics as an
acceptable ethical system in the situation of the present
culture: a theological analysis and critical evaluation. Retrieved
from:
https://www.sats.edu.za/userfiles/Christian%20Ethics%20article
.pdf
Partoteeah K. P., Hoegl M. & Cullen J. B. (2007). Religion and
Ethics:
an empirical test of a multidimensional model. Business Ethics.
80:387-398. DOI 10.1007/s10551-007 9439-8. Retrieved
from
https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d8ad/44b93c250cd7c57d9
14e57d8fb93dc863a65.pdf
Witherington, B. (2009). The permanent image: The theological
and ethical thought world of the New Testament. Downers
Grove, IL: IVP Academic.