Guideline for Theme Paper (2500-3000 words)

For this paper, you will need access to the textbook “Anatomy of the Sacred” by James C. Livingston.

Begin your paper by introducing and summarizing the article. Include in this summary your own description of the article’s central thesis and the means by which Siddiqi attempts to establish it. Also include somewhere in your introduction/summary a paragraph that describes Siddiqi’s social location, professional identity, and main thrust of his larger body of scholarly work (once again, this may require some digging).

After you have completed the opening section, you should answer the following questions, taking 1-3 paragraphs for each question:

1. What is Siddiqi’s explicit and/or implicit understanding of “Soteriology” and how does this understanding shape his discussion and argument?

2. How does Siddiqi’s understanding of Soteriology relate to the various options discussed by Livingston in Chapter 13 (Soteriology: Ways and Goals of Salvation and Liberation) of Anatomy of the Sacred?

3. What is Siddiqi’s primary method of investigation (refer back to Chapter 2 of Livingston for a discussion of the various disciplines), and how does their reliance on this method shape their understanding of the “basic theme of religion” featured centrally in the argument?

4. If you were asked to strengthen or extend Siddiqi’s argument, how might you do so and where would you turn for additional resources? Choose one of the following options:

   1. If you think the argument in the article does contain a serious weakness, explain what it is and how you would address the problem.

   2. If you think the argument is basically sound, how might you build upon what Siddiqi has done to explore an issue that is relevant to their argument but not seriously addressed in the article?

You must include in your bibliography three additional resources (beyond the article and Livingston) you have uncovered through your own research and utilized to gain a deeper understanding of the article’s general topic and particular perspective. Pick whatever bibliographic style you wish, and then use it well!