Balancing the Insider vs. Outsider Perspective: Analyzing and Understanding Religious Experience

3 pts

Excellent

Clear thesis. Well-organized and easy to follow, with an introduction and conclusion. Clearly written and well-edited for grammar and spelling, including complete sentences. Presented in your own words.

2 pts

Satisfactory

Weak thesis. Mostly well-organized but could be improved with revision to make the argument clearer to the reader. At times the paper could have been more tightly written. Mostly well-written with a few errors in grammar or spelling

1 pts

Needs work

No thesis. The essay lacks a clear organization, making the argument difficult to follow. Lacks an introduction and/or conclusion, or the introduction and/or conclusion are overly brief and do not clearly state the argument and summarize the key points. Contains several errors or style issues that detract from the clarity and readability of the essay.

3 pts

Excellent

Clear description of the religious experience that demonstrates sophisticated understanding of the complexity of elements important to members of another religion in relation to its beliefs, practices, teachings, and history.

2 pts

Satisfactory

Factual description of sequence of events with little “texture” or interpretation. Clearly not fully developed.

1 pts

Needs work

Little description at all, or brief, perfunctory statements glossing over the event(s). The reader has little idea what transpired

3 pts

Excellent

Asks complex questions about other religions, seeks out and articulates answers to these questions that reflect multiple religious perspectives. (synthesis)

2 pts

Satisfactory

Asks deeper questions about other religions and seeks out answers to these questions.

1 pts

Needs work

Asks simple or surface questions about other religions.

3 pts

Excellent

Recognizes the value in another religion’s beliefs or practice and demonstrates how the world at large or oneself could benefit from the principle.

2 pts

Satisfactory

Positive experience at an intuitive or emotive level. Gains affectively from the ‘experience’ but applying insights are few or simplistic

1 pts

Needs work

Doing the assignment. Neutral experience without personal resonance or impact.

3 pts

Excellent

Interprets religious experience from the perspectives of own and more than one worldview and demonstrates ability to act in a supportive manner that recognizes the feelings of another religious group.

2 pts

Satisfactory

Recognizes intellectual and emotional dimensions of more than one worldview and sometimes uses more than one worldview in interactions.

1 pts

Needs work

Views the experience of others but does so through own cultural worldview.