The culmination of the course work will be accomplished by producing a 5-8 page research paper. The paper will be comparative in nature and address overarching concepts within two distinct religious traditions (Any two religions can be selected but only two religions can be addressed) The paper will not compare every aspect of two religions (5-8 pages would be rather inadequate for this task), rather its purpose is to show an in depth understanding of two traditions, focusing on how these religions manifest themselves through ritual, theology, asceticism, or a current practice, etc. This will be accomplished by choosing one person, concept, place or idea and comparing how these two religions view this singular thing. The topic will be selected by the student but will need to be approved by the instructor, following approval the student will write a prospectus, wherein this idea will be spelled out further. (see the paper guideline and suggestions for ideas)