Based on the documents in Jerry Falwell and the Rise of the Religious Right: A Brief History with Documents by Matthew Avery Sutton
(Links to an external site.). You may choose to consult additional sources as long as you use and cite them appropriately.
It should have a clear introduction to the topic and a thesis statement that summarizes your main points as well as a conclusion that recaps or elaborates on your main points and restates your overall thesis.
For your essay, choose three of the five main themes (“Modern Evangelicalism Comes of Age,” “Race and Religious Activism,” “The Battle for the Schools,” “Focusing on the Family,” and/or “God and the GOP”). Select two documents from each of the three groups (total of six primary documents– but you do not need to specify which themes you chose in the essay). Formulate a thesis regarding the reasons for the rise of the “Religious Right” based on the main concerns you see reflected in these documents. Consider the following as you analyze the documents:
In what ways do you see these authors responding to the cultural changes (civil rights movement, women’s movement, sexual revolution, etc.) of the 1960s and 1970s? How do these writers and speakers define “Christian values” and “morality”? What role do they argue morality should have in American society– and to what extent do they suggest the government should promote a certain version of morality? (You can choose any or all of these questions to address with your thesis and main points.)
It should use at least six (6) documents. The bulk of your essay should be focused on analyzing the primary sourcesthat is, quoting or describing specific information from the documents, explaining what it means, and discussing how these examples relate to your thesis.
This analysis should also explain the author and purpose of each documentwho wrote it and why? What do we know about the author? What kind of document is it and what was its purpose (or intended audience)?
Use secondary sources like your textbook, American Yawp text and other module content as well as the introductions to the sources to provide background information on your topic and context for the documents as you discuss them. Use contextual or background information to establish the topic’s significance and explain what was going on when and where each document was produced (or what kind of impact they had).
tips:
– You will most likely encounter ideas you disagree with, and you will notice that some of the documents express ideas that today most of us would consider racist, sexist, or homophobic. But your job is not simply to point those out and disagree with them. Your job is to provide historical analysis by explaining who the authors are, what they believe, and why. If you would like to elaborate on the ideas and your opinion about their place in our society today, the conclusion is a good place to do that.
do not divide your essay up with subheadings; good transitions and topic sentences to make the arguments clear will be rewarded
Format: MLA
length: 4-5 pages double spaced, 12 point font, 1 inch margins.
