A Sample Paper Outline is Included in These Guidelines Below!!
Format: 200 to 250 word discussion of your topic. Double-spaced. Aim to include your major research question. Please include a brief bibliography of three to four academic sources. Please note that not all web resources are academic. You will want to spend some time early on in the process of working on this paper determining what sources will work best for your topic as well as which sources are credible, reliable, and scholarly.
Suggested Research Paper Topics
David Koresh and Waco
Religious Fundamentalism and the Rise of the Christian Right
Apocalyptic World Views: Comparative Perspectives
Theoretical Approaches to the Study of Jonestown
The Solar Temple and Apocalyptic Violence
Sayyid Qutb
Sample Research Paper Outline
Jonestown was attractive to many people because of the charismatic leadership of Jim Jones. Few, however, could have expected the tragic end of the People’s Temple in 1978. In my research paper, I will explore whether or not Jonestown was a cult or an apocalyptic religious movement. Using autobiographical accounts of former members of the People’s Temple and other works, my paper will examine three issues: who joins cults, the steps of indoctrination, and the utopian message of an apocalyptic religious system of beliefs. I am also especially interested in examining what Appel calls the “physiology of brainwashing” because it seems that this approach will help to understand the different reactions from the general public, members, and ex-members to the People’s Temple as a “cult”.
Preliminary Bibliography
Apocalypse Observed. Eds. J. Hall. P. Schuyler, & S. Trinh. Routledge Press, 200.
E. Barker. New Religious Movements. London, 1989.
W. Appel. Cults in America. Holt, 1983.
D. Chidester. Salvation and Suicide. Indiana University Press, 2003.
