What are the meanings of the different fasts from the perspective of the tradition? What challenges does this fasting give to practitioners of this food-restriction? Have you ever fasted for a day or more?
(Please copy and paste your choice of question as your header so that readers know what you are writing about)View Full Description
Forum Topic Week 3 Food and Religion: (Please copy and paste your choice of question as your header so that readers know what you are writing about)
Select one of the following questions:
1. Pick either Jewish or Muslim dietary laws and explain which foods are forbidden, which foods are most admired and which have special meanings for a life transition, like a wedding, funeral, etc. Explain the meaning of these do’s and don’ts from the perspective of the tradition you chose. References from your texts or another peer-reviewed or high-quality source required.
2. Examine fasting in a religious tradition. What are the meanings of the different fasts from the perspective of the tradition? What challenges does this fasting give to practitioners of this food-restriction? Have you ever fasted for a day or more? Do you, or have you in the past, followed specific cultural or faith-based dietary laws? How did you experience that?
3. Hindu sacred texts consider the cow a sacred animal and Indian laws protect these animals from harm in nearly all circumstances. Respect and protection for cattle has become a widely-promoted and deeply-felt cultural value in Hindu society. Anthropologists and sociologists theorize several practical reasons for why this prohibition might have started. Outline these theories and evaluate them, including specific examples.
Learning Objectives completed this week include:
Differentiate the meaning various foods play in the cultural traditions and beliefs of peoples world-wide
Analyze a variety of religious, economic, medical and ecological reasons for the various different foods people choose to consume
Instructions for all Forums:
Each week, learners will post one initial post per week. This post must demonstrate comprehension of the course materials, the ability to apply that knowledge in the real world. Learners will engage with the instructor and peers throughout the learning week. To motivate engaged discussion, posts are expected to be on time with regular interaction throughout the week. All posts should demonstrate college level writing skills. To promote vibrant discussion as we would in a face to face classroom, formatted citations and references are not required. Quotes should not be used at all, or used sparingly. If you quote a source quotation marks should be used and an APA formatted citation and reference provided.
