How to Write Religion Papers

Not all religion papers will be written exactly the same. 

The three primary styles of religion papers that will be encountered are: 

  • Doctrinal/Theological
  • Historical
  • Hermeneutical/Exegetical

Religion courses commonly use Turabian style for source citation.

The course outline and class description will determine the style. 

Systematic Theology: Coherent, topical examination regarding issues pertaining to the Christian faith.

Examples: 

  • Justification, Predestination, Atonement

Historical Theology: Examination of the formation and articulation of the theological ideas of a historical person or group. 

Example:

  • Augustine's view of the Church

Biblical Theology: Comprehensive examination of the theology articulated in the Bible. 

Examples:

  • Sin in Genesis 3, Jeremiah 2, Romans 1

Comparative Theology: Examination of the theological positions of two or more opposing groups.

Example:

  • Christian v. Muslim view of God

According to the requirements of the class, determine a topic.

Examples:

  • Trinity, Attributes of God (Love, Justice, Sovereignty, Omniscience, Perfection, Holy Spirit, Communion)

Determine a thesis or argument based upon the chosen topic.

Examples:

  • In Communion, the body and blood of Jesus Christ are present in, with, and under the bread and the wine.

Searching Resources

  • Possible resources: Computer Databases, Internet, Books, Journals, Ecumenical Councils, Creeds, Confessions

Printing/Making Copies

  • After printing, highlight the relevant information.
  • Paraphrase important information in the margins.

Cite each resource in a bibliography (most likely in Turabian format)

Introduce the paper with a bold, broad, interesting, universal statement and move toward a narrow, identifiable statement of the argument. This statement of the argument is called a thesis. 

Prove the thesis with Scripture, sources, and reason. 

Provide viable answers for conceivable arguments against the thesis. 

Conclude the paper with a short restatement of the thesis and identify its broader applications and implications.

  • Discover events of interest.
  • Learn what scholars say pertaining to these events.
  • Analyze their observations and develop a thesis or argument. 
  • Possible resources; books, journals, Interent, databases.
  • Introduce the paper with a broad sweep of the event or person researched. 
  • Determine an argument based upon the sources.
  • Prove the argument from sources. 
  • Conclude the paper with a restatement of the thesis of the paper and perhaps briefly discuss the present application. 

"Exegesis" comes from the Greek word for "to lead out". The purpose of an exegesis paper is to "lead out" the original meaning of a biblical text. 

Pick a section of verses in Scripture that is connotatively ambiguous. (Most of the Bible fits this parameter.)

Possible sources include: 

  • Commentaries (Word Biblical and New American are great)
  • Greek/English Lexicons (NT), Hebrew/English Lexicons (OT)
  • Word Studies
  • Confessions
  • Books
  • Articles

With reference to the format of a paper, a professor's word is the law. However, if no format is specified, organizing the paper into subcategories is remarkably helpful.

  • Introduction: Introduce the text and briefly explicate the obscurities of the selected text. 
  • Setting: Date/Authorship/Recipients/Occasion/Surrounding Culture
  • Structure: Genre/Form (Diatribe, Epistle, Gospel/Linear, Rhetorical)
  • Syntax: The way the sentences are put together. This is where one would go through the text and grammatically diagram the parts of speech and determine the modifiers. 
  • Semantics: The meanings of the individual words in the sentences. Identify the words which create interpretive difficulty and study them. How many times are they used in the Bible? How are the words in question used in other contexts?
  • Summation: Based on the information gathered above, what did the text originally mean?
  • Significance: Given the original meaning, how might one apply this text today?
  • Conclusion: What was discovered concerning this text by means of exegesis?