I would say go for a minor one. Read up about some of them and just choose one that you've always wondered about. Even ask "why DO they do that anyway"... now is your time to find out.

I disagree.  Go to a major church, like a Christian, Jewish, or Muslim service.  It would be easier to start big and work your way down.  Comparative religions is a fun and difficult class if you are interested in really learning about the various religions.  The big ones are more main stream and a good place to start.  You can branch off to the small ones as you progress and learn more.

Have fun!

Hindu or Buddhist sounds good to me, as does Zoroastrianism. Although considering you said that Buddhism might be hard to write for I say Hinduism. Lots of neat stuff in it.

Wow, this sounds like a very exciting assignment! I would pick the Hindu or Jewish religion. Both sound very interesting.

NordicWarrior : Correct, since in my assignment I have to describe what is happening in the group in about 1000 words. So trying to explain meditation in about 1000 words might be a challenge.


Keep the responses coming guys. This paper isn't due till a week before Easter, so I'm hoping to get a fair number of responses to help me choice.

I'd recommend going for a Buddhist one, honestly. It may seem hard to do, but really, the ones that always seem "hard" are the easiest ones, from what I've picked up on from personal experience. Plus, it'd be more interesting to learn about that one than the others, since they're one of the lesser popularized ones today (As far as I know), Nya~.

If it is a comperative religion cource, arent you supoused to have at least some sort of knowledge of these religions? And if you dont, google them up. I doubt none of them are "easy"if you have no comprehension of any of them but my vote would in your case go for muslim or jew since they are pretty much the same stuff as christianity deep down. Atleast in the way that christianity and islam are both offshoots of judaism.

I'd go with the Jewish church. I've always been interested to see how Judaism differs from the protestant way of thinking. XD Enjoy the paper!

"christian church...latin."
Just as it says. Certain sects believe latin is how the bible should be read. For hundreds of years every church read it in latin, even though most people couldnt understand it.
The vatican still holds latin services, but frankly, few people are fluent in it.
Juidism, islam and christianity are 3 seperate arms of one faith, id widen my horizons and take another.
I take it you meant sikh (skiihism).
Since thats practiced mostly in kashmier, between india and pakistan, id imagine its like islam or hinduism, probably the latter since i think islam was the last to enter that theatre.
I wouldnt necessarily say they're easiest, but id go for hinduism, sikhism or budism. Or shintoism if you can track that down. Theyre very different to the european religions, it could prove interesting.
Especialy buddism or shintoism, they are all about spirituality and 'oneness' with the earth, not god. Many non religious people adopt their practices because they really calm them and help them focus on whats important in their lives.
Thats what id choose.
And as for full gospel church, id imagine they follow all of the bible, theyre probably strictly orthodox.

Every catholic church had their masses in latin, yes but I was just wondering at what languages did the coptic, armenian and orthodox churches have their masses in the middle ages and before? If anybody has knowledge of this, I would like to know.

Brigand : Well I took the comparative religion course to learn more about religion. That and it was going to be a building block for me to maybe pick a faith; but I'm going to wait for the end of the course since we've only finished Hinduism.

I'm ruling out Zoroastrianism as a choice. Even thou it's an interesting religion and I find it quite fascinating; the nearest Zoroastrianist church is about 40 miles away.

While I do find Islam interesting enough that I want to learn more about it; as a Political Science major if I attempt to join politics the whole me attending a Mosque might make me viewed badly by the Catholics (lot of them in my area) and the Jews. I might do Islam if I'm unable to find a Temple that will let me join (highly doubtful they will turn me away.)

Oldschool41 :

I doubt you will have to actually join. Just say you are there to understand the whatever religion you want to study. I highly even doubt you have to participate in the actual worship either, but you might give it a go if you really want to get in to it.

And if you are worried about your political carere, just say you were studying. No harm in that, is there? But if you are really worried, just go for the jews.

But if you have your heart set on the muslims, contact the Imam of their mosque first and state your purpouse. I am sure he will understand.

Oldschool:

Go for Islam. I am from a city just outside of Detroit called Dearborn. I am sure you may have heard it in the news with the whole Terry Jones thing. But Dearborn is not all Muslim. There is a large Catholic community stemming from the large Italian/Polish population. Living my whole life as a Catholic and constantly interacting with Muslim people while growing up has given me a whole new perspective on the religion. A misconception a lot of people have is that Islam is a violent radical religion. But it is actually far from it. There is SOOOOO many well adjusted Muslim families in the community. People that I am proud to call my friends. Culturally speaking, the similarities between Catholicism and Islam are numerous. It emphasizes family, hard work, respect for others and a deep devotion to the faith  If you haven't made a choice already look into Islam and if possible check out some stuff on Dearborn. It is really great example of how two cultures can come together to maintain a great community.