The documentary Pray Away made in 2021 netflix movie is about the “conversion therapy” movement and its harm to the LGBTQ community. I am very curious to learn more and write a paper based on the information I am going to observe when watching this film. The documentary looks really interesting. The conversion therapy that it examines most likely comes out of conservative evangelical Christian churches. How do these churches legitimize this therapy within their systems of religious belief. What does this do to young people as they try to navigate their sexual orientation or gender identity? This is a hugely important topic, although so depressing when you think of young people with extremely religiously conservative parents and churches.
As your final project, you have two options that will produce a 6-8 page paper.
First, you can participate in some religious ritual, do a bit of research, and analyze that experience. In your analysis you will reflect on how your experience relates to the major world religions, to religious belief, religious ritual, the sacred, gender, race, ethnicity, etc.
For example, you could attend a service at a church, synagogue, temple, or mosque; attend a rite of passage; participate in a dinner that focused on a religious holiday; attend some sort of alternative spiritual ritual like a wicca meeting or a Native American pow wow; have an in-depth interview with a friend or acquaintance who is a member of a religion about his/her experiences.
You must research your experience and analyze it using concepts from the sociology of religion.
OR you may select a documentary film related to religion and write a critical review of the film using concepts from the course. You will also want to do some additional research on the subject of the film so that you are well-informed in your discussion.
You must submit a 6 to 8 page paper, double spaced, complete with a works-cited page, two weeks before the last day of class.
A well-written, well argued paper will analyze the experience/film using concepts from our course throughout.
