Initial Research: 

Identify a selection of literature of your own choosing where you have identified the presence and/or influence of religion. This selection of literature should not conventionally be considered a religious text (e.g., a sacred book or literature where a specific religion is a qualifier for the genre) in the same way as the three books you have read in this class. “Literature” can include a range of genres including novels, memoirs, drama/plays, comic books, etc. 

2. Context: Throughout this class you have learned to identify and analyze the presence and influence of religion in facets of society where many people do not conventionally expect, such as with American civil religion. You have also learned to see this more specifically in the context of literature. In your research you have now identified this type of connection in a selection of literature of your own. 

3. Imagine you are writing to persuade an audience of your scholar peers who do not expect to find religion in any unexpected places. They believe religion is generally compartmentalized from most of the rest of human experience and obvious when found  7 only in expressly religious books and authors. Write a persuasive essay identifying and analyzing the presence and influence of religion on your selection of literature.