General instructions: In order to write your essay, you may consult any of the assigned readings and your notes on them. You may NOT consult: other people, google, wikipedia, or the internet. You may not copy text from your previous papers, writing assignments, or exams- you are expected to generate an original essay. Failure to comply with these instructions will mean failing the exam. The question asks you to accurately summarize two readings. You may choose to write about any reading from the semester EXCEPT Ahmadu’s article on female genital cutting and Deborah Miranda’s article “Extermination of the Joyas” since those were on the mid-term.  Prompt 1: “At first glance, the connection we draw between religious freedom and sexual freedom may seem strange, for at least two reasons: (1) religion is most often cited as the fundamental opponent to sexual freedom…” Pellegrini and Jakobsen, Love the Sin, “The Free Exercise of Sex” In the latter half of the course we have explored examples of how sex and religion become entangled in U.S. politics. A number of authors in the course of the semester have addressed these questions, in discussions of teen purity movements and sex education, debates over conversion therapy, and in the documentary God Loves Uganda, to name a few. Choose two authors we read this semester- they can be any authors EXCEPT for the ones used for the mid-term. God Loves Uganda counts as a reading. Each of the two Pellegrini and Jakobsen chapters counts as a separate reading. These two readings do not have to be topically related (so you do not need to choose a reading that addresses queer and trans people to pair with Love the Sin, for example.)  Using the two readings that you chose, write an essay that connects them and explores the relationship between religion, sex, and politics (defined broadly). You should include a thesis statement in the introduction to the essay that tells me what you will argue. In addition to your introduction, spend at least one paragraph on each reading, accurately summarizing the main points of each reading, and demonstrating your understanding of the larger argument in the two readings you choose. Do not just restate the quote.  Make sure your essay makes a strong argument that connects the two readings. Your argument might answer one of the following questions: how do the readings answer the question of why religion and sex (which are often assumed to be practiced in private) has so much impact on the realm of (public) politics? How are the readings understanding and defining religion and sex? Are there implications that broadly address the challenges (or importance of) studying religion and sex together? Or you may choose to connect your articles without answering one of the questions above. Either way, you should have an argument. Do try to make a strong and specific argument that avoids generalizations (avoid statements such as: all religions believe x; all people practice x type of sex, etc.)  Feel free to disagree with the the authors (or my interpretations from lecture) but you must be able to summarize and reproduce the arguments of authors we read for class before presenting your interpretation. You do not need to quote directly from the articles, just demonstrate knowledge of them.