In this study, the most important values to take away are the ways in which religion influences social and political mentality. I provided a heavy amount of investigation by observing various speeches given by intellectuals, politicians, and extremists to challenge my awareness of this religious spectrum. Faith and practice can be applied in many forms, and by learning of them I can see the variety of different outcomes in which people respond to another’s way of life or beliefs. This also allowed me to see how politics or a country’s law and order are dictated by faith and beliefs. I studied a piece by Plato called The Apology of Socrates; a translated document in which Plato and Socrates explain logic and reason to defend Socrates in his trial for not upholding religious law. This was a resource that allowed me to see how logic and reasoning are allied in debates and speeches in order to conduct thorough points. I then studied various speeches by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Christopher Hitchens, discussion between Imam and a Muslim homosexual, David Cameron and guest speakers in a British talk host show. From these I saw how reasoning was obscured by religious extremism, its influence over people, and atheist analysis of belief. All of this helped me develop my speech to show my research and allow me to express my interpretation of religion philosophically just as one would try to persuade an audience.
Aftermath Reflection
Why did you choose your topic?
By choosing to focus on the topic I chose, theology and political power, I was able to study deeper into the building blocks of societies. I was interested to learn about how religion influences major control over the function of countries.
What did you hope to provoke in the listeners/viewers of your speech?
I wanted to provoke a philosophical interpretation life; in turn modifying the extremist practice of religion and using logic to evaluate the true purpose of religion in human welfare. It was important for me to try and redefine the purpose of religious application in order to dictate how common interpretations are causing major flaws in society mentality.
In what ways were you satisfied with your work and performance on this milestone?
I felt confident being able to share my personal ideas and connect it to the message of the lesson. I believe that by sharing philosophical ideas and connecting it to my study of reasoning and speech, I can teach or inspire different ways to look at religion.
What skills do you possess that contributed to your success?
I study various religious texts for philosophical purposes, and have some personal religious identification. I have taken the time to build my skills by studying texts and speeches to render what I gain into a motivational and purposeful lesson without ignorance of other faiths.
What were some of the challenges that you incurred in assembling your speech?
Admittedly, it is difficult for me to articulate points during the speech because I needed a concrete method of sharing my ideas along with my studies. I was hoping to connect what I learned by studying the different perspectives of religion to morals/lessons that can be taken away from it.
How could you have performed better on this milestone?
If I were to rework my presentation, I would have tried writing the speech down, while considering a natural flow to the order in which I stated my points. What I had done was take notes of various particles of my studies and connected them through philosophy. But as a different approach, I should have pre-written in order to clarify or correct certain major points.
What skills were required in this exercise that warrant further work, development?
Skills that are required to warrant further work and development would be studying various resources and learning how to extract concepts from them. These skills can then be used in future academia to be useful when trying to focus on an area of interest, and making it complement pre-examined studies. This also will enhance further decisions to provoke new teachings within that area of interest.
How would you describe your overall sense of accomplishment in this activity?
I feel that I have learned many different strategies to direct my thinking into focused topics. I feel that I have accomplished in areas of developing self-driven lessons, which reflects how I want to drive my learning experience into something important and personal.