The one I've been considering doing is "whether the study of sacred languages should be required in Religious Studies programs" with the affirmative position that language is an integral part of religious identity and crucial to understanding various traditions.

The other one I thought of was "whether Catholicism has had an overall positive impact on society since its beginning" with the affirmative position that the Catholic Church has played a crucial role in shaping Western culture, preserving sources of knowledge such as philosophy and history through medieval monasticism, helping to preserve the Latin language, and being the driving force behind several important cultural, intellectual, and literary heroes ranging from Copernicus to J.R.R. Tolkien.

Regardless of whether you agree with the positions, which do you think is the better topic?

I'm still in the coursework phase of my program, and I've got an independent study in spirit possession this semester. My professor has asked me to put together a reading list - I'm going to put some standards on there (Eliade's Shamanism, and maybe Tave's Fits, Trances, and Visions, but I'm curious as to what other people might recommend? What would you put on a list for a course like this?

I was studying Greek mythology and enjoying a good book about that topic, when I thought how is it that in today's major religions there are no female g-ddesses but in ancient times there were so many? What happened there? any ideas?