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Paper instructions:

Write a formal essay including an introductory paragraph with a thesis, a body of two or three paragraphs that support or explore the thesis, and a conclusion which restates the thesis.  So, drawing out the religious messages of the Shinto myth of origin, the eight Japanese islands are of divine origin, the Japanese people are of divine origin, and the Japanese emperor has the great goddess Amaterasu as an ancestor.  Basing your response on your own research, what other religions regard a piece of land as a gift of God or the gods, and what other religions regard their leaders as divine or as special agents of God or the gods?  How, for example, does the Jewish story about God creating and giving “The Holy Land” to the Jews compare to the Shinto story about the gods creating and giving the islands of Japan to the Japanese people?  How, for example, does the Christian notion of Jesus being God's son and leader of the Christians compare to the Shinto notion of the Japanese emperor being a descendent of the sun goddess, Amaterasu?  What other religions consider rulers divine?  What other religions consider other pieces of land divine?