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It’s not every day that you get asked by a site like HubPages to judge a competition that has such a high standard of competitors that it’s mind-blowing.

The US contingent of my fellow hubbers have been battling it out for 24 days now as they challenge themselves, not only mentally, but physically, as they strive towards a fantastic prize worth $5000. With these tools WEAPONS in your hubbing arsenal I’m excited to see what the winner starts to publish (after they’ve got over what might stretch out to be a week-long celebration).

The topic for todays heat that I am to judge is RELIGION and I’m unsure how many entries would have been made (likely dozens and dozens) and the level of quality (which has usually been very high) but the five finalists have all got exceptional hubs. It’s not going to be easy. I’m already onto my second coffee.

The criteria for judging is this: originality, usefulness, interesting and engaging.

And I gotta say, the five finalists have ALL that.

Lets look at them shall we: Wiccan Rituals, A Family Squabble 4000 Years Old, The Human Personality According to Egyptian Mythology, Medieval Cathedrals of Europe and An Atheists Guide to Religion.

After much deliberation (and caffiene) I’ve chosen An Atheists Guide to Religion for the first place. I take it that Hub Author Lissie is an atheist. And guess what, I’m not. But I liked the way she broke it all down. This reminded me of those “Mystery Shoppers” that marketing companies send along to businesses to get an outsiders perspective of the business. Instead it’s a “Mystery Worshipper” experience. It has a light hearted approach but it doesn’t overstep the mark into being mocking. Well done Lissie on your road test of religions.

Now having chosen a favorite doesn’t make the task of selecting a second place winner any easier, in fact it’s even more onerous, because the pack is so close. In second place I’ve selected The Human Personality According to Egyptian Mythology. If it were a article title in a magazine (and mind you I only have a passing interest in Ancient Egypt, I was more into the Roman Empire when I was doing history at school) it would have grabbed my attention completely. It was a very unique viewpoint that I myself hadn’t been exposed to.

Mind you, can I mention that Medieval Cathedrals of Europe came in very close? That there was just a hairs breadth between them? Reading it I felt that I had the manuscript for a top documentary in the making that would eventually be seen on the History Channel. But I had to choose just one so Whitney’s hub snuck over the line just ahead of Stacie in a photo finish.