REL 126
Religion, Politics, and Society: A Global Perspective Spring 2022
Division II Difference, Power, and Equity
Cross-listed GBST 101 / PSCI 126
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

In spite of predictions that religion would wither away in the face of modernization, even casual observation indicates that it remains a powerful force in contemporary political life. Our goal is to obtain an enhanced understanding and appreciation of the salience of religion in public life. The course will be divided into three parts. The first part focuses on different theoretical approaches to making sense of the relation between religion, politics, and society, discussing especially the concept of the ‘secular’ in Western thought and decolonial critique thereof. The second part will take a global perspective on the relation between religion and politics. We will discuss cases of Buddhism, Christianity (Catholicism and Protestantism), Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam (Sunni and Shi’a), and Judaism. The third part focuses on religion in the USA. Here, we will discuss the role of religion in American political culture, the relation of religion to the state, the relevance of religious interests and their political mobilization, religious minorities in the United States, and many other aspects of religion in the US society. Although the study of religion and politics raises a host of deep philosophical questions, the principal aim of the course is to understand how religion affects politics (and vice versa), rather than to explore the normative dimensions of questions raised by the interaction of these two forces.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 35
Expected: 25
Class#: 3939
Grading: no pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: Class participation and three papers, in these proportions: 10% attendance; 20% participation; 20% first paper (7 pages); 30% second paper (8-10 pages); and 20% third paper (7 pages). No final exam.
Prerequisites: none
Enrollment Preferences: Global Studies concentrators and intended concentrators; Religion majors and intended majors
Unit Notes: Core course for GBST
Distributions: Division II Difference, Power, and Equity
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
GBST 101 Division II REL 126 Division II PSCI 126 Division II
DPE Notes: An engagement with religious difference in the world, with a spotlight on how religion and politics--that is, power--interact globally and in the USA.

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