A foreign paramilitary organization, motivated in part by religious beliefs, destroyed the World Trade Center as a response to American foreign policy. The Christian Right, we are warned, is a movement dominated by theocrats who wish to govern the United States while guided by Biblical principles. Orthodox Jewish settlers push further into Israeli-occupied territory in Palestine, further unsettling a Middle East seemingly dominated by millennia-old religious vendettas. Religion and politics clearly have something to do with each other; in many cases, their interactions have crucial effects on political outcomes.
For much of the last century, despite the growing evidence that religion continued to affect politics and vice versa, many social scientists pretended that the two actually were growing apart. Thanks to recent events and the efforts of a few committed scholars, the study of religion and politics is now a growing subfield of political science. Scholars can no longer ignore religion’s important consequences for political outcomes, both in the United States and across the globe.
In this class, we’ll look at the ways in which religion and politics interact. We will focus somewhat on the contemporary United States—mainly due to the instructor’s expertise—but will also look to examples from other contexts and countries. After an overview of some important definitions and concepts from the study of religion and politics, we will examine “conservative” and “liberal” religion (with these terms used loosely), ranging from liberal social movements like civil rights to the religious fundamentalists found in all major religions. Next we will investigate religious doctrines of war and peace, and also examine challenges to religion’s role in politics offered by atheists and other critics. We will also include an examination of selected, contemporary public policy issues that have a religious dimension, such as abortion and marriage equality; these latter topics likely will provide the basis for student research papers. By the end of the course, we should have a better understanding of how religion impacts political and public life, for better and for worse.
Required Texts
Students are encouraged to purchase the following book:
Religion and Politics in the United States
Kenneth D. Wald, Allison Calhoun-Brown (eds)
Fifth Edition (2007)
ISBN: 9780742540415
This book is available from Shakespeare and Company (939 Lexington Avenue, at 69th Street). You may be able to find a less expensive used copy online. If you purchase online or elsewhere, however, make sure that you can get the book in a timely fashion.
Additional readings may be assigned throughout the semester through the use of handouts, library resources, and online links at the course website.
Course Requirements
-- Come to class prepared. Complete all required readings beforehand, and bring your readings to class.
-- Participate. Attend class regularly and on time—you cannot participate if you are not present—and join your colleagues in critical analysis of the assigned readings. In order to encourage participation, you will be asked to complete the following assignment:
- Summaries. Write nine (9) one-page summaries of assigned readings throughout the course of the semester. Guidelines for summary writing will be distributed during class at the beginning of the semester. In general, you can submit summaries whenever you would like, with the following restriction: one summary must be completed in September, with an additional one (two in total) due by the mid-term exam. Still, I encourage you to WRITE YOUR SUMMARIES EARLY – do not wait until the end of the semester, or you may run out of time to complete your required number. Summaries must be submitted electronically before class (see below).
- Exams. You will be given two examinations during the course, a mid-term and a final. The final exam focuses primarily on material covered in the second half of the course, but may build upon and refer to material discussed earlier. Exams will consist of brief essay questions, with the questions distributed in advance. Questions will be based on the required readings and on classroom discussions.
- Paper Assignments. A 12-15 page research paper is required, with final draft due towards the end of class. As part of your research, you will be required to submit an annotated bibliography, which will be graded separately from the paper. Details for the assignment, including deadlines and instructions, will be distributed in class during the semester.
- Using a web browser, go to http://www.turnitin.com.
- Click on “New Users Click Here” in the upper right corner of the screen. Create a student profile using the class ID of 2599515 and enrollment password randp09.
- Follow the remaining enrollment instructions. Remember your user name (which should be your e-mail address) and password for future access.
Your grade will be based on your written work and your class participation. Course requirements will be weighted as follows when calculating your grade:
Annotated Bibliography: 10%
Paper: 25%
Grading criteria will be included when the paper assignments are distributed. A one letter grade penalty will be imposed upon late papers without valid documentation (e.g., medical emergency).
Exams: 45%
Of the two exams, your lowest grade will be worth 20%, while your highest will be worth 25%. Make-up exams will be given only when proper documentation for the absence is provided.
Participation: 20%
Submission of all required summaries establishes a base participation grade of B. Failure to submit a summary will lower this grade by one-third of a letter (e.g., B to B-). Excessive lateness or absences may lead to further reductions, while frequent and thoughtful contributions to class discussion will have the opposite effect.
Incomplete grades will be assigned only for a valid and documented cause, for a length of time specified by the instructor when the documentation is accepted.
Academic Integrity
Students should be aware of the college’s policies regarding cheating, plagiarism and any other kind of academic misconduct as outlined in the MMC Academic Honesty Policy. These policies will be discussed briefly during the first class, and are available here and at the course website. Students who have questions or concerns about their written work should discuss these with the instructor before submitting any assignments.
Special Needs
Any student who is learning disabled, whose primary language is other than English, or who has other special needs and may thus require special accommodations should notify me immediately.
Course Schedule (subject to change)
RELIGION AND POLITICS: AN OVERVIEW
Tuesday, February 3
Introduction and Course Overview
Thursday, February 5
What is Religion?
Tuesday, February 10
Secularization
Thursday, February 12
Religious Interests
Tuesday, February 17
Religious Action
Thursday, February 19
Church and State
Tuesday, February 24
American Religion – Demographics
Thursday, February 26
American Political Culture
CONSERVATIVE RELIGION
Tuesday, March 3
Morals in Politics
Thursday, March 5
Christian Evangelicals in the United States
Tuesday, March 10
Christian Evangelicals in the United States (continued)
Exam Review
Thursday, March 12
MID-TERM EXAMINATION
Tuesday, March 17
NO CLASS – HONORS DAY
Thursday, March 19
NO CLASS – INSTRUCTOR CONFERENCE
Tuesday, March 24
Religious Fundamentalism
LIBERAL RELIGION
Thursday, March 26
Social Movements
Tuesday, March 31
Religion and State-Building
Thursday, April 2
Liberation theology
Tuesday, April 7 - Thursday, April 9
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
WAR AND PEACE
Tuesday, April 14
Just War Theory
Thursday, April 16
Islamic Jihad
Tuesday, April 21
The “War on Terror”
RELIGION AND PUBLIC POLICY
Thursday, April 23
Evolution
Tuesday, April 28
Abortion
Thursday, April 30
Marriage Equality
Tuesday, May 5
T.B.D.
Thursday, May 7
T.B.D.
CHALLENGING RELIGION
Tuesday, May 12
The “Proper” Role of Religion
Thursday, May 14
Atheism and Secularism
Exam Review
Tuesday, May 19
FINAL EXAM
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