Mar 28, 2024  
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog 
    
2018-2019 Undergraduate Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

POL 3153 - Politics & Religion

Credits: 4
This course evaluates the influence of religion on politics through a blend of empirical, historical, normative, and legal approaches. The course will consider topics such as: the proper role of religion in public life; the role of religion in the American founding; the relationship between free exercise and establishment in American and international law; the balance between secularism, religion, and free speech; the relationship between religious belief and political behavior; the role of religious doctrine in public justification; the effect of religion on foreign policy; the political institutions of religious and non-religious nations; the correlation between religion and conflict; just war theory; the historical development of church/state relations. The course will both engage with the theoretical work from ancient and contemporary thinkers and be informed by empirical research. We will pay special attention to the intersection of normative theory and empirical inquiry.