REL 252 - Religion and Politics in the Contemporary World

SP E
Religion is often taken to be a root cause of intolerance and violence, discrimination against women, and an anti-modernist world view. Despite this perception, religion has been central to the upsurge of recent grassroots, democratic, and anti-authoritarian movements. This course explores what Martha Nussbaum calls the “clash within” - the struggles within religious traditions regarding their political activism -in order to understand the relationships between religion, politics, and culture in the contemporary world. It examines religious texts, histories, ethnographies, and political theory, and concludes with students’ independent research projects. Satisfies the Global Issues General Education requirement and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion requirement.

(Cr: 3)