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Special Topics in Social Policy (351-0-21)

Topic

Religion, Politics, and Policy

Instructors

Lilah Shapiro

Meeting Info

Annenberg Hall G02: Tues, Thurs 2:00PM - 3:20PM

Overview of class

Religion is important. Beginning in the mid-1800s, social and political theorists such as Marx, Weber, Freud, Durkheim, and more posited that with modernization religion would play a decreasingly important role, as the world marched inextricably towards secularization. This reality, however, has never come to fruition. From the founding of the United States as nation, to nearly every large-scale social justice movement, to the missions and actions of hate groups, to contemporary local school board meetings, and so on, religion is fundamentally woven into the fabric of American culture and politics and continues to play a key (sometimes explicit, sometimes hidden) role in shaping policymaking at all levels. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this seminar-style course will seek to understand the role that religion plays in contemporary American politics and policy, broadly defined. By looking at how religions and religious beliefs interact with a variety of other types of individual and collective identities and discourses, such as ethnicity, race, gender, and American-ness, we will aim to gain insight into the importance and role of religion in the distribution of power and resources, in shaping and constraining democratic processes and social change, and in the self-concept and role/actions of the US worldwide.