COURSE OUTLINE NOW UNDER CONSTRUCTION
RELIGION AND POLITICS
Spring, 2009
POLS 279
Professor Paul Conway
Wednesdays 6-8:30; Fitz 313 Office: 410 Fitzelle
Objectives: A primary objective is to encourage a
thoughtful, comparative approach to governmental policies that encourage or
discourage the practice of religion in this country and elsewhere. Likewise we
will look at how religious groups attempt to influence governments and public
opinion within countries as well as internationally. Students will recognize
the universality and diversity of religious practices throughout the world and
how some of the major religions are influenced by political, economic and
cultural conditions where they function. The course will encourage critical
thinking about politics and religion. Attention will be given to the language
of political and religious communication as well as encourage a search for
helpful comparisons or analogies of religions, political systems and their interactions.
A good dictionary is highly recommended. Political scientists are expected to
strive for objectivity but all of us - as enthusiastic learners - must admit
that we begin with some preconceptions and value preferences. We should
consider the study of religion and politics with respect for religion in
general and humility as well as curiosity, being wary of people who sound like `know-it-alls’.
Requirements: Attend classes regularly, take notes,
comment and ask questions. There will be three written assignments (generally
3-4 pages in length) and two tests (with objective and open-ended items).
Grades: The three assignment grades will be averaged and constitute 50% of the course grade; likewise the two test
grades will be averaged and constitute 50%. The quality of one’s
participation can improve the grade calculated by a factor of 10%. Incompletes
are only authorized when illness or unavoidable circumstances prevent the
completion of course requirements by the end of the semester. This is college policy.
PENDing grades will be assigned if three or
more exams or assignments indicate that a student’s writing
skills need to be improved in order to succeed at the college level and beyond.
Attendance is required. If you have to miss a
class due to illness or family emergency please leave a message with the
instructor and document the absence. Students who miss one quarter or more of
scheduled classes may be withdrawn from the course involuntarily.
Make up test and late
assignment policies
Arrangements for make up tests and the submission of overdue assignments are
the responsibility of the student and must be done within three days after one’s
return following an excused
absence.
Office hours are Tuesdays and Thursdays from
11:25-12 and 3:30-4:30. Wednesdays from 2-3.
Students are encouraged to drop by to discuss the readings, classes, the course
requirements, your academic situation, or whatever is of interest or concern.
If my scheduled hours are not convenient for you, I will be working in my
office at many other times throughout the week; simply call (436-3923) or
e-mail (conwaypg) beforehand to arrange a meeting that fits your schedule.
Academic dishonesty includes the unauthorized giving or receiving
of information on examinations and the failure to clearly indicate one’s
sources of information or
published statements used in written assignments. Faculty are
required by college policy to report all acts of academic dishonesty to the
Dean of Student Development
Participation: I urge you to question, contribute, disagree and
respond to one another, as well as to me. Any question is a good question. We
all learn through a process of getting actively involved. So let’s
do it.
Required readings will include a good number of reprints of
articles that will be distributed in class and four required books. (reprints referred to as R on the outline below)
John L Esposito, Darrell J Fasching, and Todd Lewis, Religion and Globalization:
World Religions in Historical Perspective
Isaac Kramnick
and R. Lawrence Moore, The Godless Constitution
Malise Ruthven, Fundamentalism Oxford Press very short introductions, 2008.
John Esposito Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam (
Mark Jergensmeyer Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence (Berkeley: University of California, 2004)
Useful and highly recommended
books that will occasionally be mentioned include the following:
Gabriel Almond and R. Scott Appleby and Emmanuel Sivan Strong
Religion: The Rise of Fundamentalisms Around the World (Chicago: University of Chicago,
2003)
Steve Bruce, Politics and Religion (Cambridge: Polity Press,
2003)
Jeff Haynes, Religion in Global Politics (London: Longman, 1998)
Jessica Stern, Terror in the Name of God: Why Religious Militants Kill (New
York: HarperCollins, 2003)
N.J. Demerath III, Crossing the Gods: World Religions and
Worldly Politics
New Brunswick: Rutgers 2003
Kevin Phillips, American
Theocracy: Radical Religion, Oil and Borrowed Money in the 21st
Century (New York: Penguin, 2006)
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5290373
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5398604
One Catholic’s view of Christian-Jewish fundamentalist influence on US
policies
http://ncronline.org/NCR_Online/archives/101102/101102a.htm
This course will examine some
aspects of Christianity in the
We might begin with some
questions about religion and politics:
Are science and religion
compatible? Is it possible to be objective about religion? What is politics?
What activities are assumed to be political? And what is religion? How do these
two basic, essential, indispensable human functions relate and interact in
societies throughout the world? Where do political and religious institutions
promote tolerance and cooperation? How can we explain those arrangements that
are relatively successful? And where do political and religious institutions
promote and perpetuate intolerance and conflict? What is a secular
government? Is it desirable or necessary to separate church and state in
democratic political systems? Is it possible? How do the major religious faiths
in this world differ in their political orientations? What is fundamentalism
and why is it a concern in every region of the world and with every major
religious movement? How can we explain the growth of violent, religious
radicalism over the last half century?
Outline of topics and readings
Dates
Reading assignments due
January
14 Nuts and bolts about this course: What
is politics? What is a political system? How are political groups
organized? What is religion? How do religious belief systems
differ from political ideologies? Are religious belief systems similar? How are
religious groups organized? Can we study religious institutions as political
systems? (Why not?) How do governments deal with
religious groups and how do religious groups relate to the state? How do
religions begin and how are they legitimized within a society and political
system
Is science antithetical to religion? Should scientists study religion? Carl Sagan’s thoughts.
A potentially useful link is the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion. http://www.sssrweb.org/
What
do you know about world religions now? http://pewforum.org/newassets/protheroquiz.pdf
The source of this quiz and data about religion in general
Stephen Prothero http://pewforum.org/events/?EventID=162
The Pew Foundation http://pewforum.org/religion-america/
Religion in America –survey research http://pewforum.org/world-affairs/countries/?CountryID=222
What do you believe? http://www.beliefnet.com/story/76/story_7665_1.html
For next Wednesday's class take the test and submit your reactions to the test on a single page.
(A) Scientology and other deviant
religions: How can we differentiate 'cults' from legitimate religions?
Should we? Is Scientology a legitimate religion or not? Explain.
23 What is Christianity? RG 37-108
What did Jesus really say? The “Jesus Seminar” is one scholarly
think tank of significant interest:
http://www.westarinstitute.org/Jesus_Seminar/jesus_seminar.html
or,
http://virtualreligion.net/forum
The politics that shaped the
development of Christianity Roman Catholicism, Eastern
Orthodoxy,
Protestantism Sketching some
political history e.g.
Reformation (Huss, Luther, Calvin )
Politics: The doctrine of the Trinity from the Council of Nicea (
http://www.gotquestions.org/council-of-Nicea.html
Luther’s effort to reform the Catholic church (95 theses posted in 1517)
The Gutenberg printing press (1455)
http://tmatt.gospelcom.net/column/1999/12/08/
Galileo’s challenge to orthodoxy http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/galileo/galileo.html
30 Religion in
America Is America a Christian nation? Is the
GC
11-66; 179-206
One historical
perspective is http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4631001 (handouts)
The Puritan influence
in America's political history; the intent of the 'founding fathers'
The American
experiment: Considering the Constitution
The proliferation of
diverse approaches to Christianity within the US and elsewhere (Handout plus http://www.pbs.org/mormons/view/ )
The U.S. Census Bureau includes data from three non-government studies in its
2006 Statistical Abstract of the United States.1
According to one of these studies, the 2001 American Religious Identification
Study (ARIS), 76.7% of the 2001
The Godless Constitution
Roger Williams and the argument for church-state separation
English roots to the secular state
GWBush and the wall of separation
February
6 GC 67-177
Jefferson as ‘infidel’
American Baptists and Jefferson
Sunday Mail and the Christian Amendment
Religious politics and moral dilemmas
The emergence of "fundamentalism" in
Excerpt from “Inherit the Wind” (The politics of interpreting
Genesis literally)
Virulent antisemitism and racism in American
extremist groups http://www.aryan-nations.org/
13 (A)
Catholics and Protestants in the
John Paul II http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/pope/etc/bio.html
Context, events Vatican II; Cold War; Extremes of unregulated capitalism;
Globalization;
John Paul’s legacy.
Examples of controversies and politics? 470 saints cannonised
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/octoberweb-only/10-20-52.0.html?start=2
exorcisms
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2003/octoberweb-only/10-20-52.0.html
the process??? http://www.explorefaith.org/news/05_24_05.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/02/opinion/02Martin.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
The communications bias in bureaucracy – bad news is squelched
Voices of the laity http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=51671
http://www.voiceofthefaithful.org/ (very active/2008)
Voices of the Faithful 12/6/08 http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=51671
Opus Dei http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei
20 No
class --- Break
Politics
in the Catholic Church (con’t)
Religion in America http://religions.pewforum.org/reports
Religion and the presidential campaign (con’t)
http://www.debbieschlussel.com/archives/2008/01/obamas_nation_o.html
nation of islam rhetoric
http://www.rickyhitmanhatton2.com/video/video/gRsTyJ56V48/honorable-min-farrakhan-brings-the-heat.html
27 The ancient story
of Abraham at the roots of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/abraham/index.shtml
NPR Interview - reading the Bible: Background to
Christianity and Judaism in political history
Problems with literal interpretations (con’t)
– e.g., in Genesis: two stories of creation?
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=01-30-2006&view=storyview
March
5 Judaism,
Zionism, and Israel (Guest speaker: Dr. Steve Gilbert, Psychology)
(handouts and online readings) http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/opinion/10gorenberg.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/10/opinion/10gorenberg.html?pagewanted=2
Extremism in the ultra-orthodox subculture of Israeli Jews http://www.masada2000.org/kahane.html
From the holy land (West
Bank) today - a story of olive trees
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5166204
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87870417
Christian Zionism/// US&Israel
http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/czionism.html
NPR report on AIPAC
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4660751
also Benjamin Schwarz essay http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200404/noteworthy
12 Islam: An
introduction. (Possible guest speaker: Dr Fida
Mohammad) Esposito in RG 187-286
19 *** Islam and Muslims in the contemporary world
American conservatives debate the essence of Islam (Robert Spencer
epitomizes the simplistic and distorted
carricature of Islam as intolerant and
militant
Sidebar on protest http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4693628.stm
26 No class ---
Break read
all of UW during break
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080330/ap_on_re_eu/vatican_muslims
April
2 Review and
overview of Judaism and Islam (bring
UW to class)
9 Hinduism
Hinduism, Sikhism, and politics in
16 Buddhism
and religious conflict in Southeast Asia and
23 (A)
RG
439-522
30 Conclusions
May
14 Exam
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Third Assignment
A Think Piece Essay comparing some aspect of Islam to the same belief or activity in another religion
e.g. The relations between Muslims and (Christians, Jews, Jains, Sikhs, etc?) in a particular state
The way Muslims and people in another religion imagine and describe the end of the world, heaven, and or hell?
Comparisons of how Muslims and people in another religion think about and deal with sex, law, war, proselytizing, apostasy, suicide, etc???
Comparisons of the how Muslims and Christians view the historical role(s) of Jesus and Mohammed as political leaders?
Comparisons of how Muslims and Jews view the historical roles of Mohammed and Moses as their major prophets?
The most important decision will be deciding on a topic that is interesting and manageable, given the limits of time and space.
The length of the essay should be no longer than six pages.
Students should inform the instructor what topic they decide to research (A list will be posted on the door of 410 Fitzelle).
The essay should be based upon a variety of sources (at least six must be cited)
You should express your own thoughts and questions on the subject that you research.
The due date for this assignment is April 23.
As you proceed, if you have any questions or need suggestions, phone 3923 or email conwaypg@oneonta.edu
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Second Assignment
Choose one of the following topics to develop a brief essay emphasizing a question that should be researched, sources that would be most useful and hypotheses that seem reasonable. The essay itself should be no more than 4-5 pages in length.
Be sure to cite all periodical and web sources completely. The due date is February 26.
a. Race and religion in the
b. Slavery in the post-modern world: The influence and
response of religious organizations. (e. g.
c. Comparing the practices of discrimination against Muslims
and Christians in
or comparing the political conditions of
Christians in
d. Zoroastrianism in
e. Comparing religious minorities and discrimination against
Copts and Ba’hai’s in
f. Comparing religious minorities and discrimination against
Ba’hai’s and Jews in
g. Comparing religious minorities: Catholic Moronites in
h. Simple Folkways: Comparing and contrasting the practices of American
Mennonites, Amish, and Hutterites
Historical and contemporary political struggles within the Roman Catholic Church:
i. the role of women in the Church
j. The selection of saints within the Church: what kind of politics and why?
k. Conflict between the Church hierarchy and “Voices of the Laity”
l. the background and contemporary debates on the celibacy requirement for priests
m. the rise and political influence of Opus Dei
n. Religious opposition to the practices of modern medicine: Christian Scientists, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Seventh Day Adventists?
o. Global population growth and religious opposition to family planning programs, contraceptives, and government population control policies.
p. Political discrimination against
q. Comparing conditions of Christian minorities in
r. Comparing the conditions of Shi’ia
minorities in
s. Historical peoples of the “covenant” (Jews, Puritians, Afrikaners, others?)
t. Government policies toward native indigenous (Indian or
aborigine) groups in the
u. Rev Moon, the
Some media sources that we may find useful or interesting
The Roman Catholic Church organization, leadership and policies:
The ideology and legacy
of John Paul II?
(websites detailing controversy within the
church)
(handouts)
http://www.votf.org/Who_We_Are/story.html
http://rcf.org/ http://www.mond.at/opus.dei/
http://www.acts1711.com/cathsplint.htm
http://www.opusdei.org/
http://cceia.org/printerfriendlymedia.php/prmID/5285?PHPSESSID=673f467b3b58c4c73e2ca0266f867a8a
http://www.religion-online.
org/cgi-bin/relsearchd.dll/showarticle?item_id=863
For one interesting essay on political
conflict within the Catholic Church see Gary Wills on
"The Passion of Christ" in The New York Review of Books (
More on the leadership and legacy of John Paul II
The process of determining sainthood as political? http://www.angelfire.com/ky/dodone/Become.html
(Dissent and politics within the
Catholic Church - report from
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5032190
+
Exam date May 14
Use the outline above and the references below to anticipate materials covered on the last test
(Several questions from the previous test will be included as well)
Back to the
Questions raised in Russell Shorto’s 5/7/06 NYTMag essay on cultural conflict in the
How does the “morning-after” pill
differ from the “emergency contraception” pill?
Is ‘emergency’ birth
control the same as abortion? Definitions of when human life begins determine
the answer
- Is the debate and the intense political opposition to abortion really about sex as
well?
-
What are some of the questions related to the topics researched in the third think piece
assignment?
The political history of a holy city – Jerusalem
Resurrection and judgement day in Christianity and
Islam
Shintoism in Japan and Confucianism in China
Muslims in Iraq and Saudi Arabia (KW)
Foreign fighters (Holy Warriors) Chechnya and Iraq
Comparing popes – Pius IX and John Paul XXIII
Christians in India
Christians in Indonesia
Indigenous religions in Australia and the USA
Reverend Moon in Korea and the USA
Be sure
to review the assigned readings above on the outline as well as handout
readings distributed in class
Tom
Friedman’s “Where Freedom Reigns” compares
and on the back Keith Bradsher describes the ecumenical appeal of a holy man
named Baba
An essay
on content analysis of synoptic gospels in the Christian Bible with
Elaine Pagel’s explanation of the Gnostic
gospels on the back side
“The
Anti-Semetic Hoax that Refuses to Die”
(Edward Rothstein’s review of the exhibit at the US Holocaust Museum in
Howard
French on Shintoism in
Simon Montlake “
opposed to the Thaksin government and based upon the
concept of dharma
Fox
Butterfield “
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From a previous exercise:
Religions that we have considered include: a. Judaism, b. Hinduism, c. Islam,
d. Christianity, e. Sikhism, f. Jainism, g. Buddhism h. Shinto i. Falun Gong
Which of them is widely perceived as:
____ 1. somewhat atheistic
____ 2. somewhat polytheistic
____ 3. monotheistic
____ 4. severely ascetic
____ 5. associated with caste discrimination
____ 6. embracing the concept of reincarnation
____ 7. requiring men to grow beards and wear turbans
Briefly explain the significance of the following:
8. Mohandas (or Mahatma) Gandhi
9. Jawaharlal Nehru
10. Mohammed Ali Jinnah
11. Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale
12. Pervez Musharef
13. Buddhism in
14. What is the international status of
15A. Why is
What kind of political system exists in
Secular or religious? Federal or unitary? Parliamentary or presidential?
Democratic or authoritarian? Socialist or capitalist?
15B. Why is
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POLS 279 Some review items for Test One
There will be somewhat brief
essay questions which will count for more points than “objective
items”
A. When and why did many (albeit a
minority of) Muslims embrace the idea of a global jihad in the 20th
century? Which individuals and what events were most important in bringing
about the widespread religious conflict in the world today that the Bush
administration calls “(the) war on terror”?
B. In relation to a political science or social science course on religion, what does the term fundamentalism mean and why is it often deliberately or inadvertently misleading? Is the notion of literal interpretation of sacred scriptures the most valid distinction between those who are fundamentalist and those who are not? Relate to the essay on the “Promised Land” and Judaism, along with other examples.
C. Kramnick and
D. How do cults differ from legitimate religions? Is scientology a legitimate religion? Why is scientology so controversial?
There will be open ended identification/definition items
with emphasis on their religious and political significance:
(such as)
Covenant and chosen people
The ten commandments
The Talmud and Torah
The biblical gospels
The five pillars or obligations of Islam
Wahhabism
Muslim Brotherhood
Opus Dei
Liberation Theology
Calvinism
Meir Kahane
Sayyid Qutb (coo’thub)
Millenialism and post-millenialism
Key terms/definitions:
Proselytize
Apostate
hadith
chador
Fatwa
Hijab
Islamist
Madrasa
ulama
Zakat/tithe
true-false items
A. In the book of Genesis (of the Hebrew/Christian Bible) there are two somewhat different stories of how the world was created.
B. The Koran begins with the story of Adam and Eve and includes the story of Moses and the 10 commandments.
C. The Koran has more descriptive text about the life of Mary, mother of Jesus, than the Christian Bible does.
D. British Israelism in the 19th century claimed that Jesus was an Aryan, not a Semite.
E. Timothy McVeigh’s favorite book that he read
repeatedly was called the Turner Diaries.
There will be fill-in items such as
a. The three most important holy cities for Muslims are ___________, ____________ , and ______________ .
b. The three countries with the largest Muslim populations are ___________, _____________, and ____________ .
c. Muslims who were very important in perpetuating Islam in
central
d. The branch of Islam that is said to emphasize martyrdom and Mohammad as a demi-god is ______________
e. The organization called Hamas has a _________ Muslim orientation
f. and it is based in the territory/country of __________ .
g. Hamas gets much of its internal support because ______________
h. and it receives external support from (the country of) _________
i. The Arab country with the largest number of Muslims is
j. Fundamentalist or politicized Muslim movements are generally called _______
k.The
largest population among the countries in the
l. The only non-Arab country in the
There will be multiple choice items such as:
A. The Koran states that violence
a. is acceptable if it is in defense of Islam
b. against civilians is wrong
c. to take one’s own life deliberately is wrong
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
The radical antiabortionist Michael Bray (described in Juergensmeyer) is a
a. Catholic b. Calvinist c. Lutheran
d. Methodist e. none of the above
2. The Puritans in
a. John Calvin b. Martin Luther c. John Huss
d. none of the above
3. The descendants of the early Puritans in
a. (Dutch) Reformed b. Presbyterian c. Congregationalist
d. Methodist
4. According to Juergensmeyer and others, the earliest Christians and Church leaders were
a. capitalists b. communists c. crusaders d. pacifists
5. In the 1980’s and 1990’s the largest concentration of Christian Identity groups was in
(the state of) a.
6. Post millenialists such as Pat Robertson and other leaders of the Christian Coalition oppose the separation of church and state and believe that a Christian kingdom must be established ____________ the return of Jesus to earth.
a. before b. after c. at the same time as
7. Post millenialist,
fundamentalist Christians as generally tend to _________ a “peace
process” between Israeli’s and Palestinians based upon a withdrawal
of most settlements in the West Bank as well as
a. support
b. oppose
c. ignore
8. Which of the following individuals has called the prophet Mohammed a “terrorist”?
a. Ariel
b. Yitzak Rabin
c. Jerry Falwell
d. George W. Bush
Judaism and Jews as a people Guest: Dr Steve Gilbert, Psychology
Herman Wolk essay handout
The origins of the state of
"Zionism" as a political movement
during the 20th
century
Interpreting scripture (one example: http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/monanism.html
Palestinian resistance
and extremism
Israeli and American fundamentalists collaborate (video)
Islam and its global appeal (Five obligations; Sharia; the Sunni-Shiia schism)
The concept of jihad (Dr Fida Mohammed)
Wahhabism
Islam in Central and
(sidebars: The impact of the new pope on
American politics http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4618049
and
posthumous baptisms; proselytizing; apostacy; fatwas)
Reviewing some of the terms, concepts and propositions in the reading.
Hinduism in
the
religious activities and conflicts that are
important?
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4980938
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4981013
Buddhism in
Religion in
Some background on Falun gong can be found at:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/falungong1.htm
http://www.skepdic.com/falungong.html
Thoughtful radio interviews that deal with religion and politics:
Debating
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2004/12/09_marty/
polygamy and religion in the
religious schools & culture wars in US: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4632072
One statement regarding atheism: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557
Religous(esp.Christian) beliefs about the
end of the world
http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?method=4&dsid=2222&dekey=End+times&gwp=8&curtab=2222_1&linktext=end%20times
http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2005/01/20_moralvalues/
Multimedia, wide-ranging rants, essays, and blogs:
http://www.beliefnet.com/
Background on the question: "Why is the Mideast
so important to the
One thoughtful essay is Retort, "Blood for Oil? in
the
Jeff Sarlet "Inside
A very interesting and often useful but not authoritative source of information about religions is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion)