JWST 358 - Religious Outsiders and the American State

FC ARHU CD WINT

4 credits
This course explores the relationship between select outsider religions Native Americans, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, and Buddhists and the American state from the beginnings of the United States until the present day. In a country that is premised on the separation of church and state but that also includes diverse religious communities, the place of religion in public life and of the government’s role in regulating and defining religion have long been contested. What do church-state relations look like if we focus on groups outside of the Protestant mainstream? What are the scope and limits of ‘religious freedom’?
This course is cross-listed with RELG 358